No. 11 Group RAAF

No. 11 Group RAAF was a temporary Royal Australian Air Force formation created at Morotai in the Netherlands East Indies during the final weeks of the Second World War. It was established to relieve the Australian First Tactical Air Force of static garrison, communications, supply, and local defence responsibilities as Allied forces advanced through New Guinea, the Netherlands East Indies, and Borneo. The formation was therefore not a commercial brand or consumer-facing organization, but a wartime military command whose identity reflected its place within the RAAF's numbered group structure. The strategic problem addressed by No. 11 Group arose from the rapid expansion of Allied bases outside Australia's mainland. During 1944 and 1945, No. 1 Tactical Air Force supported operations along the northern coast of New Guinea and participated in the invasions and subsequent occupation of Morotai and locations around Borneo. Although No. 1 TAF was intended to operate as a mobile striking force, it increasingly had to maintain a chain of airfields and support installations away from the main combat areas. These bases required air defence, protection of sea lanes, administrative support, and communications links, even when the principal combat formations were preparing for further offensives. The RAAF proposed a separate static command, initially referred to as No. 1 Air Garrison Force, to take over these duties. Air Vice Marshal Bill Bostock distinguished the proposed formation from the RAAF's established area commands: unlike permanent area organizations based within Australia or its standing overseas territories, the new group was a temporary wartime arrangement headquartered on foreign territory. The Commonwealth Government approved the proposal, and No. 11 Group was established at Morotai on 16 July 1945. Air Commodore Raymond Brownell, formerly Air Officer Commanding Western Area, became its inaugural commanding officer. The group assumed administrative control of RAAF units on Morotai on 30 July. Its intended area included Dutch territory north of latitude 7 degrees south and east of longitude 108 degrees east, together with British North Borneo and Sarawak. Important airfields within or associated with this area included Hollandia, Biak, Middelburg, Morotai, Labuan, and Tarakan. Its principal functions were local air defence, protection of maritime routes, support for nearby formations and offensive operations against Japanese positions within range, and the maintenance of lines of communication. The planned order of battle included No. 79, No. 452, No. 457, and No. 120 Squadrons, all fighter units. On 30 July, the headquarters of No. 80 Wing was absorbed into the group, with many of its personnel transferred to the new formation. No. 11 Telecommunications Unit was created on 1 August to provide communications support. Because Japan accepted the Allied surrender terms on 14 August 1945, the group never reached its intended full operational maturity. Its combat activity was limited, although it directed attacks on Japanese positions on Halmahera and coordinated some heavy-bomber operations during the final days of the war. No. 79 Squadron carried out Spitfire attacks against Halmahera on 30 and 31 July, followed by a larger 4 August operation involving twelve B-24 Liberators from the United States Thirteenth Air Force and six No. 79 Squadron Spitfires. The fighter squadron continued daily operations against Halmahera until the end of hostilities. No. 11 Group also directed No. 82 Wing heavy-bomber missions on an unofficial basis near the end of the war. After the conflict, the formation remained at Morotai while the RAAF reorganized and reduced its wartime overseas presence. It held a formal Christmas dinner in 1945 and was disbanded there on 31 March 1946.

No. 11 Group RAAF emerged from the logistical and operational pressures created by the Allied advance through the southwest Pacific in 1944 and 1945. The Australian First Tactical Air Force had been organized as a mobile striking formation, but its campaign responsibilities left it overseeing a dispersed network of airfields and support bases. These facilities needed continuing protection and administration even when they were no longer at the centre of active combat. The RAAF consequently recommended a separate static command to assume responsibility for garrison units and preserve No. 1 TAF's capacity for future offensive missions. The proposed organization was initially described as No. 1 Air Garrison Force. Air Vice Marshal Bill Bostock explained that it would differ from the RAAF's normal area commands because it was intended as a temporary wartime formation located on foreign territory rather than a permanent component of the service's territorial structure. After Commonwealth approval, No. 11 Group was established at Morotai on 16 July 1945 under Air Commodore Raymond Brownell, who had previously commanded Western Area. The group began taking administrative control of RAAF units on Morotai on 30 July. Its planned responsibility covered a substantial area of the Netherlands East Indies, together with British North Borneo and Sarawak. The organization was expected to coordinate local air defence and sea-lane protection, assist neighbouring formations, conduct or support attacks on Japanese targets within operational range, and maintain the lines of communication linking forward bases to the wider Allied logistical system. Its intended forces included Nos. 79, 452, 457, and 120 Squadrons, while No. 80 Wing headquarters was incorporated into the group at the end of July. A dedicated No. 11 Telecommunications Unit was formed on 1 August. The timing of the group's formation meant that it had little opportunity to develop into a mature command. Japan announced its acceptance of the Allied surrender terms on 14 August 1945, before No. 11 Group had assumed all of its intended duties. Its limited combat record included No. 79 Squadron's Spitfire attacks on Halmahera on 30 and 31 July, a combined operation on 4 August involving twelve B-24 Liberators of the United States Thirteenth Air Force and six Australian Spitfires, and continuing fighter operations against Halmahera until the end of the war. The group also directed No. 82 Wing heavy-bomber activity on an unofficial basis during the final days of hostilities. After the war, No. 11 Group remained at Morotai while the RAAF's overseas wartime structure was wound down. Its personnel participated in the formal Christmas observance held in 1945, but the formation had no long-term institutional future. It was disbanded at Morotai on 31 March 1946. The group is therefore best understood as a brief administrative and operational command created for a specific phase of the Pacific war, rather than as a continuing RAAF institution.

• 1946

  Disbandment

  [1]No. 11 Group RAAFen.wikipedia.org

  No. 11 Group was disbanded at Morotai on 31 March, following the postwar reduction of Australia's overseas air command structure.

• 1945

  Formation approved and No. 11 Group established

  [1]No. 11 Group RAAFen.wikipedia.org

  The Commonwealth approved a temporary overseas garrison command, and No. 11 Group was established at Morotai on 16 July under Air Commodore Raymond Brownell.

• 1945

  Administrative control transferred at Morotai

  [1]No. 11 Group RAAFen.wikipedia.org

  On 30 July, No. 11 Group took administrative control of RAAF units on Morotai and absorbed the headquarters of No. 80 Wing.

• 1945

  Telecommunications unit formed

  [1]No. 11 Group RAAFen.wikipedia.org

  No. 11 Telecommunications Unit was created on 1 August to support communications across the group's dispersed area of responsibility.

• 1945

  Halmahera combined air operation

  [1]No. 11 Group RAAFen.wikipedia.org

  On 4 August, the group commanded an attack involving twelve United States B-24 Liberators and six RAAF Spitfires against Japanese positions on Halmahera.

A temporary overseas RAAF command designed to separate static garrison and administrative responsibilities from the mobile offensive role of the Australian First Tactical Air Force.

• 1945

  Creation of a separate static overseas commandStrategy

  Background

  The mobile First Tactical Air Force had become responsible for protecting and administering numerous bases outside the main combat zone, reducing its ability to concentrate on offensive missions.

  Action taken

  The Commonwealth approved the RAAF's proposal for a temporary command at Morotai to manage garrison forces, local defence, communications, and lines of communication.

  Aftermath

  The group was formed, but Japan's surrender shortly afterward prevented it from becoming fully operational.

  Source

1. 1No. 11 Group RAAFen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Australian War Memorial collections and publicationsawm.gov.au