No. 9 Operational Group RAAF
Encyclopedia
No. 9 Operational Group was a major Royal Australian Air Force
unit providing fighter
, ground attack
and anti-shipping support to the Allies
in the South West Pacific theatre
during World War II
. It was designed to act as a mobile striking force independent of the RAAF's static area commands. As the war in the Pacific progressed, No. 9 Operational Group itself developed into an area command covering New Guinea
.
in September 1942, consisting of seven RAAF squadrons attached to the USAAF's Fifth Air Force
. Four of the squadrons were based at Milne Bay
and three at Port Moresby
. On its establishment it was the RAAF’s "premier fighting unit" in the South West Pacific Area
(SWPA). Its first commander was Group Captain
Bill Garing.
Administratively, 9OG initially came under the control of RAAF North-Eastern Area Command. On 1 January 1943, Headquarters 9OG assumed responsibility for the formation’s administration as well as its operations, making it independent of North-Eastern Area. Air Commodore
Joe Hewitt
became Air Officer Commanding
9OG in February 1943. The same month, the Group’s squadrons were reorganised into two wings: No. 71 Wing
, covering the units in Milne Bay, and No. 73 Wing
, those in Port Moresby.
In March the group provided the RAAF's contribution to the Battle of the Bismark Sea, "the decisive aerial engagement" in the SWPA according to General Douglas MacArthur
, resulting in twelve Japanese
ships being sunk. Between July and October 1943, 9OG was expanded to include a works wing and a radio location wing, its complement of operational squadrons totalling nine, plus a torpedo bomber
detachment. Its aircraft carried out operations against enemy bases, shipping and lines of communication along the coast of New Britain
. In October–November the group launched a number of major assaults on Rabaul, bombing and strafing ground and naval targets.
Although Hewitt was performing an "excellent job" according to Fifth Air Force commander Major General Ennis Whitehead
, he was transferred from his post in November 1943 by the Chief of the Air Staff
, Air Vice Marshal George Jones
, over accusations of poor discipline within 9OG. He was replaced by Air Commodore Frank Lukis
, who had commanded North-Eastern Area in 1942.
In December 1943, 9OG's Kittyhawks took part in a series of attacks culminating in the Battle of Arawe
. As the Pacific conflict gradually shifted further north, however, operational tasking lessened and 9OG became colloquially known in the RAAF as the "Non-Ops Group". It assumed the duties of a garrison force in New Guinea and was renamed Northern Command on 11 April 1944, to better reflect its new function. Its original mobile strike role was taken over by No. 10 Operational Group (later renamed the Australian First Tactical Air Force
) which had formed on 13 November 1943.
In February 1943 the squadrons at Milne Bay became part of No. 71 Wing
, while those at Port Moresby formed No. 73 Wing
, both wing headquarters reporting to 9OG.
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
unit providing fighter
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
, ground attack
Close air support
In military tactics, close air support is defined as air action by fixed or rotary winged aircraft against hostile targets that are close to friendly forces, and which requires detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movement of these forces.The determining factor for CAS is...
and anti-shipping support to the Allies
Allies
In everyday English usage, allies are people, groups, or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out between them...
in the South West Pacific theatre
South West Pacific theatre of World War II
The South West Pacific Theatre, technically the South West Pacific Area, between 1942 and 1945, was one of two designated area commands and war theatres enumerated by the Combined Chiefs of Staff of World War II in the Pacific region....
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It was designed to act as a mobile striking force independent of the RAAF's static area commands. As the war in the Pacific progressed, No. 9 Operational Group itself developed into an area command covering New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
.
History
No. 9 Operational Group (9OG) was formed in New GuineaNew Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
in September 1942, consisting of seven RAAF squadrons attached to the USAAF's Fifth Air Force
Fifth Air Force
The Fifth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Japan....
. Four of the squadrons were based at Milne Bay
Milne Bay
Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, southeastern Papua New Guinea. The bay is named after Sir Alexander Milne.The area was a site of the Battle of Milne Bay in 1942....
and three at Port Moresby
Port Moresby
Port Moresby , or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea . It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the southeastern coast of the island of New Guinea, which made it a prime objective for conquest by the Imperial Japanese forces during 1942–43...
. On its establishment it was the RAAF’s "premier fighting unit" in the South West Pacific Area
South West Pacific theatre of World War II
The South West Pacific Theatre, technically the South West Pacific Area, between 1942 and 1945, was one of two designated area commands and war theatres enumerated by the Combined Chiefs of Staff of World War II in the Pacific region....
(SWPA). Its first commander was Group Captain
Group Captain
Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks above wing commander and immediately below air commodore...
Bill Garing.
Administratively, 9OG initially came under the control of RAAF North-Eastern Area Command. On 1 January 1943, Headquarters 9OG assumed responsibility for the formation’s administration as well as its operations, making it independent of North-Eastern Area. Air Commodore
Air Commodore
Air commodore is an air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
Joe Hewitt
Joe Hewitt (RAAF officer)
Air Vice Marshal Joseph Eric Hewitt, CBE was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force...
became Air Officer Commanding
Air Officer Commanding
Air Officer Commanding is a title given in the air forces of Commonwealth nations to an air officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, an air vice marshal might be the AOC 38 Group...
9OG in February 1943. The same month, the Group’s squadrons were reorganised into two wings: No. 71 Wing
No. 71 Wing RAAF
No. 71 Wing was a Royal Australian Air Force wing of World War II. It was formed in February 1943 at Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea, as part of No. 9 Operational Group. The wing initially comprised two squadrons of P-40 Kittyhawks, one of Lockheed Hudsons, and one of Bristol Beauforts...
, covering the units in Milne Bay, and No. 73 Wing
No. 73 Wing RAAF
No. 73 Wing was a Royal Australian Air Force wing of World War II. It was formed in February 1943 at Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, as part of No. 9 Operational Group. The wing initially comprised three attack squadrons flying CAC Wirraways, Douglas Bostons, and Bristol Beaufighters, with...
, those in Port Moresby.
Douglas MacArthur
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...
, resulting in twelve Japanese
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
ships being sunk. Between July and October 1943, 9OG was expanded to include a works wing and a radio location wing, its complement of operational squadrons totalling nine, plus a torpedo bomber
Torpedo bomber
A torpedo bomber is a bomber aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes which could also carry out conventional bombings. Torpedo bombers existed almost exclusively prior to and during World War II when they were an important element in many famous battles, notably the...
detachment. Its aircraft carried out operations against enemy bases, shipping and lines of communication along the coast of New Britain
New Britain
New Britain, or Niu Briten, is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from the island of New Guinea by the Dampier and Vitiaz Straits and from New Ireland by St. George's Channel...
. In October–November the group launched a number of major assaults on Rabaul, bombing and strafing ground and naval targets.
Although Hewitt was performing an "excellent job" according to Fifth Air Force commander Major General Ennis Whitehead
Ennis Whitehead
Ennis Clement Whitehead was an early United States Army aviator and a United States Army Air Forces general during World War II. Whitehead joined the U. S. Army after the United States entered World War I in 1917...
, he was transferred from his post in November 1943 by the Chief of the Air Staff
Chief of the Air Staff
The Chief of the Air Staff is the professional head of the Royal Air Force and a member of both the Chiefs of Staff Committee and the Air Force Board. The current Chief of the Air Staff is Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton...
, Air Vice Marshal George Jones
George Jones (RAAF officer)
Air Marshal Sir George Jones KBE, CB, DFC was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force . He rose from private soldier in World War I to Air Marshal in 1948, and served as Chief of the Air Staff from 1942 to 1952, the longest continuous tenure of any RAAF chief...
, over accusations of poor discipline within 9OG. He was replaced by Air Commodore Frank Lukis
Frank Lukis
Air Commodore Francis William Fellowes Lukis, CBE was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force . A veteran of World War I, he first saw combat as a soldier in the Australian Imperial Force at Gallipoli...
, who had commanded North-Eastern Area in 1942.
In December 1943, 9OG's Kittyhawks took part in a series of attacks culminating in the Battle of Arawe
Battle of Arawe
The Battle of Arawe was a battle during the New Britain Campaign of World War II. This campaign formed part of Operation Cartwheel and had the objective of isolating the key Japanese base at Rabaul. Arawe was attacked on 15 December 1943 by U.S...
. As the Pacific conflict gradually shifted further north, however, operational tasking lessened and 9OG became colloquially known in the RAAF as the "Non-Ops Group". It assumed the duties of a garrison force in New Guinea and was renamed Northern Command on 11 April 1944, to better reflect its new function. Its original mobile strike role was taken over by No. 10 Operational Group (later renamed the Australian First Tactical Air Force
Australian First Tactical Air Force
The Australian First Tactical Air Force was formed on 25 October 1944 by the Royal Australian Air Force . Its purpose was to provide a mobile force of fighter and ground attack aircraft that could support Allied army and naval units fighting the Empire of Japan in the South West Pacific Area...
) which had formed on 13 November 1943.
Order of battle
Upon its establishment in September 1942, 9OG consisted of the following units:- Based at Milne BayMilne BayMilne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, southeastern Papua New Guinea. The bay is named after Sir Alexander Milne.The area was a site of the Battle of Milne Bay in 1942....
:- No. 6 SquadronNo. 6 Squadron RAAFNo. 6 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force training and bomber squadron. The squadron was first formed in 1917 and served as a training unit based in England during World War I. It was disbanded in 1919 but re-formed at the start of 1939...
(HudsonLockheed HudsonThe Lockheed Hudson was an American-built light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built initially for the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and primarily operated by the RAF thereafter...
) - No. 75 SquadronNo. 75 Squadron RAAFNo. 75 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force fighter unit based at RAAF Base Tindal in the Northern Territory. The squadron was formed in 1942 and saw extensive action in the South West Pacific theatre of World War II, operating P-40 Kittyhawks. It was disbanded in 1948, but reformed the...
(P-40 KittyhawkCurtiss P-40The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk was an American single-engine, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry into production and operational...
) - No. 77 SquadronNo. 77 Squadron RAAFNo. 77 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force fighter squadron. The Squadron was formed in 1942 and currently operates F/A-18 Hornet aircraft from RAAF Base Williamtown.-History:...
(P-40 Kittyhawk) - No. 100 SquadronNo. 100 Squadron RAAFNo. 100 Squadron was a Royal Australian Air Force bomber and maritime patrol squadron of World War II. The Squadron was formed in 1942 and was disbanded in 1946.-Squadron history:...
(BeaufortBristol BeaufortThe Bristol Beaufort was a British twin-engined torpedo bomber designed by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, and developed from experience gained designing and building the earlier Blenheim light bomber....
)
- No. 6 Squadron
- Based at Port MoresbyPort MoresbyPort Moresby , or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea . It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the southeastern coast of the island of New Guinea, which made it a prime objective for conquest by the Imperial Japanese forces during 1942–43...
:- No. 4 SquadronNo. 4 Squadron RAAFNo. 4 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force squadron responsible for training forward air controllers. The squadron was previously a fighter and army co-operation unit active in both World War I and World War II.-World War I:...
(WirrawayCAC WirrawayThe Wirraway was a training and general purpose military aircraft manufactured in Australia by the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation between 1939 and 1946...
) - No. 22 SquadronNo. 22 Squadron RAAFNo. 22 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force mixed regular and reserve squadron that provides support for the RAAF in the Sydney region. Formed in 1936, the squadron served in Papua New Guinea during the Second World War, and later followed the Pacific war as far as the Philippines...
(Boston) - No. 30 SquadronNo. 30 Squadron RAAFNo. 30 Squadron is a squadron of the Royal Australian Air Force . Raised in 1942 as a fighter unit, the Squadron saw action in the Second World War and later served in the target towing and surface-to-air missile roles. After a long period of disbandment lasting from the late 1960s, No...
(BeaufighterBristol BeaufighterThe Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter, often referred to as simply the Beau, was a British long-range heavy fighter modification of the Bristol Aeroplane Company's earlier Beaufort torpedo bomber design...
)
- No. 4 Squadron
In February 1943 the squadrons at Milne Bay became part of No. 71 Wing
No. 71 Wing RAAF
No. 71 Wing was a Royal Australian Air Force wing of World War II. It was formed in February 1943 at Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea, as part of No. 9 Operational Group. The wing initially comprised two squadrons of P-40 Kittyhawks, one of Lockheed Hudsons, and one of Bristol Beauforts...
, while those at Port Moresby formed No. 73 Wing
No. 73 Wing RAAF
No. 73 Wing was a Royal Australian Air Force wing of World War II. It was formed in February 1943 at Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, as part of No. 9 Operational Group. The wing initially comprised three attack squadrons flying CAC Wirraways, Douglas Bostons, and Bristol Beaufighters, with...
, both wing headquarters reporting to 9OG.