No. 4 (Maintenance) Group RAAF
Staff officers of No. 4 (Maintenance) Group, July 1946
Active	1942?1953
Country	Australia
Branch	Royal Australian Air Force
Headquarters	Melbourne
Commanders
Notable commanders	Arthur Murphy

No. 4 (Maintenance) Group RAAF was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) group . It was formed in Melbourne in September 1942 as part of a reorganisation of the air force that saw maintenance functions transferred from area commands to dedicated functional groups. In July 1947, No. 4 (Maintenance) Group was renamed Maintenance Group . The area command structure was superseded by a functional command system in October 1953, and Maintenance Group was re-formed as Maintenance Command .

History [ edit ]

On 23 May 1942, Australian Prime Minister John Curtin agreed to a proposal by Air Vice-Marshal George Jones , the RAAF Chief of the Air Staff , to establish up to five maintenance groups as part of a broader reorganisation of the air force along semi-functional, semi-geographical lines. These groups were to be tasked with supporting the RAAF's five operational area commands . ^[1] No. 5 (Maintenance) Group was the first to be established; it was formed on 1 June 1942, headquartered in Sydney , and disbanded on 13 January 1946. ^{[2] [3]}

No. 4 (Maintenance) Group was the only other maintenance group to be formed by the RAAF. It was raised on 14 September 1942, under the command of Air Commodore Arthur Murphy , and headquartered in Melbourne . ^[2] No. 4 Group was responsible for administering the RAAF maintenance units located in Victoria , Tasmania and South Australia . ^[4] As of early 1943, the group reported directly to RAAF Headquarters. ^[5]

On 19 July 1947, No. 4 (Maintenance) Group was re-designated Maintenance Group. The same month, its headquarters began re-locating from Irving Road, Toorak , to Albert Park Barracks . ^[6] In October 1953, the RAAF's area command system was superseded by a functional command system made up of Home , Training , and Maintenance Commands . The Maintenance Group headquarters in Melbourne was re-formed as Maintenance Command headquarters. ^[7]

References [ edit ]

Citations

Works consulted

• Ashworth, Norman (2000). How Not to Run an Air Force! Volume One ? Narrative . Canberra: RAAF Air Power Studies Centre. ISBN   978-0-642-26550-0 .
• Gillison, Douglas (1962). Australia in the War of 1939?1945: Series Three (Air) Volume I ? Royal Australian Air Force 1939?1942 . Canberra: Australian War Memorial . OCLC   2000369 .
• Stephens, Alan (1995). Going Solo: The Royal Australian Air Force 1946?1971 . Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service . ISBN   978-0-644-42803-3 .