The West Coast Naval Command was formed as a war unit on 1 January 1928, with the name West Coast Naval District. The background was the lack of clear command conditions and a unified staff for the Swedish coastal areas in war or in danger of war. Through the
Defence Act of 1925, the territorial waters along the Swedish coast were divided into
naval districts, where the West Coast Naval District constituted one of six naval districts. The naval district included the territorial waters, the naval
defence district and the part that constituted land territory. By the
Defence Act of 1936, it was decided that all naval districts would be peace-organized from 1 July 1937. With the new organization, the naval district came to include staff, personnel department, quartermaster administration, health care administration,
kameralkontor, and from 1 August 1939 ship depots were added, as well as naval depots and
Älvsborg Coastal Artillery Detachment. From 1 October 1942, the organization was expanded in the form of the
Gothenburg Department for the ship units, the
Gothenburg Coastal Artillery Defence and
Älvsborg Coastal Artillery Regiment, and in 1943 with the Gothenburg Naval Station (
Göteborgs örlogsstation) and the Gothenburg Naval Yard (
Göteborgs örlogsvarv). In the years 1939–1945, the naval district also consisted of the Väner Department (
Väneravdelningen) with associated ship detachment, fish distribution center and a coast guard department. with Nya Varvet to the left where the command was located. On 1 October 1957, the West Coast Naval District was reorganized into Naval Command West, where Gothenburg Coastal Artillery Defence was separated so that on 1 July 1958, it formed its own authority. Gothenburg Coastal Artillery Defence itself was amalgamated with
Gothenburg and Bohus as well as Halland Defence District (Fo 32/31) and adopted the name Gothenburg and Bohus as well as Halland Defence District together with Gothenburg Coastal Artillery Defence (Gbk/Fo 32/31). The new organization consisted of a command organization with staff and administration, the 5th Coastal Artillery Brigade, the 12th Coastal Artillery Group and the Bohus Group (
Bohusgruppen). From 1960, the 2nd Helicopter Division (
2. helikopterdivisionen) was also added, which was initially based at
Torslanda Airfield. On 1 October 1966, a new regional command was introduced within the Swedish Armed Forces. Thus, the Naval Command West adopted the new name West Coast Naval Base. The West Coast Naval Base was in turn directly subordinate to the military commander of the
Western Military District, from having previously been directly subordinate to the
Chief of the Navy. The West Coast Naval Base in turn consisted of staff and administration, as well as Älvsborg Radio, the coast guard organization and ships and helicopter units. Prior to the Government Bill 1978/79:96, the Swedish government proposed to the
Riksdag that the three authorities West Coast Naval Base (ÖrlB V), Gothenburg Coastal Artillery Defence with Gothenburg and Bohus Defence District (GbK/Fo 32) and Älvsborg Coastal Artillery Regiment (KA 4) be amalgamated into one authority in the peace organization. The background to the proposal for a amalgamation was due to savings reasons, where the Swedish Armed Forces and the government considered that the naval activities on the west coast could be coordinated under a joint command. On 15 February 1979, the Riksdag adopted the Government Bill. On 1 January 1981, the new organization came into force, under the name West Coast Naval Command with Älvsborg Coastal Artillery Regiment (MKV/KA 4). Through Government Bill 1983/84:112 the Riksdag decided on 15 March 1984 that
Nya Varvet would be left, and that the basic training battalion at Älvsborg Coastal Artillery Regiment would be disbanded, and that rear maintenance and major inspections of naval ships would be concentrated at the
South Coast Naval Base and the
East Coast Naval Base. On 1 July 1986, a major reform of the Navy was carried out, when all naval bases amalgamated with the coastal artillery and formed
naval commands. The new organization in Gothenburg largely reflected the previous one. At that time, Älvsborg Coastal Artillery Regiment already had a joint staff with the command. The most obvious change was that the command changed its name to the West Coast Naval Command, and where Älvsborg Coastal Artillery Regiment became a training unit within the command but with its own regimental staff. Prior to the Defence Act of 1996, stage 2, the government proposed to the Riksdag to reduce the number of defence district staffs from 24 to 16 staffs. Among other things, it was proposed that the defence district staff in
Borås should be disbanded. In the government's budget bill 1997/98:1, the government also proposed that the defence district staff in
Skövde should be disbanded. This is against the background that
Västra Götaland County would form a defence district with a defence district staff in Gothenburg at the West Coast Naval Command. In its place for the two former defence district staffs in Borås and Skövde, the Skaraborg Group (
Skaraborgsgruppen) and the Älvsborg Group (
Älvsborgsgruppen) were formed. As a further decision in the Defence Act of 1996, Öresund Naval District (
Öresunds marindistrikt) was also proposed to be included in the West Coast Naval Command. The new organization, which the Riksdag adopted on two occasions, came into force on 1 January 1998, and where the West Coast Naval Command was given the somewhat unusually long name "West Coast Naval Command including the Öresund Naval District and Västra Götaland Defence District (MKV/Fo 32)". In everyday speech, however, the West Coast Naval Command was used. Prior to the Defence District, the Swedish Armed Forces proposed to the government that training activities at the
Gothenburg Marine Brigade should cease, however, the government considered in its bill that, given the importance of the Gothenburg area, training of amphibious units would be maintained. Prior to the
Defence Act of 2000, the government proposed in its bill to the Riksdag that the tactical level should be reduced by phasing out division and defence district staffs as well as naval commands and
air commands. This is to design an
Army Tactical Command,
Naval Tactical Command and
Air Force Tactical Command which would be co-located with the operations command. The proposal adopted by the Riksdag meant that all division and defence district staffs as well as naval commands and air commands were disbanded. On 30 June 2000, the West Coast Naval Command was disbanded. From 1 July 2000, the operations was transformed into a decommissioning organization, which operated until 31 March 2001. ==Operations==