The CAC Boomerang was a World War II fighter aircraft manufactured in Australia between 1942 and 1945. Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km (over 11 miles) into the air, August 9, 1945. ...

History

Japan entered the war in December 1941 and within just a few months had conquered vast areas of the Pacific and South-east Asia, in the process destroying the great majority of Allied aircraft opposed to them. As early as January 1942, Japanese forces were occupying bases just a few miles to the north of Australia and threatening to invade. For Australia, the situation was desperate: her elite fighting forces were half a world away in Europe or the North African desert helping Britain to fight Germany and Italy, and there was not a single modern fighter aircraft in the country. For other meanings of Pacific, see Pacific (disambiguation). ... Location of Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia. ...

Australia's traditional aircraft supplier, Britain, was already hard pressed to meet its own needs, and the Churchill government took the attitude that the defence of British colonies was unimportant. The United States was the only other possibility, but the enormous manufacturing resources of that country were only just starting to produce fighter aircraft in quantity, and there was no certainty that any could be spared for Australia. The Right Honourable Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, FRS (November 30, 1874 – January 24, 1965) was a British statesman, best known as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. ...

Within days of the Japanese surprise attacks on Pearl Harbor, Siam, Malaya, and the Philippines—some reports say only three days—the tiny Australian aircraft industry had started designing a fighter with whatever components were available. Only two aircraft were in production in Australia at that time: the Bristol Beaufort torpedo bomber, and the CAC Wirraway advanced trainer. The twin-engined Beaufort was obviously unsuitable as the basis of a fighter, but it did have reasonably powerful engines, 1200 horsepower (890 kW) Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasps, which were already being made under license in Sydney. With its high frontal area it was not the most promising engine for a fighter, but it was the only one available. The Imperial Japanese Navy made its attack on Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 7, 1941. ... The Kingdom of Thailand is a country in southeast Asia, bordering Laos and Cambodia to the east, the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia to the south, and the Andaman Sea and Myanmar to the west. ... The Federation of Malaya, or in Malay Persekutuan Tanah Melayu, was formed in 1948 from the British settlements of Penang and Malacca and the nine Malay states and replaced the Malayan Union. ... General description The Beaufort (Bristol Type 152) was a large torpedo bomber designed by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, and developed from the earlier Blenheim light bomber. ... Categories: Stub | Aircraft piston engines ... Sydney Harbour looking south from the vicinity of the Sydney Harbour Bridge towards the CBD skyline; the Opera House is visible in the background on the left. ...

Development

For the airframe, the Wirraway trainer could provide a starting point. From the roughed-out plans, Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation general manager and former chief designer Lawrence Wackett and current chief designer Fred David began detailed design work on 21 December 1941. The RAAF ordered 105 Boomerangs on 2 February 1942, and the prototype flew on 29 May 1942. December 21 is the 355th day of the year (356th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1941 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... February 2 is the 33rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... May 29 is the 149th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (150th in leap years). ... This article is about the year. ...

It was a very small aircraft by fighter standards, designed for manoeuvrability more than speed, with an overall length of just 7.7 m and an 11 m wingspan. (See the table below. In particular, compare with the rather similar Grumman Wildcat.) Although the original intention had been to use as many Wirraway components as possible, the final design was quite different, with shorter wings and shorter, wood-sheathed, aluminium-framed fuselage, increased strength for combat stresses, and a new centre section. The Grumman F4F Wildcat was the standard carrier-based fighter of the United States Navy for the first year and a half of World War II. An improved version built by General Motors (the General Motors FM Wildcat) remained in service throughout the war, on escort carriers where newer, larger...

The Boomerang handled well and unlike most initial models of fighter aircraft, was well-armed from the start with two 20 mm cannon and four .303 machine guns (~7.7 mm), all mounted in the short, thick wings, and it was generously equipped with armour plating to protect the pilot. Outright performance was mediocre, however. Although lively at low level, it fell away rapidly over 15,000 feet (4,600 m) and at 265 knots top speed (490 km/h) was not sufficient to make it an effective counter to the Zero. (In 1942 and '43, the best European fighters were reaching almost 350 knots (650 km/h), and even relatively sluggish aircraft like the Wildcat and the Kittyhawk were comfortably faster.)

Despite the astonishing speed of design and production (particularly so given that Australia was a country that up until then had never made a fighter) by the time the Boomerang entered squadron service the immediate need for fighters had been filled, initially by Curtiss Kittyhawks from the United States (starting in March 1942), and then by the return from Europe of two RAAF squadrons equipped with Spitfire Vs which, together with an RAF Spitfire squadron, arrived in Darwin in January 1943. Of the first three operational Boomerang units, 83 and 85 Sqns were used for home defence but the continuing shortage of fighters saw 84 Sqn deployed to New Guinea for use as interceptors, with only modest success. The Boomerang's low top speed and poor high altitude performance meant that 84 Sqn could drive off enemy attacks but rarely get close enough to Japanese aircraft to bring their guns to bear. It was a measure of the Boomerang's limitations as a fighter that after 8 months in New Guinea 84 Sqn upgraded to the lacklustre Kittyhawk instead. The Curtiss P-40 was an American fighter aircraft which first flew in 1938 and played a vital role in the crucial middle stages of World War II. Developed from the pre-war radial-engined P-36 Hawk, the P-40 became known as the Tomahawk, the Kittyhawk, and finally... The Supermarine Spitfire was a single seat fighter used by the RAF and many Allied countries in World War II. The Spitfires elliptical wings gave it a very distinctive look; their thin cross-section gave it speed; the brilliant design of Chief Designer R.J. Mitchell and his successors... The Royal Air Force (often abbreviated to RAF) is the air force branch of the UK Armed Forces. ... Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, and is a city of 109,419 people (2001 census) on Australias far north-western coastline. ...

The Boomerang found its real use as a close support aircraft. In contrast to Europe or North Africa, the ground war in the jungles of the south-west Pacific was, in broad, an endless series of small unit actions fought at very close quarters by widely dispersed forces with no clear front lines. It was here that the Boomerang found its niche: as close to the troops on the ground as possible.

It had the range to go wherever it was needed, heavy armament by the standards of the day, and because it was easier to fly than most fighters, the pilot could get in close to the objective and have time to concentrate on the ground forces, rather than on not flying into the terrain. Sprightly low-level handling helped avoid ground fire, the unusually extensive armour plating protected pilots, and the simple wood and aluminium airframe proved very capable of resisting battle damage.

RAAF 4 and 5 Sqns flew Boomerangs in New Guinea, the Solomons, and Borneo in the close support role with marked success. Tasks included bombing, strafing, close infantry support, and artillery spotting. For larger enemy formations, Boomerangs often operated together with heavier aircraft, the Boomerang getting in close to confirm the identity of a target and mark it with a 20 lb (9 kg) smoke bomb, the heavier craft delivering the major ordinance from a more practical distance. The partnership between 4 and 5 Sqn Boomerangs and RNZAF Corsair fighter-bombers was said to be particularly effective. The Solomon Islands is a nation in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea and is part of the Commonwealth of Nations. ... Borneo (including the Kalimantan provinces of Indonesia, Sabah and Sarawak of Malaysia, and Brunei) is the third largest island in the world. ... The Royal New Zealand Air Force or RNZAF is the air operations arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. ... Chance Vought F4U Corsair The Chance Vought F4U Corsair was a fighter aircraft that saw service in World War II and the Korean War. ...

Technical Data

(CAC CA-12 Boomerang)

DESCRIPTION: Single-seat interceptor and ground attack fighter. Metal and wood construction.

POWER PLANT: One 1,200 hp CAC licence built Pratt and Whitney Twin Wasp R1830.

DIMENSIONS: Span, 36 ft; length, 26 ft 9 ins; height, 9 ft. 7 ins.

WEIGHTS: Empty, 5,373 lb; loaded 7,699 lb.

PERFORMANCE: Max speed, 305 mph at 15,000 ft. Initial rate of climb, 2,940 ft/min. Service ceiling 29,000 ft.

ARMAMENT: Two 20 mm Hispano or CAC manufactured cannons. Four 0.303 Browning machine-guns. Bombs could be substituted when the large drop tank was not carried.

The Grumman F4F Wildcat was the standard carrier-based fighter of the United States Navy for the first year and a half of World War II. An improved version built by General Motors (the General Motors FM Wildcat) remained in service throughout the war, on escort carriers where newer, larger... Mitsubishi A6M5 Zero Model 52 The Mitsubishi A6M was a light-weight carrier-based fighter aircraft employed by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1940 to 1945. ... The Curtiss P-40 was an American fighter aircraft which first flew in 1938 and played a vital role in the crucial middle stages of World War II. Developed from the pre-war radial-engined P-36 Hawk, the P-40 became known as the Tomahawk, the Kittyhawk, and finally... The Supermarine Spitfire was a single seat fighter used by the RAF and many Allied countries in World War II. The Spitfires elliptical wings gave it a very distinctive look; their thin cross-section gave it speed; the brilliant design of Chief Designer R.J. Mitchell and his successors... (Bf 109 was the official Reichsluftfahrtministerium designation, though some late-war aircraft actually carried the Me 109 designation stamped onto their aircraft type plates. ...