The CAC CA-25 Winjeel is an Australian-designed and manufactured three-seat training aircraft. Entering service with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in 1955 as an ab-initio to advanced trainer, it served in this role until 1975. Later, it was used in the Forward Air Control (FAC) role for target marking until 1994, after which it was retired from RAAF service. The Winjeel (Aboriginal for "young eagle") was developed by the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation at Fishermans Bend in Victoria to satisy RAAF technical requirement No.AC.77 issued in 1948. Designed to replace both the Tiger Moth and the CAC Wirraway, the first two prototype CA-22 aircraft were flown in February 1951. However, it proved a very stable aircraft making it almost impossible to spin, and with this being a required part of pilot training the tail had to be redesigned as a result. Sixty two production CA-25 aircraft were subsequently built and given the fleet serials A85-401 to A85-462. The first aircraft flew in February 1955, and deliveries began that September. The first Winjeel entered service with No. 1 Basic Flight Training School (1 BFTS) at Uranquinty, near Wagga Wagga, New South Wales. The last aircraft was delivered in August 1957. For most of its service life, the Winjeel was used as a basic trainer at RAAF Base Point Cook in Victoria, after 1 BFTS was transferred there in 1958. The Winjeel remained in service with the RAAF as a basic trainer until 1968, when the Macchi MB-326 replaced it in this role as part of the RAAF's adoption of an "all through" jet training concept. The failure of this concept ultimately ensured that the Winjeel was retained in the training role until 1975, when it was replaced by the New Zealand-built PAC CT/4A Airtrainer. After this, a few Winjeels were used in the Forward Air Control (FAC) role. Initially operated by No. 4 Flight, they were equipped with smoke bombs for target marking. By 1994 there were 14 in service with No. 76 Squadron based at RAAF Base Williamtown, but later that year they were replaced by the Pilatus PC-9 and subsequently retired. Examples of the aircraft remain in flying condition in private ownership as well as museum displays around Australia. – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAC_Winjeel
The CAC Wirraway was a training and general purpose military aircraft manufactured in Australia by the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) during 1939 – 1946 and based on the design of the North American Aviation NA-16 trainer. Over 750 were built and the name is derived from an aboriginal word for ‘Challenge’. During World War II it was operated by the RAAF as an advanced training aircraft but also saw front line service in New Guinea as a fighter-bomber during 1942-43. The Wirraway was powered by a single 600 hp Pratt & Whitney R1340 was radial engine which drove a three bladed variable pitch propeller. Fuel was stored within two 45 gallon tanks. The two-man crew sat within a tandem cockpit, complete with a fully enclosed sliding canopy and both positions were fitted with flying controls. In addition, the rear cockpit featured a rotatable folding seat for the gunner/bomb-aimer, as well as a prone bombing position in the floor of the aircraft. The Wirraway could carry a single 500 lb bomb or two 250 lb bombs under the wings. Lighter weight bombs or flares could also be carried on the underneath centre-line section of the aircraft. Additionally the Wirraway was armed with two forward-firing Vickers Mk V machine guns and a single swivel-mounted machine gun positioned at the rear of the cockpit. The fuselage was comprised of a welded chrome and steel framework which was constructed from four separately produced sections bolted together during final assembly. The sides of the fuselage featured fabric covering supported by aluminium alloy frames, while the underside and decking had metal coverings instead. The single spar wings, which were built in five individual sections, were composed of spaced ribs and a stressed skin. The control surfaces were metal-framed with fabric covering. An all-metal stressed skin construction was used for the tailplane and fin. Seven Wirraways were acquired by the RAN as training and general fleet support aircraft during 1948 – 1951 and then an additional ten in 1952-53 which were operated by 723 and 724 Squadrons at the Naval Air Station at Nowra until they were disposed of in 1957. Only one Wirraway was lost during naval service, on 18 June 1953, in a crash at Nowra and the remaining 16 were sold to Lund Aviation Inc. of New York. The De Havilland Vampire subsequently became the new advanced trainer for RAN aircrew. A20-695 is now owned by Warplanes P/L Jindalee QLD. – https://www.navy.gov.au/aircraft/cac-ca-16-wirraway – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAC_Wirraway
The CAC Boomerang was a World War II fighter aircraft designed and manufactured in Australia between 1942 and 1945. The Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation produced Boomerangs under the production contract numbers CA-12, CA-13, CA-14 and CA-19, with aircraft supplied under each subsequent contract incorporating modifications and improvements. The Boomerang is significant as the first combat aircraft designed and built in Australia. The Pacific War began on 7 December 1941 with surprise attacks by the Empire of Japan on Pearl Harbour, Thailand, Malaya and the Philippines. Within a few months, Japanese forces had conquered vast areas of the Pacific and South East Asia. During these campaigns, the ill-prepared Allied air forces in the Pacific suffered devastating losses. Because of political and cultural ties between the United Kingdom and Australia, British manufacturers were the main source of RAAF aircraft. However, the British aircraft industry had long been hard-pressed to meet the needs of the RAF. Although United States companies had enormous aircraft manufacturing capacity, their output was destined for US air units. When new aircraft built overseas did become available, they would be shipped long distances in wartime conditions, with consequent delays and losses. While United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) fighters – such as the Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk and Bell P-39 Airacobra – damaged during service in Australia could be rebuilt by Australian workshops and loaned to RAAF units, they were not available in sufficient numbers either. CAC examined the possibility of designing and building fighters. The main challenge was the fact that fighter aircraft had never been built in Australia. Only two military aircraft were in production at the time: the Bristol Beaufort twin-engined bomber and the CAC Wirraway, a single-engine armed trainer/ground attack aircraft, based on the North American NA-16. While the Beaufort was not a suitable basis for a single-engine fighter, its 1,200 horsepower (890 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp engines were made under license at the CAC plant in Lidcombe, Sydney and also powered the Grumman F4F Wildcat fighters used by the United States Navy. Consequently, the Twin Wasp was a logical choice for a stop-gap fighter design. The NA-16 had already become the basis of the North American NA-50 fighter which had been used by the Peruvian Air Force in the 1941 Ecuadorian–Peruvian War. The Wirraway likewise provided a starting point for the Boomerang's design. Like the latest fighters at the time, planning for the Boomerang included automatic cannons. As no such weapons were manufactured locally, a British-made Hispano-Suiza 20 mm which an Australian airman had collected as a souvenir in the Middle East was reverse engineered. – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAC_Boomerang
