Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation

Wirraway aircraft under construction at a CAC factory in 1940
Industry	Aircraft manufacturing
Fate	Acquired by Hawker de Havilland
Founded	17 October 1936; 88 years ago (1936-10-17) in Melbourne, Australia
Defunct	1985
Headquarters	Port Melbourne , Australia
Key people	Fred David Lawrence Wackett

The Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) was an important Australian company. It built aircraft and engines. CAC started in 1936. Its main goal was to help Australia make its own military planes. This was important because a war seemed likely.

History of CAC

In 1935, a smart business leader named Essington Lewis visited Europe. He thought a big war was coming. When he returned to Australia, he worried. Australia didn't have many factories to build planes. He feared Australia might not get planes from other countries during a war.

So, he worked hard to convince the Australian Government. He wanted them to start a modern aircraft industry. The government agreed quickly. They encouraged Australian companies to work together.

In August 1935, talks began. The result was the creation of CAC the next year. Big companies like Broken Hill Proprietary (BHP) and General Motors-Holden were involved. CAC officially started in Melbourne on October 17, 1936. By September 1937, a factory was ready in Port Melbourne.

The CAC Boomerang was a fighter plane built during World War II.

Soon after CAC began, they bought another company called Tugan Aircraft. This brought Lawrence Wackett to CAC. He became the General Manager. He was key to CAC's first plane, the Wirraway.

In 1935, Wackett had traveled to Europe and the United States. He looked at many modern planes. He wanted to find one that Australia could build. He chose the North American NA-16. CAC changed it a bit, and it became the Wirraway.

CAC also built the engines for the Wirraway. They even made some propellers when needed. This meant CAC was one of the few companies in the world that made a plane, its engine, and its propellers all by itself!

While CAC often built Australian versions of planes from other countries, they also designed their own. This happened during and after World War II. One of their first own designs was the Wackett. It was a simple trainer plane.

Later, during World War II, they designed more advanced planes. These included the Woomera and the CA-15. But these planes only flew as test models. In the 1950s, CAC designed a version of the F-86 Sabre. This Sabre had a different engine and weapons. CAC built the Sabre until 1961. At the same time, they also made their own Winjeel trainer plane.

The prototype CAC CA-15 "Kangaroo" was a powerful fighter design.

In 1964, CAC started making parts for the Dassault Mirage III. This plane was replacing the Sabre. In 1967, CAC began building a version of the Aermacchi MB-326 trainer. This plane was made specially for Australian conditions.

In 1971, CAC started building helicopters too! They made a version of the Bell Kiowa for the Australian military. The last one was delivered in 1977. CAC became part of Hawker de Havilland in 1985. It was later bought by Boeing Australia in 2000.

Aircraft Built by CAC

CAC built many different aircraft for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and for civilian use. Here are some of the main types:

• CAC Wirraway: A trainer and general-purpose aircraft.
• CAC Wackett Trainer: Another trainer plane.
• CAC Boomerang: A fighter plane.
• CAC CA-11 Woomera: A prototype (test model) for a medium bomber.
• CAC Mustang: A fighter plane, based on the American P-51 Mustang.
• CAC CA-15 "Kangaroo": A prototype fighter.
• CAC CA-28 Ceres: A plane used for spraying crops.
• CAC Winjeel: A trainer plane.
• CAC Avon-Sabre: A fighter plane.
• CAC Macchi MB-326H: A trainer plane.
• CAC Kiowa: A light observation helicopter.

The Kiowa was the last type of aircraft CAC built. CAC also helped design the A10 Wamira plane, but that project was stopped. When Hawker de Havilland bought CAC, CAC was making parts for the F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet.

Engines Built by CAC

CAC built the engines for the Mirage III fighter jets used by the RAAF.

Besides planes, CAC also built aircraft engines. They built these engines under special agreements with other companies. They even designed their own engine called the R795 Cicada. This engine was meant for the Winjeel trainer. However, the Cicada engine was heavier and used more fuel than other options. So, only two test Cicada engines were ever built.

Here are some of the engine types CAC produced:

• Pratt & Whitney R-1340: Used in the Wirraway.
• Pratt & Whitney R-1830: Used in the Boomerang, Woomera, and DAP Beaufort.
• Rolls-Royce Merlin: Used in the GAF Lincoln.
• Rolls-Royce Nene: Used in the de Havilland Vampire.
• Rolls-Royce Avon: Used in the Sabre and GAF Canberra.
• Snecma Atar: Used in the Mirage.
• Bristol Siddeley Viper: Used in the Macchi.
• General Electric F404: Used in the F/A-18 Hornet.

Bus Body Building

To earn more money and keep their skilled workers busy, CAC also built bus bodies. They used Bedford Chassis and called their buses "Comair." From the 1940s to the early 1970s, CAC made many buses. Later, they built bus bodies for Volvo and MAN buses.