NICO BRAAS MEMORIAL COLLECTION
No. 9515. Commonwealth CA-14A Boomerang (A46-1001) Royal Australian Air Force
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Commonwealth CA-14A Boomerang

12/31/2009. Flown only 16 weeks and three days after the commencement of detail design, the Boomerang was developed by the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) as an emergency fighter. It employed what was essentially a Wirraway (license-built North American NA-33) trainer airframe mated to a 1,200 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1830-S3C4-G Twin Wasp radial and an armament of four 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Browning guns and two 0.787 in (20 mm) Hispano cannon.

There was no prototype and the Boomerang was built in three batches each having minor differences. The initial order was for 105 CA-12 aircraft (c/n 824 to 928, s/n A46-1 to A46-105), and the first example flew on May 29, 1942.

A follow-on contract for 95 CA-13 aircraft (c/n 929 to 1023, s/n A46-106 to A46-200) called for the introduction of minor modifications resulting from initial operational experience. The final production contract covered 49 CA-19 aircraft (c/n 1024 to 1072, s/n A46-201 to A46-249), the last 39 of which were each fitted with a vertical camera for tactical reconnaissance.

Created December 31, 2009