Overview

The CAC Boomerang has a unique place in Australian aviation history, being the nation’s only home designed and produced fighter. The design was born in dark days at the start of the Pacific War when the RAAF possessed not a single modern fighter and the southwards onslaught of Japanese forces seemed unstoppable. The single seat Boomerang owed its origins to the Wirraway two seat general purpose aircraft produced by the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation in Melbourne. Because of existing Wirraway production, a Boomerang prototype flew less than six months after the design was conceived – a remarkable achievement. Lacking the performance of contemporaries such as America’s P-39 and P-40 and Japan’s Zero, the Boomerang’s subsequent history is chequered. It served with three RAAF home defence squadrons in the fighter interceptor role but had only fleeting, unsuccessful, contact with enemy aircraft. However, the Boomerang found its true niche as an army cooperation aircraft, and the type gave very useful service with Nos. 4 and 5 Squadrons in New Guinea and Bougainville. With hindsight the Boomerang provided an insurance policy if other fighters could not be obtained from the US and Britain. In that role it was successful, and its production maintained a skilled wartime workforce at the CAC factory. This is the first stand-alone history of the Boomerang. The author Don Williams examines this unique aircraft and its origins, service and the men that flew it.

Full Product Details

Author:   Don Williams
Publisher:   Avonmore Books
Imprint:   Avonmore Books
ISBN:  

9780975642320

ISBN 10:   0975642324
Pages:   104
Publication Date:   01 August 2024
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Abbreviations & Glossary About the Author Acknowledgements Introduction Maps Chapter 1 – Strategic Leadership of Australia’s Air War in WWII Chapter 2 – Why Australia Needed an Emergency Fighter in WWII Chapter 3 – A Battle Won: Approval to Produce an Australian Interceptor Fighter Chapter 4 – Tests and Further Orders Chapter 5 – The Production Battle: Early Victories and Later Losses Chapter 6 – The CAC Boomerang Described Chapter 7 – The Boomerang Goes to War: RAAF Service Chapter 8 – No. 4 Squadron Chapter 9 – No. 5 Squadron and Other Units Chapter 10 – Prominent Boomerang Pilots Chapter 11 – Assessing the Boomerang Appendix: Summary of Boomerang Air Combat Engagements Sources Index of Names

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Author Information

In recent years Don Williams has stuided the role of Royal Australian Air Force in the Pacific War. He was surprised to find that no book telling the complete story of Australia’s own wartime emergency fighter, the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation Boomerang, had been published. Don decided to fill this gap by writing a book dedicated to the Boomerang. He is also a keen amateur photographer and is pleased that some of his photographs are included in the book. Sound research and writing were foundations of Don’s career as a policy analyst and these skills were further honed when he completed a mature age PhD.

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