Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation
The Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (short: CAC ) was an Australian aircraft manufacturer. The company was founded in 1936 to make Australia independent of British military aircraft. The aircraft manufacturer, which mainly produced licenses and replicas, shrank sharply after the Second World War and was finally bought up in the 1980s.
history
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In 1935 Essington Lewis, chief executive of Broken Hill Proprietary , undertook a trip to Europe during which he became aware of the threat of war. On his return to Australia, he expressed concern that the country could be cut off from the previous main supplier of aircraft (this was the UK ). He began a lobbying campaign , won the approval of the Australian government, and began negotiations with other Australian corporations in August 1935. In addition to BHP, the car manufacturer Holden (shortly before bought by General Motors ), the steel works Broken Hill Associated Smelter Pty. Ltd. , the chemical giant Imperial Chemical Industries co-founded by Alfred Nobel , the shipping company Orient Steam and the mining company Electrolytic Zinc Company of Australasia Ltd. into the newly founded group. The company was registered in Melbourne on October 17, 1936 , and the first plant was completed in September 1937.
Shortly after it was founded, the aircraft manufacturer Tugan Aircraft was bought up. Its chief developer, Lawrence Wacket, by then already known for his skills and freshly returned from a trip to the US and Europe to study European aircraft types, was quickly appointed managing director of the CAC. He decided to produce a modification of the US NA-16 training aircraft with a replica of the Pratt & Whitney R-1340 engine, which became known as the CAC Wirraway. This made CAC one of the first aircraft manufacturers alongside de Havilland to completely manufacture the aircraft, including the engine and propeller.
During the war, CAC limited itself very much to producing Australian versions of already established aircraft models. Although airplanes such as the Woomera and Kangaroo were also developed, war production took precedence, and replicas and licensed versions were preferred, preferably by North American Aviation. In some cases, only the final production of parts pre-produced in the USA was carried out.
After the end of the war, CAC limited itself to small series such as the self-developed Winjeel and heavily modified license replicas for Australian use, such as the Saber and the MB-326. For the Saber successor in the RAAF, the Mirage Fighter, CAC was only asked as a supplier. With the CAC Ceres, one of the aircraft originally intended for military training was even converted for agricultural aviation. This was the only type of aircraft from CAC that was intended for civil use.
In 1981 the project for the Wamira training aircraft, manufactured entirely in Australia, began. The project, on which CAC worked with several other Australian companies, ended in 1985 after several setbacks. Shortly before that, the project partner bought Hawker de Havilland CAC and ran the company from 1986 under the name Hawker de Havilland Victoria Ltd. further. Boeing Australia bought this company in 2000.
Products
- CAC Wirraway (training aircraft and, in exceptional situations, fighter aircraft, between 1937 and 1946 a total of 755 were built)
- CAC Wackett (training aircraft, between 1939 and 1942 a total of 202 were built)
- CAC Woomera (bombers, 2 prototypes were built in 1942, concept was considered obsolete when it was planned to be introduced, production stopped)
- CAC Boomerang (fighter aircraft, a total of 250 were built between 1942 and 1945)
- CAC Mustang ( fighter aircraft licensed by North American Aviation , 200 built between 1945 and 1953)
- CAC Kangaroo (fighter and escort aircraft, a prototype was built in 1942, production stopped due to takeover of other aircraft models)
- CAC Winjeel (training aircraft, after 1955 a total of 64 were built)
- CAC Saber (fighter aircraft licensed by North American Aviation, 112 built between 1953 and 1961)
- CAC Ceres (agricultural aircraft, a total of 21 were built between 1958 and 1963)
- Supply order in the year 101 aircraft part sets (wings, rudder, tail units) and 140 machines for the Mirage IIIE
- CAC-MB-326 ( training aircraft licensed by Aermacchi , 85 machines were built from 1967 to 1972)
- CAC Kiowa (Bell OH-58) ( Bell Helicopter licensed helicopter, 56 machines were built in the late 1970s)
- Supply order for 73 aircraft part sets (wings, rudder, tail units) and 158 machines for the F / A-18 Hornets
Not mentioned in this list are various orders to modify or upgrade some machines.
literature
- Joe Vella: From Fisherman's Bend - The Aircraft of the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation . In: AIR Enthusiast, No. 61, January / February 1996, pp. 25-35
