CAC-19 Boomerang WW2 Fighter
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 ก.พ. 2012
- 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 which is significant as the first combat aircraft designed and built in Australia.
This clip shows the aircraft that displayed at the Classic Fighters 2001 airshow in New Zealand.
For more Boomerang info see: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAC_Boom...
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The chief designer for the Boomerang program was an Austrian refugee named Fred David who had worked for both the German manufacturer Heinkel and the Japanese manufacturers Mitsubishi and Aichi before the war.
Fred David was Jewish and Willy Messerschmitt got him out of Germany by organizing a job for him in Japan with Mitsubishi, where he worked on the Zero fighter design.
When war in Europe looked imminent he left Japan for Australia and was interned as an enemy alien when war broke out with Germany.
His value to Australia was recognised and he went to work for the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation.
Under the direction of Larence Wackett, they were a pretty good team. I believe they finished the design in 14 days! Piggy backing on available aircraft components was needed too because we couldn't get supply of UK or US fighters in big enough numbers.
They produced a solid ground attack fighter out of it, although they struggled against most Japanese aircraft
Interesting story! That dude certainly had a number of close calls.
what a beautiful aircraft, and the fact it's so rare makes it more appreciated.
great video work
This was the first Airfix model kit I ever built as a ten year old boy. Brings back fond memories.
retep eyahaled: Yep, I built that one too. Probably because I had set the Spitfire, Hurricane and Messerschmitt on fire already in my hand made dog fight over my Portsmouth back garden.
This footage was initially shot and then put together in this form in 2001. At the time it was the only Boomerang flying - Matt Denning hadn't yet completed his one.
Adorable little thing that packed a helluva punch.
The Japanese slaughtered these things in every fight.
@@richardm3023 I didn't know that. I just appreciated it's heavy weaponry.
Good as Brewster Buffalo I guess . . . . . POS
@@richardm3023 So, how many were shot down in air to air?
@@richardm3023 do you have sources for that? Everything I can find says they defintley struggled as a fighter but not too much re operational losses.
That engine noise as it makes a pass reminds me of a Stuka siren.
That whistle reminded the Japanese where to shoot at. The plane provided its own smoke screen." It's the Austrailian boomerrang , Gov'nor, !". " Gad, it looks like a toy plane, mate, tell me, does it fly?."
Always loved the looks of that aircraft. From its design combined with the SE camo made a great combo.
Agreed!
how can you not like this-it is the only operational boomerang in the world and the massive effort to restore this aircraft by its owner is a legend
There are now two.
These are so cool. I love this plane. It does a lot of screaming and moves out very well. With a fat paddle blade prop, this thing could really move. Outstanding. Hopefully some one will refurbish another for flight. Great video.
Cute little airplane.
I thought the Vought Corsair whisteling sound was loud,the Boomerang it seems is the loudest.
Wombat !
Stukas are loud enough that we can still hear them in sound effects.
I hear stuka's when I see the name.
Love the little Boomerangs!! There is one based Where I live In Adelaide South Australia!
True, which is why I was a little surprised at the comment he made at 2:53...
I see the Adelaide based one come into Parafield occasionally
I was thinking the same thing because I saw a different boomerang a the 2012 Jamestown air spectacular and I believe it is based in Adelaide.
Just saw that this was filmed in 2001 and at the time it was the only airworthy boomerang.
I play golf next to Parafield and often see the little battler doing circuits. Beautiful thing to see coming in to land about fifty feet above you.
I'm not sure about how good this planes aerodynamic is, It is a rather old design for it's time. That little cute stubby plane reminds me about the Brewster Buffallo. But everything with a P&W or Wright engine is allways a joy to hear.
+Brian steff magnussen when they came out (1942) it was the fastest aircraft in the world to 10,000 ft. However the lack of a 2 stage supercharger meant that it was no good about 10,000. On the other hand the CA-14A which had a turbocharger produced results that gave it good performance (mid 350mph) at higher altitudes. They were extremely maneuverable. and could, in the words of a USAAF pilot who witnessed them "could turn on a dime" and impossible to out turn in his P-39 (the book is called "Nannette" by Edwards Park)
Argus Tuft Thanks. I see it is a short stubby plane with large rudder surface, So i can imagine that they where agile, like dancing on a sharp point. Much like the triplanes in WW 1 that could allmost turn around like a dog hunting it's tail.
+Brian steff magnussen quite true, however totally unsuitable for what they were originally built for. I remember one pilot recounting flying at 29,000 ft in this aircraft - "took me 1/2 and hour to get there, and I wallowed around not doing much before I decided to get down low where life was more enjoyable". As I stated, the Boomerang lacked adequate super or turbocharging, but it did "morph" into the CA-15, which came about due to attempts to fit a larger engine into the CA-13 resulting in an entirely new airframe.
+Argus Tuft - Great ground attack aircraft though and extremely manoeuvrable at low-medium altitudes with a very good rate of climb. With a single stage supercharger it was limited as was the P-40 above 15,000'.
+Argus Tuft - Yes a great 'army cooperation' aircraft- what we would not call FAC or ground attack. 4 and 5 SQN basically pioneered modern FAC techniques - 5 SQN working extremely well with RNZAF Corsairs. Boomers were a great strafing aircraft and constantly attacking anything Japanese they found.
Interestingly in official air tests the Boomerang out-flew both Kittyhawks and the P-39 at most altitudes, (see Stewart Wilson's excellent book on the Boomer) having a greater rate of climb and much better manoeuvrability but the aerodynamics were basically 1930's BC-1 trainer (very draggy with a fairly thick wing section particularly the centre section) with the exception of the outer wings which were unique to the Boomerang.
The turbo-supercharged one off CA-14A may have gone into production but General Electric would not sell or licence the superchargers to us (Allies eh?) and so CAC had to make do with a B2 unit from a B-24 and an intercooler from a B-17 which were not ideal.
Still at the beginning of 1942 the CA-14A was topping out at 350 mph at 15,000'- about the same as a Spitfire MK V. Not bad for a country that did not even have an aircraft industry before WWII began.
In any case it arrived too late and better aircraft were available, so it was was relegated to weather observations, flying regularly 'above 40,000 ft'.
Agile, stubby & rugged. One of my favorite Ships! Too right, cobbah!
That disctinctive sounds must have scared the schweppes out of the Japanese troops
Absolutely amazing video....absolutely unknown aspect of the air war campaign waged from Australia. Thank you.
Not to ww2 history buffs. War of the Pacific is the most interesting time for aircraft development (imho) in the world history. The cac boomerang was not just a panic fighter as he stated , but a well thought out aircraft with some amazing stats. If they would have put a boost system on it at any time it could have easily out turned a zero . Along with the cannon armaments , it could have held its own long into the war.
The Commonwealth Aircraft Company just did not have the production capacity to pump out aircraft like Gruman, or Curtis.
@Ms Hypocrisy I totally agree 👍
Flown by a great pilot.
Love this pudgy pugnacious flying Digger ! The true symbol of The Aussie Spirit.
So THAT'S what you get when you stick an oversized engine in an undersized plane. A little ripper with plenty of punch LOL Love it :)
awesome sound!
+ 1
+wassupMannn yeah, it sounds a little like a turboprop
I had an Airfix model of this over 50 years ago. I’ve never seen one since!
Yeah it is, it's up there with my favorite radial fighters, probably only short of the Corsair.
Watched this again and still just love it. Next to the P-39, my favorite, this beauty comes in at #3. Very cool aircraft.
Many thanks!
@@historicalmachines You are welcome.
Never heard or saw one fly before. Sounds wicked!
All original restored aircraft.
This would make a great RC scale flying model with the Saito 90cc radial engine. I would fly it proudly.
The amazing fact that is most often overlooked is that this aircraft is literally a second cousin to a design created by the North American Aviation Company. The Wirraway was an Australian adaptation of a NAA trainer. NAA actually created a fighter (the P-64) that paralleled the Boomerang as it was based on the engineering used for their trainer aircraft. The Boomerang actually proved somewhat more successful though. She was related to the P-51 Mustang!
Never heard of this plane before, looks good, sounds awesome. Goes like hell. Thanks for this post
No problem!
Beautiful sound
soo much to learn about ww2. I only just learned Australia designed and built this aircraft... give it very few as stated but Incredible considering australia only had a population of 7-8 million and spreaded all over their continent
There was a prototype built using the supercharger from a P-38 Lighting, it was rated as superior in many respects, but the US manufacturer refused to supply the superchargers. Around that time though, the Japanese threat had been largely defused and supplies of other fighters negated the need for a rapidly developed domestic fighter.
Boomerangs were good little birds. Built simple, yet rugged and reliable. They might have had a weakness at high altitude due to the engine, but even the most experienced Japanese pilots had the good sense not to tangle asses with them below 10,000 ft. A well determined Australian pilot could easily out turn a Zero or Oscar at lower altitudes with the Boomerang.
250 produced. RAAF aircraft of World War Two
www.diggerhistory.info/pages-air-support/ww2-allied/aircraft-raaf.htm
Then why did the Zeroes hack them out of the skies by the score over New Britain and New Guinea?
@@richardm3023 They didn't. Boomerangs scored no Air to Air kills and Japanese army fighters shot down two Boomerangs over New Guinea, however, on September 6 and November 26, 1943. That is the sum total of its types kill loss ratio. 0 for 2. It was MUCH more effective in ground attack and carried out many such missions. The original poster is simply making things up out of thin air based on what he thinks would have happened and deciding its safe to say it did without anyone fact checking or challenging him.
@Thomas Macnutz LOL, when I think of Brewster Buffalos, it reminds me of Maj. Parks' boys that got shot up defending Midway. Those were damn good pilots, and deserved better equipment than what they were flying. A few hand me down P-40s would've been better than Buffalos. Speaking of the Australians, the Owen submachine gun was another homegrown dandy that was a hit with the troops that used it. More or less a Sten, but made to a much higher standard of workmanship, and better ergonomics.
@Thomas Macnutz Relax, not everyone checks YT every hour lol. The Finns did really well with the Buffalo against what the Soviets sent to a less important front.
Beautiful little plane -- nice and stout.
The Boomerang had design features and shared components with the NA16. During the war it was mainly used to see off Japanese bombers attacking Australian towns and cities. The first version was too slow VMAX 260kts to pose much of a threat as an air to air interceptor, but it was successful as a deterrent against Japanese bombers operating over Australia near maximum range.
It was subsequently widely used as a close air support ground attract aircraft mainly in Papua New Guinea, the where it's twin 20mm and four .303 machine guns provided considerable fire power.
A higher powered and much faster version was under development but as the tide of war changed and as the CAC factory switched to making Mustangs under licence, the Boomerang program was cancelled after about 250 had been built.
Pero que lindo sonido!! Que buen motor!
There's me thinking the rings are shot.....
iirc they co operated with Corsairs, using their maneuvreability to place marker rockets on things they could see at their slow speed, that the fast Corsairs couldn't spot in the jungle- New Guinea i think. And the conversion from the trainer was done by an ex-Heinkel engineer, a Jew who'd had leave Germany of course...
Ahh man sounds really cool !!!!!
What a little stunner! My Great Uncle was an RAAF Beaufighter Pilot in the Pacific so these engines were completely familiar to him ... love these planes, shame there aren't more flying today!
There are two with a third under restoration.
"Named the Boomerang, the new fighter was designed as an interceptor with a high rate of climb and good manoeuvrability. To obtain the best performance, the aircraft was fitted with the most powerful engine in Australia - the 1,200 hp Twin Wasp which was in production for the Australian-built Beaufort bomber."
RAAF Museum Point Cook
What a great video, cheers
Many thanks!
Not a plane I had been familiar with before. Started watching, thought there was something wrong with the aspect ratio on the video. Looked up some other images of Boomerangs, and nope, that's just how this thing looks.
I just love it.
There was a turbocharged version in the pipeline to greatly improve speed and altitude but it was discontinued being no longer needed. Combined with the originals manouverability and climb rate it would have been a real contender.
They tested it against the Kittyhawk, Mustang and Spitfire and it excelled in almost every aspect against all 3.
Lovely little plane that.
A drink? Oh yes I like whatever that plane is guzzling ;)
Salute!
What a sound .
Australia's own Stuka!
In fact the CAC - 19 had a flight sealing of 41,000 feet, it was only the early versions that couldn't fly high.
Looks like a P-40 and a F4F Wildcat had a baby. That whistling sound is very cool but I am betting it was terrifying to the Japanese troops.
Alexander,
Thankyou , fascinating story. Interesting aircraft. High altitude performance seems to be the province of the liquid cooled engines. Similar problem
beset the early Allison Mustang, as I am sure you know.
Glad you enjoyed it
Cool!
Another great vid, love the whistle to. {;0)
enough with the smoke....
I wonder why it smoked? I never saw a DC3 smoke like that. Lower octane fuel?
From what I've read the Boomerang never met the Zero in combat. On paper the Boomerang had a more powerful engine than the Zero yet it was too low rated for combat performance. Now that there is at least one original Zero in flying order it would be something special to see a mock dog fight between the two.
The engine in the zero and the boomerang are very similar, at least the early a6m anyway. The sakae can rev higher and use lower octane fuel though.
Would be good to see a mock dogfight, especially being at low altitude where they both excel.
It looks quite a bit like the Brewster Buffalo ...Of which Australia had received several and with whom the Dutch were employing against the Zero with some good results early on in the war .
The "Smokey Joe " was a quick turning plane with a stable gun platform it was meant as a stop gap against the Zero and ATG missions ...as a possible sea/ ground invasion of Melbourne loomed early in the war.
Like the Owen submachine gun it was invented by the locals and was a homegrown example of Ingenuity in a time of hardship
It looks like the Brewster Buffalo, flown by the Netherlands East Indies AF and RAF Asia. The Buffalo was a disaster too in the Asian theatre....
And I believe it was armed heavily with machine guns and cannons!
BLOODY GOOD Mites !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cute design: perfect sport plane for today.
Ele é lindo,só fumaça mais que meu fusca kk
j'aime bien cet avion
Wasn't quite up to the level of the top end fighters from the major powers, but the Boomerangs were tough little birds and they held their own. Not bad for such a small population as Australia had at the time.
I want one!
I don't think the Boomerang ever scored an air to air kill. This is more a reflection of circumstances than anything else. It was slow how ever. It was a credible accomplishment to build this plane so quickly with such limited resources and support. Australia did not exactly have an established aviation industry at the time. I believe that some prototypes either got a turbo or a supercharger which really helped performance, but by then the emergency had passed and off the shelf aircraft from Britain and the US were much cheaper.
M'n favoriete airfix boomerang in 't echt super
The Wirraway was based on the North American AT-6 trainer. The Lineage to the Boomerang is clear.
No, you are wrong, it's based on the North Amewrican NA-16.
Wrong way round. North American designed the Wirraway prototype NA-16 three years before the NA-26 Texan T-6 in 1937.
Looks like it's taken some characteristics off the P-47. It's overall shape reminds me of the 47 Razorback.
The true whistling death.
Sorry to be so late to the party. I was wondering if this aircraft is still flying? I ask because I did the original paint work on the plane. It was built at Sanders Aviation, at Chino, CA. I was working for a company called Aircraft Fabric Co, and I was asked to paint the Boomerang. It was one of my crowning achievements as a painter. The scheme was changed a bit from how it looked when I did it, but a lot of my work is still there. I'm still very proud of it. Thanks for showing it!
Not 100% sure, but I'm sure I saw something a couple of years ago which suggested this particular Boomerang was now static only. Not sure why that was the case.
@@historicalmachines Thanks for the reply. That would be a shame of this aircraft was relegated to static only status.
I don't know about this particular aircraft, but there are several being rebuilt in Australia now :)
The beufighter (known as whispering death) also had a whistle alla its own 😉..and that from twin egines..boomerang is awesome though and lotsa power on that tripple bladed prop blowing back over that radial makes for one hella sound 👍
The Beaufighter and the Boomerang had a connection, they were both built at the Commonwealth Aircraft factory in Melbourne.
That same factory is now owned by Boeing and makes parts for 787, 777 and 737 aircraft.
The noise apparently is made by wind/air passing over the aircraft's gun ports I read.
Could it still br made using modern manufacturing methods
Wrong! It was only 6 weeks from conception to build stage. Not 16 weeks. Not many engine choices were available at the time.
this plane still fly?
Dauntless don't know why I came out with that one thinking of too many things at the same time I ment the Vought corsair
The Japanese seemed to have called just about every Allied aircraft Whispering Death. This is one bird who did not whisper.
Big Blue as far as I know, the Japanese called the Bristol Beaufighter “Whispering death” and the Vought Corsair was named “Whistling death”.
I mean that in a GoodWay!
So what guns did they carry and how did they compare to the zero at lower altitudes?
Great airplane!
Please copy all parts of it.
Just in case. . . . .
Telling the performance of the machine and putting into context would be greatly appreciated
John Asbury google. Its a thing.
Seems very aerobatic. Pity they couldn't shoehorn the bigger engine in there.
Apparently they tried to fit the 1,850 hp (1,380 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-2800, but the heavier engine led to an unacceptable risk of undercarriage failure.
Christ imagine if they put a Bristol Hercules or Centaurus in the Boomie ...
sometimes they put artificial stuff in the fuel that doesnt hurt it but produces vapor
P-36+ Mods AussieStyle! Slugger!
It sounds like a jet as it passes by. If they hadn't said that it was powered by a DC-3 engine, and didn't show it starting up, I'd have thought it was a turboprop or something
sounds like the boomerang was really the whistler. noisy as a stuka.
The Stuka itself wasn't noisy, it was the Jerico siren attached to the landing gear that made the sound.
This should compare well to the Soviet Rata fighter
nice plane,
It sure is!
How old is this footage?? This was the first to fly, but there are a couple more flying. One recently but Mathew Denning's aircraft has been flying for many years.
does this aircraft share parts with the whirraway???
Yes.
@@historicalmachines A lot of the airframe components are the same, as well as the undercarriage and the tailplane is nearly identical.
Its wings are the outer wing sections of the Wirraway.
You need to look at the following then: Battle of Milne Bay, the Kokoda Track (heck, New Guinea generally), the bombings of Darwin, and the attacks on Sydney and Newcastle (there is a memorial near where I live for Lt Cantello, US P39 crash investigating the Sydney attack.) Did you notice that the red centre from the roundel on the Boomerang was deleted (as for all UK/Aus/NZ planes), and the bottom of the plane and its tail were white- both to aid identification as a friendly.
And the leading edges of the wings as well.
Very impressive - I should not like to be on the ground with that coming at me.
Happened to me once with an American F1-11 bloody frightening I can tell you
It looks like a Polikarpov I-16!
The CC is pretty funny. Was it done by the same people who write assembly instructions for cheap furniture?
I swear to God if there's any ok boomer jokes
ha Ha Ha!
Is the lovechild between a Brewster Buffalo, and a Polikarpov I-16
Ewww......
Two questions about this plane ,What guns did it have and top speed.
It had two 20mm cannons and four 7.7mm machineguns. Top speed was 305 mph. It could carry a bomb, or a smoke bomb. It found its niche in infantry support and target marking for artillery.
The story of its development is interesting.
military.wikia.org/wiki/CAC_Boomerang
Two 20mm cannon, four Browning 303 mgs
knocked together in 16 weeks and provided just about adequate cover when there was none and none to be had . I calls that pretty good going Dont ever underesimate them Diggers
I wonder how one of those would do out at the Reno Air Races.
It corners like a sheepdog, but accelerates like a basset hound.
Looks like a hawker hurricane with the corsair dauntless nose .
Looked like it had RATO with all that smoke.lol