Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the Australian company. For the American company, see Commonwealth Aircraft.

Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation
Headquarters
Port Melbourne
,
Australia
Key people

The Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) was an Australian aircraft manufacturer. The CAC was established in 1936, to provide Australia with the capability to produce military aircraft and engines.

History

In 1935 the Chief General Manager of

Government of Australia to establish a modern aircraft industry. The government required little persuasion and encouraged negotiations between a number of Australian companies. The outcome of these negotiations, begun in August 1935, was the formation of CAC the following year. Initially the companies involved were BHP, General Motors-Holden and Broken Hill Associated Smelter. These were joined by Imperial Chemical Industries, the Orient Steam Navigation Company and the Electrolytic Zinc Company. at the time of CAC's formation (the company was incorporated in Melbourne on 17 October 1936). By September 1937 a factory had been completed at Port Melbourne
.

CAC Boomerang

Shortly after the establishment of CAC,

Pratt & Whitney R-1340 engine used in the Wirraway and also built some propellers when supplies from alternative sources became problematic. With its first aircraft type the company thus became one of very few in the world that have produced an aircraft fitted with engines and propellers made by the same company (see also de Havilland
).

While CAC largely produced Australian versions of foreign aircraft, it also developed a number of original designs during and after

F-86 Sabre with a revised engine and armament. The Sabre was developed and produced concurrently with the indigenous Winjeel
trainer, with Sabre manufacture coming to an end in 1961.

In 1964 after a large amount of political lobbying CAC began producing components for the Sabre's replacement, a version of the

Hawker de Havilland in 1985 and was renamed Hawker de Havilland Victoria Limited in 1986. This company was purchased by Boeing Australia
in 2000.

The prototype CAC CA-15 "Kangaroo"

CAC produced an extremely wide range of aircraft for the Royal Australian Air Force and civilian operators. These aircraft included the:

The Kiowa was the last type built by CAC. The company was part of the Australian Aircraft Consortium which designed the

F/A-18 Hornet
.

Aircraft design and production

Commonwealth CA-28 Ceres agricultural aircraft

During its existence the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation produced over 1700 aircraft of all types, including prototypes and aircraft assembled locally from imported components. Of these, almost 550 were examples of aircraft types wholly designed by the company. The designations used by CAC reflected production or design work in fulfillment of different in-house projects or government contracts rather than different types produced (for instance the different designations for the Wackett and Winjeel prototypes compared to their production versions). Early types were given consecutive manufacturer's construction numbers (c/nos.), while later types (beginning with the production version of the Winjeel) were given c/nos. with the model number as a prefix. Construction numbers 1210 to 1224 appear not to have been assigned. The list of company designations and construction numbers is:

  • CA-1 First Wirraway production contract; 40 built (c/nos. 1–40)
  • CA-2 Wackett prototypes; two built (c/nos. 101, 102)
  • CA-3 Second Wirraway production contract; 60 built (c/nos. 41–100)
  • CA-4 Woomera prototype; one built (c/no. 435)
  • CA-5 Third Wirraway production contract; 32 built (c/nos. 103–134)
  • CA-6 Wackett production contract; 200 built (c/nos. 235–434)
  • CA-7 Fourth Wirraway production contract; 100 built (c/nos. 135–234)
  • CA-8 Fifth Wirraway production contract; 200 built (c/nos. 436–635)
  • CA-9 Sixth Wirraway production contract; 188 built (c/nos. 636–823)
  • CA-10 Proposed Wirraway variant not built (see CAC Wirraway for CA-10A)
  • CA-11 Woomera production contract for 105 aircraft. Contract cancelled, only one aircraft flew (101 c/nos. assigned, 1225–1325)
  • CA-12 First Boomerang production contract; 105 built (c/nos. 824–928)
  • CA-13 Second Boomerang production contract; 95 built (c/nos. 929–1023)
  • CA-14 Experimental Boomerang fitted with turbocharger; one built (c/no. 1074).[1]
  • CA-15 Single-seat fighter; one built (c/n 1073).[1]
  • CA-16 Seventh (and final) Wirraway production contract; 135 built (c/nos. 1075–1209)
  • CA-17 First Mustang production contract; 80 assembled from imported components (c/nos. 1326–1405, 1326–1345 also assigned North American c/nos. NA110-34366 to -34385)[2]
  • CA-18 Second Mustang production contract; 120 built, production of a further 50 cancelled (c/nos. 1406–1525).[2]
  • CA-19 Third (and final) Boomerang production contract; 49 built (c/nos. 1024–1072)
  • CA-20 Contract to modify Wirraways for use by the RAN (see CAC Wirraway); 17 modified
  • CA-21 Third (and final) Mustang production contract for 100 aircraft; contract cancelled, none built
  • CA-22 Winjeel prototypes; two built (c/nos. 1526, 1527)[2]
  • CA-23 Designation of a two-seat twin-engined supersonic jet fighter design. None built but extensive design work undertaken (see CAC CA-23)
  • CA-24 Contract for production of 72 of variant of the Hawker P.1081; none built
  • CA-25 Winjeel production contract; 62 built (c/nos. CA25-1 to -62)
  • CA-26 Sabre prototype; one built (c/no. 1528).[3]
  • CA-27 Sabre production contract; 111 built (c/nos. CA27-1 to -111)
  • CA-28 Ceres production, built as private venture; 21 built (c/nos. CA28-1 to -21)
  • CA-29 Production sub-contract for wings, fins, rudders, tailcones and engines of GAF-built variant of Mirage IIIE; 101 airframe shipsets and 140 engines built
  • CA-30 Macchi production contract; 20 assembled from imported components plus 77 built (c/nos. CA30-1 to -97, CA30-1 to -13 and -15 to -21 also assigned non-consecutive Aermacchi c/nos. between 6351 and 6395)
  • CA-31 Jet trainer design; none built[citation needed] (Macchi built instead).[clarification needed]
  • CA-32 Kiowa production contract; 12 assembled from imported components plus 44 built (c/nos. CA32-13 to -56, all 56 aircraft also assigned Bell c/nos. 44501-44556)
  • CA-33 Contract for modifications to the RAAF fleet of
    Defence Science & Organisation
    (DSTO)) and associated systems after delivery of each aircraft from the USA; 20 aircraft modified (contract completed as HdHV)
  • CA-34 Designation used for CAC's participation in the A10 Wamira project
  • CA-35 Contract for modifications to a
    LADS
    system developed by the DSTO (contract completed as HdHV)
  • CA-36 Production sub-contract for the wing pylons, engine access panels, aft nozzle fairings, aircraft-mounted accessory drive gearboxes and engines for the GAF-built version of the F/A-18 Hornet; 73 airframe shipsets and 158 complete engines built, plus parts of another 17 engines (contract completed as HdHV)

Aero-engine production

Mirage III, the engines for which were built by CAC

Engine types produced by CAC include the:

Bus body building

To supplement revenue and retain skilled sheet metal workers, CAC produced and bodied buses based on Bedford chassis under the brand name of Comair. CAC major shareholder in the 1950s was General Motors Holden and from 1946 until 1973, Comair produced over 3,600 bus bodies, primarily on Bedford OB, SB and VAM 70 chassis for Victorian operators.[4][5] Subsequently, General Motors Holden divested its shareholding in CAC and the company signed a licensing agreement to build VöV-Standard-Bus bodies on MAN chassis.[6][7] It bodied 135 MAN SL200 chassis for ACTION.[8] It resumed production on Bedford chassis in 1977, but only a few were produced.[9][10]

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b One source (ADF Serials) lists both aircraft as having c/no. 1074
  2. ^ a b c The series of books written by Stewart Wilson lists c/nos. for these aircraft as being different by 100, i.e first Mustang as c/no. 1226, Winjeel prototypes as c/nos. 1426 and 1427 etc. However, surviving civil-registered CAC Mustangs operated as warbirds have c/nos. in the 1326–1525 block
  3. ^ Sources list the c/no. as 1428, but this was assigned to a Mustang
  4. ^ CAC to end bus assembly; will continue to make parts Truck & Bus Transportation November 1972 page 132
  5. ^ CAC back in private bus building Truck & Bus Transportation March 1978 page 106
  6. ^ Suppliers Railway Gazette International December 1976 page 447
  7. Network
    February 1977 page 22
  8. Fleetline
    issue 16 November 1976 page 18
  9. ^ A New (Old) Bus Body Builder Fleetline issue 25 August 1977 page 12
  10. ^ Bus Manufacturers Electric Traction May 1978 page 85

Bibliography

External links

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