Commonwealth CA-13 Boomerang - REAL WORLD BUILD.

[zenrat]

Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation CA-13 Boomerang.

CAC Boomerang021 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

The CAC Boomerang is a fighter aircraft designed and manufactured in Australia by the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation between 1942 and 1945. Approved for production shortly following the Empire of Japan's entry into the Second World War, the Boomerang was rapidly designed as to meet the urgent demands for fighter aircraft to equip the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). The type holds the distinction of being the first combat aircraft to be both designed and constructed in Australia.

CAC Boomerang006 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

Different variants of the Boomerang were manufactured under a series of corresponding production contract numbers CA-12, CA-13, CA-14 and CA-19, the aircraft supplied under each subsequent contract would incorporate various modifications, typically aimed at improving the aircraft's performance. The effectiveness of the Boomerang has been contested, the aircraft proving to be slower than contemporary fighter aircraft and thus rarely engaging in aerial combat. During early wartime operations, the Boomerang was mainly dispatched to equip home-based squadrons, freeing up other fighters for use overseas. In later service, the Boomerang would commonly be used for ground support duties, cooperating with Allied army units, in addition to secondary roles such as aerial reconnaissance and air sea rescue.

CAC Boomerang010 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

Specifications (CA-12)
General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 25 ft 6 in (7.77 m)
Wingspan: 36 ft 0 in (10.97 m)
Height: 9 ft 7 in (2.92 m)
Wing area: 225 ft² (20.9 m²)
Empty weight: 5,373 lb (2,437 kg)
Loaded weight: 7,699 lb (3,492 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp radial engine, 1,200 hp (895 kW)
Performance
Maximum speed: 305 mph (265 knots, 491 km/h) at 15,500 ft (4,730 m)
Range: 930 mi (810 nm, 1,500 km)
Service ceiling: 29,000 ft (8,800 m)
Rate of climb: 2,940 ft/min (14.9 m/s)
Wing loading: 34.2 lb/ft² (167.1 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.16 hp/lb (256 W/kg)
Armament
Guns:
2× 20 mm (0.787 in) Hispano or CAC cannons
4× 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns
Bombs: Could be fitted when the large drop tank was not carried

CAC Boomerang016 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

The Model

Airfix CA-13 Boomerang (1973 'blister pack' release).
Built OOB.
Painted OOB (brush painted with Vallejo Acrylics).
Decals OOB (behaved well apart from a tendency to lift and silver at the edges).
Cannon barrels replaced with  styrene rod & aerial wire added.

CAC Boomerang025 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

Kit built up well.  I'd like to build another.  It has raised detail typical for the time (1965 mould) and a very basic cockpit.  However, you can't see much through the fairly thick canopy.

CAC Boomerang026 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr
CAC Boomerang027 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

[NARSES2]

I like that. I've fond memories of the kit as well from when it first came out

[Scotaidh]

Very nice.   

My introduction to the type was through one of those pulp 5"x8" black & white war comics that were so popular with English boys in the '70s.  On our rare trips to Britain we always seemed to spend days on the roads - I got quite fond of the rest areas on the M1 & M6!  But, I'd go through stacks of these things - wish I'd kept them - on a typical trip from Tunbridge Wells to Scotland or Wales.
One of these comics featured Boomerangs.  I'd never heard of them before, and I was an instant fan of this pugnacious little aircraft.   I had to see if there was a model of it.  Happily, Airfix to the rescue!  I built one then, and have at least one in the SSR now.

So, seeing this one - Happy Memories!  Thanks!

[Old Wombat]

Nice job, Fred!


One of my favourite aircraft, I have 2 Boomerang kits (in the larger One True Scale).

One to be built mostly OoB but with an engine upgrade & a small extension to its fuselage.

The other to be mated with a Fw.190 A-3 & the same engine upgrade to create a version of apophenia's* July 2014 profile, the CAC CA-14A Sea Wallaby.


(Note: Mine won't be identical to this.)




* - apophenia appears to have only been here a short while in 2011 before the "big split" but can now be found over on BtS. As with almost everything, images from this era have disappeared & the above is supplied from my "Aircraft Designs & Schemes" inspiration folder on my PC via SmugMug.

[zenrat]

Thanks folks.
Profile looks good Womby.  I can see why you saved it.
I'd like to build a Boomerang with the longer Wirraway wings - a high altitude Boomerang.

[PR19_Kit]

I'd like to build a Boomerang with the longer Wirraway wings - a high altitude Boomerang.

Naturally.................... 

[Tophe]

The topic's title was referring to the World of sorrow but this was not desperate... a little improvement brings this model into the World of joy
Thanks Zenrat to have made the perfect picture to make it easy

[zenrat]

 

Brilliant.  Well done Tophe.

[DogfighterZen]

Yup, very nice indeed. Well done to both Fred and Tophe!

[comrade harps]

The topic's title was referring to the World of sorrow but this was not desperate... a little improvement brings this model into the World of joy
Thanks Zenrat to have made the perfect picture to make it easy

That could form the basis of an emergency Australian night fighter