CAC CA-15 (Kangaroo)

History

Much of Australia's industry was developed and tested during World War II (1939-1945). The aviation industry eventually produced a number of viable developments, including the Federal Aircraft Corporation's nationally important CAC "Boomerang", founded in 1936. In 1943, as the Pacific War raged near the Australian border, a new program was commissioned for a single-seat, single-engine monoplane fighter using an all-metal stress-skin construction.

Propulsion for the aircraft will come from a US-built Pratt & Whitney R2800-10W "Twin Wasp" turbocharged radial piston engine rated at 2,300 horsepower. The engine was a huge success during the war, powering notable aircraft such as the Martin B-26 Marauder medium bomber, the Curtiss C-46 Commando transport and the Republic P-47 Thunder fighter.

Unfortunately, this also means the engine is still in high demand outside of Australia.

The new product is the CA-15 for interception and bomber escort. Following the success of their Boomerang program, CAC engineers opted for a streamlined deep fuselage, with the engines properly placed in the front, the cockpit in the middle, and the traditional tail and tail in the rear. The wing main plane is mounted low, straight near the midship, and has a truncated tip.

The pilot sits under a teardrop-shaped canopy that provides excellent visibility above and to the sides of the aircraft - although as is the design of most fighter jets - the long nose and main aircraft block key quadrants around the aircraft most of the field of view. A retractable "trailing" landing gear was installed, and a four-bladed propeller unit was mounted on the engine.

The overall appearance of the CA-15 bears some resemblance to the classic North American P-51 Mustang, including a ventral air intake.

When it became clear that the twin Wasp radial engines could not provide the required number, the decision was made to use an inline engine, which became the liquid-cooled 61 series of the British Rolls-Royce Griffin. This adds some complexity to the inner workings and overall operation of the aircraft.

Delays at the power plant also did little to push the program forward.

In August 1945, Imperial Japan officially surrendered, and the Pacific War ended in September. The CA-15 has yet to take off, and a massive military retreat after the conflict has cast a shadow over the slow-growing Australian homegrown fighter program.

Nonetheless, work on the product continued until it finally made its first flight on March 4, 1946. The plane's nose has an in-line setup, and a streamlined spinner controls the four-bladed propeller assembly.

The CA-15 was a good initiative for the country, and its most advanced war design emerged. In testing, speeds of nearly 450 miles per hour were reached.

On December 10 of that year, the only working prototype suffered a hydraulic failure of the landing gear while attempting to land at Point Cook, causing the main legs to be only partially lowered. After dumping the fuel, the test pilots landed the plane. The pilot survived several hits and scrapes, but the plane suffered severe damage during the maneuver.

Despite the setback, the CA-15 was repaired and airworthy again, achieving dive speeds in excess of 500 mph on further flights.

While the program continued, albeit at a much slower pace in peacetime, the product was no longer required and was used primarily for aerial data collection for most of its time. The worldwide transition to jet aircraft wiped out many fighter jets, such as the CA-15, at the end of the war and in the period immediately following. And just like that, the only completed CA-15 prototype was scrapped and eventually scrapped, fading into the pages of Australian aviation history.

The project officially ended in 1950.

When done, the length of the CA-15 is 36. 1 foot, with a wingspan of 36 feet, and a height of nearly 14.1 feet. Curb weight is 7,540 lbs and maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) is 12,340 lbs.

Official performance figures include a top speed of 448 miles per hour, a range of 1,150 miles, a service ceiling of 39,000 feet and a rate of climb of 4,900 feet per second.

Although the CA-15 was never officially named, it was eventually nicknamed "Kangaroo" according to Australian aircraft naming conventions.

Proposed weapons include .50 caliber (12.7 mm) heavy machine guns, three per wing, 250 rounds per artillery unit. The wings should also be equipped with five high-explosive rockets (out of ten) and a hardpoint that can carry up to 2 x 1,000 lb conventionally thrown bombs.

Specification

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Performance

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