The CAC CA-23 was a planned
supersonic
Supersonic speed is the speed of an object that exceeds the speed of sound ( Mach 1). For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C (68 °F) at sea level, this speed is approximately . Speeds greater than five times ...
,
twinjet, two-seat,
all-weather fighter aircraft designed by the
Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation
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 Australia.
Design and development
In 1949, the
Royal Australian Air Force
"Through Adversity to the Stars"
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, anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...
(RAAF) began assessing replacements for its locally-built
Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation
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 ...
(CAC)
Mustang
The mustang is a free-roaming horse of the Western United States, descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but because they are descended from once-domesticated animals, they ...
s,
Gloster Meteors and
De Havilland Australia (DHA)
Vampire
A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...
s. A series of designs were considered, including the
Grumman Panther and an unconventional, twin-jet all-weather fighter: the CAC CA-23.
The
Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation
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 ...
(CAC) had developed an extensive in-house design office and capability stemming from Australian Government funding during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. On the basis of the CAC track record and a detailed proposal, the Department of Defence Production granted funds to develop the CAC CA-23 concept.
The CAC CA-23
delta wing
A delta wing is a wing shaped in the form of a triangle. It is named for its similarity in shape to the Greek uppercase letter delta (Δ).
Although long studied, it did not find significant applications until the Jet Age, when it proved suitabl ...
design concept was a two-seat all-weather fighter with a low set tail. It was originally planned to be powered by two
Rolls-Royce Tay engines; the final version was however designed for the more powerful
Rolls-Royce Avon turbojet engines. The aircraft was to be fitted with the most up to date radar and electronic equipment. Its anticipated performance was to be in the region of Mach 1.5 which would have been much faster than any contemporary aircraft.
Over the life of the project dozens of mock-up models were made at different scales, with hundreds of detailed drawings, plus wind tunnel tests proving the
delta wing
A delta wing is a wing shaped in the form of a triangle. It is named for its similarity in shape to the Greek uppercase letter delta (Δ).
Although long studied, it did not find significant applications until the Jet Age, when it proved suitabl ...
was more than satisfactory. The program was described by the British visiting CAC at the time as "the company's project was a most ambitious design for a fighter and as advanced as anything yet seen in any other part of the world."
The four-year project was cancelled in 1953 after the expenditure of £163,195 with extensive aeronautical R&D testing in wind tunnels in Australia and at the
Royal Aircraft Establishment
The Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), bef ...
. The testing results were so promising and ground breaking for a delta wing design that the
Royal Aircraft Establishment
The Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), bef ...
requested permission to distribute the results to the major UK aircraft manufacturers and
Avro Canada
Avro Canada was a Canadian aircraft manufacturing company. It was founded in 1945 as an aircraft plant and within 13 years became the third-largest company in Canada, one of the largest 100 companies in the world, and directly employing over 5 ...
.
Controversy and cancellation
The decision to cancel the CAC CA-23 project was controversial at the time among the Australian political elite and aircraft industry insiders. The official reason given for the cancellation for the project was that it had failed to meet key design criteria as an all-weather jet fighter, in failing to incorporate a working radar design into the nose cone. However, the change of the Federal Australian Government had brought about a significant change in policy and priorities around indigenous aircraft design and production. This new policy arose from the November 1951 British mission to Australia on developing aircraft (Aircraft Development Mission) design and cooperation. Further, the appointment of a British officer, Sir James Donald Hardman, as Chief of the Air Staff for the Royal Australian Air Force on 14 January 1952, with supervision of aircraft procurement, saw a fundamental policy shift occur. Hardman deemed that aircraft design costs were prohibitive and advanced aeronautical R&D design work should be centralised and resources pooled with Britain, in Britain. From this point forward the policy was to adapt proven aircraft for Australian conditions, not start from scratch. Along with this decision, a series of negative reports by the U.K. Ministry of Supply were cited about the CA-23, which contained false assumptions and data comparisons, that led to terse rebuttal letter from Sir Lawrence J Wackett to U.K. Govt. However, in time, the preference for British designed aircraft was subsequently overturned by the following Australian Chief of Air Staff
John McCauley, who once again switched back to American designed and Australian built aircraft.
The CA-23 design work was abandoned in the early 1950s by the
Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation
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 ...
, after the government asked CAC to produce an up-engined variant of the
North American F-86 Sabre: the
CAC Sabre
The CAC Sabre, sometimes known as the Avon Sabre or CA-27, is an Australian variant of the North American Aviation F-86F Sabre fighter aircraft. The F-86F was redesigned and built by the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC). Equipping five ...
was also powered by the Rolls-Royce Avon. In correspondence CAC stated "It is not possible to make significant changes to the Sabre for installation Avon engine area without a team of engineers that has been extended to work on a long-range fighter aircraft". The CAC Sabre used a British jet engine that require extensive redesign work beyond what had been originally expected.
Similarities with other aircraft
The decision by the Australian Department of Defence Production to grant permission for the distribution of the detailed design drawings and wind tunnel tests of the CA-23 by the U.K. Swept Wing Advisory Committee to 15 British Aircraft manufacturers and
Avro Canada
Avro Canada was a Canadian aircraft manufacturing company. It was founded in 1945 as an aircraft plant and within 13 years became the third-largest company in Canada, one of the largest 100 companies in the world, and directly employing over 5 ...
has always raised questions and theories around the similarities with the
English Electric Lightning
The English Electric Lightning is a British fighter aircraft that served as an interceptor during the 1960s, the 1970s and into the late 1980s. It was capable of a top speed of above Mach 2. The Lightning was designed, developed, and manufa ...
and especially the
Sukhoi Su-7
The Sukhoi Su-7 ( NATO designation name: Fitter-A) is a swept wing, supersonic fighter aircraft developed by the Soviet Union in 1955. Originally, it was designed as a tactical, low-level dogfighter, but was not successful in this role. On the ...
. The wind tunnel tests carried out by the
Royal Aircraft Establishment
The Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), bef ...
on the CA-23 and the history of Soviet Agents (
Wilfred Vernon and others) associated with the Royal Aircraft Establishment prior to 1953 have led to this conjecture on the similarities.
[Lomas, Daniel, Intelligence, Security and the Attlee Governments, 1945–51: An Uneasy Relationship?, Oxford Uni Press] However, no firm conclusions have been made about the design similarities or links.
Specifications
See also
*
Hawker P.1081
The Hawker P.1081, also known as the "Australian Fighter" was a prototype United Kingdom, British jet aircraft from the mid-twentieth century. The single example built was destroyed in a crash in 1951.
Design and development
In 1949, the Roya ...
*
CAC Sabre
The CAC Sabre, sometimes known as the Avon Sabre or CA-27, is an Australian variant of the North American Aviation F-86F Sabre fighter aircraft. The F-86F was redesigned and built by the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC). Equipping five ...
References
;Notes
;Bibliography
* Deeb, Raymond. ''Australian Military Experimental and Prototype Aircraft''. Lulu.com: Wizards Military Publications, 2006. .
* Department of Defence Production. Memorandums & Correspondence, 1949–1952; accessed from Australian National Archives 2017
* Australian Archives, CRS A705/1, File 9/1/1891
{{Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation
Abandoned military aircraft projects of Australia
CA-23