Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation Woomera

Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation · Australia · first flew 1941 · bomber

The CAC Woomera was Australia's first domestically designed and built twin-engine military aircraft, a bomber-reconnaissance type developed during World War Two to reduce dependence on British and American imports.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Mid-mounted, tapered
E — Engines	2 × piston, wing-mounted
F — Fuselage	13.1 m fuselage
T — Tail	Conventional

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Australia's first indigenous twin-engine bomber-reconnaissance aircraft
Mid-wing monoplane with twin radial engines
Named after the Australian aboriginal spear-throwing weapon

Mid-wing twin-engine monoplane with retractable undercarriage, a glazed nose, and twin radial engines in nacelles; broadly similar in layout to the Avro Anson or Bristol Blenheim of similar vintage.

Specifications

The Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation Woomera has a length of 13.1 m (43 ft).
It has a wingspan of 18.7 m (61 ft).
Its maximum speed is 400 km/h (249 mph).
Typical crew: 3.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

Design began in 1939 and the prototype flew in 1941; despite reasonable performance, the Woomera was deemed less capable than available imported types and only the prototype was built. The program demonstrated Australia's growing aviation industrial capability even if the aircraft itself did not enter production.

Variants

Only a single prototype was constructed; a second aircraft was partially completed but not finished.

Where you'll see it

Never entered operational service; the single prototype was used for test flying only, and the RAAF chose to continue operating Bristol Beauforts and later American types instead.

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