The legend of the CAC Boomerang

Training on the industrial scale demanded by a world war required an enormous system to take in raw recruits and turn out thousands of qualified, combat-ready aircrews. Under the system that evolved after the outbreak of war with Japan, a trainee pilot first received brief, ground-based training at an Initial Training School. The trainee then progressed to an Elementary Flying Training School (EFTS) where he underwent flight training with an instructor, typically in Tiger Moth or Gypsy Moth biplanes.

The unsurpassed excitement of his first solo flight was followed by further flying exercises and evaluation. Successful EFTS graduates would proceed to a Service Flying Training School, where pilots deemed suitable for single-engine aircraft would fly the Wirraway trainer.

Finally, after a training regime approaching twelve months, pilots were posted to Operational Training Units (OTUs) that employed types used by frontline units. These included single-engine Kittyhawks and Spitfires and multi-engine Beauforts, Ansons, Hudsons and Catalinas. Boomerangs served with No. 2 OTU and No. 8 OTU.

No. 2 OTU was formally established at Port Pirie in South Australia on 6 April 1942 before moving to Mildura in Victoria a month later. In September the unit’s aircraft establishment was set at 36 Boomerangs, 30 Wirraways, 12 P-40 Kittyhawks and a single Avro Anson (but this establishment strength was not reached for some time, as Boomerang production was frustratingly slow and Kittyhawks were desperately needed by front line squadrons).

In late 1942 deliveries of Boomerangs to the RAAF finally commenced and examples were issued to the unit. The Boomerang made its initial contribution to Australia’s war effort in the seemingly limitless, bright-blue skies typical of Mildura’s semi-arid climate, honing the skills of pilots before they transferred to operational squadrons.

While serving at Mildura the Boomerang suffered the indignity of being severely criticised in a Report on Boomerang Aircraft. The report was prepared by the unit’s commanding officer, Wing Commander Peter Jeffrey, who provided an unflattering critique of the Boomerang’s suitability as a fighter. His blunt report included comments such as:

Diving and zooming

In a dive, the aircraft is hard to hold and skids to the left. The acceleration in a dive is slow compared with other types, and the maximum allowable airspeed is far too low. In pulling out from a high-speed dive, considerable squashing takes place, and the speed falls off rapidly. The Zoom from a dive is consequently poor. The aircraft buffets and vibrates excessively at speed, and the sights cannot be held steadily on a target.

Combat manoeuvres

The handling characteristics of the aircraft at high “G” are poor. In a steep turn at high “G” the stick develops a shudder similar to that felt in most aircraft at the stalling speed and is probably due to “tail buffeting”. The buffeting is also apparent when pulling out of a dive and is accentuated in both manoeuvres when gills and/or oil radiator flaps are open. When this tail buffeting occurs, the stick loses all feel, and it would be impossible to aim the aircraft accurately.

Jeffrey’s conclusions included the following bleak assessment of the Boomerang’s potential as a frontline fighter:

It is considered by this unit, that the Boomerang, as an operational fighter aircraft, has no feature to recommend it. Its general handling characteristics are poor in comparison with other modern types. Its all-round performance, in comparison with enemy fighter aircraft is extremely poor. Its all-round performance, in comparison with other Allied fighter aircraft is also poor.

Jeffrey was well qualified to make these observations, having served as a fighter pilot with the RAAF’s No. 3 Squadron in the North African campaign, where he achieved ace status with five victories. Jeffrey rose to command No. 3 Squadron and subsequently was wing leader of the RAF’s No. 234 Wing. Known as a forthright, innovative leader, Jeffrey sent his report directly to the Air Board, which henceforth had no excuse for not understanding the Boomerang’s limitations.

The Boomerangs serving with No. 2 OTU suffered from the hard landings, taxying accidents and ground loops expected when inexperienced pilots were trained hard to ready them for combat. Fortunately, there was only one fatal incident, but this resulted in two deaths. On 1 June 1944 Flying Officers Roger Byrne (A46-14) and Alfred Knapman (A46-44) suffered a mid-air collision while carrying out a gun camera exercise some 32 kilometres west of the unit’s airfield. Both were killed.

The demand for fighter pilots inexorably increased as the war progressed. A fresh OTU, No. 8, was established at Narromine in New South Wales in 1944 to supplement No. 2 OTU. After only ten weeks at Narromine the new unit moved to nearby Parkes in September 1944. As of November 1944, No. 2 OTU focused on operational training for Kittyhawk pilots, while No. 8 OTU trained Boomerang and Spitfire pilots.

Paralleling No. 2 OTU’s experience, mid-air collisions were responsible for all the fatalities No. 8 OTU suffered flying Boomerangs. On 7 December 1944, the Boomerangs flown by Pilot Officer Arthur Watkins (A46-32) and Flying Officer Harry Kidd (A46-36) collided during air-to-air combat training. Kidd opened his parachute and survived, but although Watkins escaped his burning aircraft his parachute did not open, and he was killed. Six months later on 29 May 1945 the Boomerangs flown by Pilot Officers Charles Weatherson (A46-82) and William Foster (A46-17) collided eleven kilometres north-east of Parkes airfield during a reconnaissance exercise. Both trainee pilots were killed.

While the Boomerang’s RAAF service commenced with No. 2 OTU in late 1942, deliveries of Boomerangs to RAAF fighter squadrons finally commenced in 1943.

Interceptor fighter squadrons

With the prospect of significant numbers of Boomerangs being delivered in early 1943, the RAAF considered how to utilise them. It decided to establish three new “Interceptor Fighter” squadrons, Nos. 83, 84 and 85, which would absorb newly delivered Boomerangs and allow them to perform their designated role. Unfortunately, the squadrons’ subsequent experiences showed that the Interceptor Fighter designation had been far too optimistic.

No. 83 Squadron was formed at Strathpine (now a Brisbane suburb) on 26 February 1943 under the command of Squadron Leader William Meehan. The squadron was controlled by the RAAF’s Eastern Area Command, which was responsible for an enormous area of eastern Australia, including New South Wales and southern Queensland, and hundreds of kilometres of Australia’s eastern seaboard.

The RAAF stated that the “purpose of the unit is the interception of unidentified and hostile aircraft, surface vessels and submarines”. P-39 Airacobras were the only fighters available to No. 83 Squadron when it was established. Boomerangs started to join the squadron in April and by July they had completely replaced the P-39.

The squadron’s Operational Record Book (ORB) describes an unvarying, unexciting and unrewarding list of second-line tasks carried out during the unit’s tenure with Eastern Area Command, which lasted until the end of 1943. These tasks included the interception of unidentified (but always friendly) aircraft, cooperation with anti-aircraft and radar units, and training flights. The tedium of this regime may have contributed to the death of Flight Sergeant Edward Jones on 10 November 1943. Jones’ Boomerang (A46-108) rolled onto its back and crashed at high speed near Caloundra in Queensland while performing unauthorised aerobatics. While these were prohibited, it is not surprising that some pilots indulged in aerobatics to escape the ennui associated with their predicable routine.

The squadron was transferred to the Northern Territory in the RAAF’s North Western Area at the end of 1943. The Boomerangs operated from the RAAF stations at Milingimbi Island and Gove (now Nhulunbuy). These two bases were separated by 200 kilometres but the use of both extended the area the squadron could cover. The squadron’s move to the Northern Territory transferred it to the RAAF’s North Western Area Command. Fighter, bomber and reconnaissance units attached to this command were engaged in combat operations against the Japanese. However, No. 83 Squadron’s responsibilities were:

… monotonous and drab compared to the more glamorous roles played by the fighting & bombing squadrons, [but] 83 Sqdn’s participation was no less exacting, comprising fighter cover for aircraft on sea reconnaissance, interception of all strange A/C [aircraft] reported in the vicinity, and protection for shipping convoys.

To its frustration:

During the period spent in the NW area, the squadron flew several thousand hours, but not once was fortunate enough to be engaged in active combat with the enemy.

Under wartime conditions, these routine duties could be deadly, as was demonstrated with shocking force in 1944. On 22 May the engine of the Boomerang flown by Pilot Officer Roy Ayre caught fire at low altitude. Ayre had no time to escape from his burning aircraft (A46-173), which crashed between Point Arrowsmith and Cape Shields. A week later Flight Lieutenant Nigel Pugh in A46-159 accompanied another Boomerang to relieve a RAAF Beaufort on a convoy protection mission. Pugh carried out a number of mock attack runs on the Beaufort but lost control of his aircraft on his last attacking pass and spun into the sea. No trace of Pugh was found.

After its tour in the North Western Area, No. 83 Squadron and its Boomerangs returned to the backwater of Eastern Area Command, transferring to Camden, NSW, during August and September 1944. It made its final wartime move to Menangle, NSW, in February 1945.

Two more deadly incidents marred this otherwise routine period. On 20 March 1945, Warrant Officer Donald Wrightson (who was attached to No. 4 Aircraft Depot, based in Western Australia) was ferrying Boomerang A46-97 from Western Australia to No. 83 Squadron when he lost control of his aircraft in cloud and fatally crashed near Exeter, NSW.

The second of these incidents resulted in one of only two non-Australian Boomerang pilot fatalities. In mid-1945 the Royal Navy’s No. 1843 Squadron, Fleet Air Arm, was based at Schofields (50 kilometres north of Menangle), where it was being trained for a planned deployment with the British Pacific Fleet. This training included exercises with No. 83 Squadron. As part of the normal familiarisation with each other’s aircraft, Royal Navy pilots from No. 1843 Squadron flew to Menangle in their Grumman Corsairs on 30 May 1945 and then took off in Boomerangs. Royal Navy Sub-Lieutenant Kenneth Vogan took part in this seemingly routine exercise. However, shortly after take-off, Vogan’s Boomerang (A46-76) dived steeply into the ground and crashed in a seemingly inexplicable accident.

No. 84 Squadron had the distinction of being the first frontline RAAF unit to operate the Boomerang. The unit was formally established on 5 February 1943 at Richmond, NSW, equipped with Australia’s home-grown interceptor fighter. In April it deployed to Horn Island, located in the Torres Strait between Cape York Peninsula and New Guinea. The squadron was tasked with defending the Torres Strait region. This area included Merauke, a town on the southern coast of Dutch New Guinea which, unlike most of the Netherlands East Indies, had not been occupied by the Japanese.

During April the CAS confidently advised the War Cabinet that:

The first squadron equipped with Boomerang aircraft is now at Horn Island and is ready for action … The Chief of Air Staff said that, although these aircraft were slower than Kittyhawks, they had a better rate of climb and were more manoeuvrable.

No. 84 commenced patrols over Merauke in May. It was directed to maintain a standing patrol of two aircraft over Merauke and also cover shipping within 32 kilometres of the town. These patrols became a key task for the unit during its brief period operating the Boomerang.

The squadron’s Boomerangs attempted to engage Japanese aircraft three times. On 16 May Flying Officer Robert Johnstone (A46-51) and Sergeant Maurice Stammer (A46-60) attempted to intercept three Mitsubishi G4M Betty bombers while patrolling Merauke. This was the first encounter between Boomerangs and enemy aircraft. The Australian pilots closed to within 230 metres of the enemy bombers and opened fire. The guns of one Boomerang failed to fire, but the other directed 200 machine gun bullets and forty 20mm cannon rounds at the bombers. The Bettys returned fire with their turret and tailguns and escaped, undamaged, into clouds.

Over three months later on 30 August, the squadron scrambled aircraft from Horn Island in response to an air raid warning, but the attempted interception was unsuccessful. Then on 9 September four Boomerangs took off from the recently completed Merauke airfield and rendezvoused with No. 86 Squadron Kittyhawks to intercept an attack on the airfield by 16 Bettys, which were escorted by 16 fighters. Ten of the 14 Kittyhawks were hampered by guns that partly or completely failed to fire, but the Kittyhawks were still able to report the destruction of three Japanese fighters. In an embarrassing contrast, the Boomerangs’ participation was a complete failure. Unlike the Kittyhawks the Boomerangs were unable to reach the incoming raiders, which approached at 20,000 feet. The bombers attacked the airfield and destroyed the grounded Boomerang A46-38.

No. 84 Squadron started to convert to Kittyhawks in September. The transition was complete by October, ending the Boomerang’s brief and unremarkable career with the squadron.

On 12 February 1943 Squadron Leader Chris Daly was tasked with establishing No. 85 Squadron at Guildford, Western Australia, near the state capital Perth. The unit would provide fighter coverage in the RAAF’s enormous Western Area Command, which included most of Western Australia.

The squadron was initially equipped with obsolete Brewster Buffalos but started to receive Boomerangs on 30 April. Guilford remained the squadron’s main base, although detachments did operate from other locations. From Guilford, the squadron carried out an unvarying routine of patrols, practice interceptions, gunnery exercises, cooperation with ground defences and night flying.

The dangers associated with such apparently routine flying were shown on 22 May 1943, when Sergeant Bruce Williams in A46-83 swung off the Guildford runway during an attempted take-off. The Boomerang burst into flames and Williams was badly burnt and died six days later. On 22 September 1943 Sergeant Boyd Wolf attempted to take-off after recovering from a bad landing but stalled and was killed when his aircraft (A46–41) crashed.

Shortly afterwards, on 2 October 1943, A46-22 suffered a structural failure in the tailplane while being flown by Flight Sergeant Archie McDonald, who was killed in the subsequent crash. To complete a difficult initial period at Guildford, Flight Sergeant William Turnbull attempted to force land on 27 December 1943 after an apparent engine failure. The Boomerang (A46-68) overturned and caught fire, killing Turnbull. Fortunately, the squadron suffered no further fatalities operating the Boomerang at Guilford.

On 1 May 1943 six of the Boomerangs that had just arrived at Guildford departed for the rudimentary airfield at Exmouth Gulf, codenamed Potshot, over 1,100 kilometres north of Perth. Potshot had been hastily constructed in late 1942 to protect a submarine base the United States Navy intended to establish nearby. The Boomerangs replaced No. 76 Squadron, which had operated Kittyhawks from Potshot after the base was completed in March 1943.

Exmouth Gulf is a remote location in what was, during the 1940s, a very remote state, separated by an enormous physical and psychological gap from Australia’s more populous eastern seaboard. The pilots and ground crew battled to get the Boomerangs airborne under conditions where:

… salt water entered fuel drums which had been unloaded from a barge and rolled onto the beach through water. Some spares, tools and equipment were lacking. A suitable pump for inflating undercarriage and tail wheel struts was never issued despite repeated requests.

Simply getting the Boomerangs into the air was difficult enough, but the detachment also had to be ready to fight the Japanese.

The Potshot-based Boomerangs attempted to engage Japanese aircraft on several occasions. On the night of 20/21 May Boomerangs piloted by Flight Lieutenant Roy Goon (A46-61) and Flying Officer Donald Goode (A46-58) were scrambled in response to radar reports of incoming aircraft. Although a bomb was dropped in Exmouth Gulf the Boomerangs did not contact the enemy aircraft. The next night, two Japanese aircraft dropped bombs in the gulf area and two Boomerangs again attempted an interception. Pilot Officer Lewellyn Wettenhall (A46-58) reported sighting the exhausts of a Japanese Betty bomber but had to break off the attempted interception when his fuel ran low.

Meanwhile, Flying Officer Malcolm Stevenson (A46-52) did not make any sightings. Months later, four Boomerangs scrambled on the night of 15/16 September following reports of incoming aircraft but did not make any sightings in the two hours they were airborne. This was the Potshot detachment’s last attempt to intercept Japanese aircraft (despite its undistinguished WWII history, what began as a rudimentary landing field at Potshot is now RAAF Base Learmonth).

No. 85 Squadron also operated Boomerangs from the even more remote airfield at Derby, located 2,600 kilometres from Perth in Western Australia’s Kimberley region. The first deployment took place in October 1943 in response to a perceived threat of a Japanese naval incursion into the Indian Ocean. The threat failed to materialise and the Boomerangs returned to Potshot in mid-October. Unfortunately, this operation was marred by a fatal crash on 3 October. Pilot Officer Brian Armstrong had been ordered to drop a message to the merchant vessel Koomilya at anchor in King Sound. Armstrong stood up in the cockpit to throw the message to Koomilya while flying over the ship at masthead height. He lost control of his aircraft (A46-61), which rolled over and crashed into the sea.

Boomerangs also transferred to Derby in February 1944 and April-May 1944. They provided fighter protection for anchorages used by Catalina flying boats tasked with laying mines in Japanese-controlled waters. In February RAAF Catalinas deployed to Cygnet Bay, 60 kilometres from Derby. The Catalinas mined Balikpapan harbour (on the east coast of Borneo) and its approaches. Boomerangs patrolled Cygnet Bay during the operation, after which they returned to Guilford.

In April RAAF Catalinas deployed to Yampi Sound near Derby. No. 85 Squadron again transferred Boomerangs to Derby to protect the flying boat anchorage. The Catalinas mined harbours at Balikpapan, Sorong and Kaimana (the last two in the Dutch West New Guinea). A mine sank the Japanese destroyer Amagiri near Balikpapan on 23 April 1944. With the cessation of the Catalina operations, the Boomerangs left Derby by May 1944.

No. 85 began re-equipping with Spitfires during September 1944 and the last of its Boomerangs departed in January 1945, completing the squadron’s operations with Australia’s home-grown fighter.

The Boomerang’s extensive service with the Interceptor Fighter squadrons yielded only a tiny number of fleeting contacts with Japanese forces. If the Boomerang’s RAAF service had been limited to OTUs and Interceptor Fighter squadrons, it would never have had the chance to fight in the frontline of Australia’s war against Japan. Ironically, it was when the Boomerang was employed in a role that was never considered during its frenetic development that it finally moved to the frontline and earned well-deserved battle honours.

Army co-operation in New Guinea, Borneo and Bougainville

The Boomerang made its most important contribution to Australia’s war effort in the army cooperation role in New Guinea, Borneo and Bougainville. This apparently unglamorous role included a number of tasks that provided vital assistance to Army units, such as very low-altitude tactical reconnaissance, artillery spotting, photography and strafing opposing ground forces.

Fortunately for Australia’s frontline soldiers, the RAAF had acknowledged the importance of army cooperation at the start of WWII. CAS Goble’s proposed 1939 Home Defence Force included three army cooperation units among its nineteen squadrons. The RAAF’s May 1942 Australian Air War Effort (effectively a blueprint for the massive wartime expansion of the RAAF) explicitly included cooperation with the field army as one of the air force’s objectives. Perhaps one reason for the RAAF’s clear-eyed recognition of the need to support the army was that Australia had no capacity to build the vast heavy bomber fleets constructed by Britain and the United States, which allowed key RAF and USAAF leaders to indulge their dreams of winning wars by strategic bombing alone.

The RAAF’s commitment to working closely with the Australian Army was demonstrated when it established a School of Army Cooperation in January 1942, immediately after the start of war with Japan. Army officers and RAAF pilots attended the school and participated in each course. RAAF graduates of the course could then serve in the two dedicated army cooperation squadrons the RAAF established. These were Nos. 4 and 5 Squadrons: the unending demands of a world war prevented the formation of Goble’s planned third squadron.

The RAAF’s army cooperation role allowed both the Wirraway and Boomerang to operate in the frontlines, providing vital assistance to Australian soldiers fighting a ruthless enemy in a green tropical hell of malarial jungle, sweltering humidity, cloying mud, steep mountain ridges and seemingly endless close-quarter combat. The Boomerang enjoyed a significant combat career with the two RAAF army cooperation units, Nos. 4 and 5 Squadrons.

The CAC Boomerang: Australia’s Own WWII Fighter, published by Avonmore Books, is out now. To find out more, visit avonmorebooks.com.au