Australia & New Zealand

Australian and NZ nurses arrive in Crete, April 1941.
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Australian and New Zealand personnel examine a CAC Boomerang fighter aircraft from 5 (Tactical Reconnaissance) Sq. RAAF, based at Piva Airfield at Torokina, Bougainville, Solomon Islands, circa Jan 1945.

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Australia had never before produced a frontline combat aircraft. The new plane had to use whatever components were already on hand: engines from a torpedo bomber, structural elements from a trainer.
Born with few advantages but succeeding through dogged persistence, the Commonwealth Aircraft Company CA-12 through CA-19 Boomerangs were true -the source say- “Aussie battlers.”

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Interesting about the roundel.
Learn something new everyday around here.
Thanks Luis for posting,

The CAC Boomerang is a fighter aircraft designed and manufactured in Australia by the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation between 1942 and 1945.

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Curious myself how it did in air combat I found this:

"While the Boomerang was never recorded by the RAAF as having destroyed any enemy aircraft, the type proved to be more useful as a light ground attack aircraft used by Army co-operation squadrons, often replacing the lightly armed Wirraway in this role. In this vital mission, the Boomerang directly contributed to the extensive ground war in the jungles of the South West Pacific theatre, which was often characterized by widely dispersed, small unit actions, which typically fought at close quarters and with uncertain front lines. In addition to strafing Japanese ground forces with cannon and machine gun fire, Boomerangs often dropped smoke bombs to mark targets for other units to attack. The aircraft was also used for artillery spotting, aerial supply drops, tactical reconnaissance, and anti-malarial spraying.

No. 4 Squadron and No. 5 Squadron flew Boomerangs in New Guinea, the Solomon Islands Campaign and Borneo Campaign, also in the close support role, with marked success. Flying in pairs (one to observe the ground, the other to observe the air around them), their tasks included bombing, strafing, close infantry support and artillery spotting."
- Wikipedia

 
By the time the Boomerang was deployed the engine was a couple years out of date, but it's all Australia had access to at the time.
Another thing often overlooked is that when they were stationed at the top end (Darwin, Exmouth), would scramble to intercept incoming bombers, who would then jettison their bombs and turn back once they saw the Boomerangs climbing to intercept - so, while no kills, they probably saved more than a few lives by scaring off the Japanese Bettys.
 
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