'Super Boomer' - The Commonwealth Aircraft CA-14 Wallaby - Part 2
Even the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation's chief, Lawrence Wackett, was startled when CA-12 designer Friedrich 'Fred' David suggested that CAC could 'leap frog' to the CA-15 Kangaroo by simply reverse-engineering the Focke-Wulf Fw 190A-4. Thanks to RAAF recovery efforts, Australia already had on hand all the Fw 190 components that it required. And the Fw 190A-4 possessed a distinct performance advantage over the Japanese type then being encountered in the Pacific Theatre.
Wackett ordered a feasibility study of Fred David's proposal. It quickly became apparent that there would be nothing 'simple' about reverse-engineering the Fw 190A-4. To speed development of the CA-15/Fw (as CAC's Focke-Wulf 'clone' became known), the monocoque fuselage was replaced by a welded steel-tube structure more in line with then-current CAC production practices. A mockup of this CA-15/Fw (03) concept was created using recovered Fw 190 components.
RAAF reviews of the CA-15/Fw (03) concept were, on the whole, positive but the mockup's tight cockpit and narrow canopy came under universal criticism. RAAF pilots, now use to the more generous proportions of US cockpits, demanded more space and an improved rearward view. To address these concerns quickly, Fred David evolved the CA-15/Fw (05) which incorporated the cockpit and canopy of the CA-12 Boomerang into the CA-15/Fw design.
The revised cockpit design of the CA-15/Fw (05) satisfied the reviewing service pilots. But the CA-15/Fw concept now faced another major hurdle. To build the CA-15/Fw, CAC also intended to reverse-engineer the Fw 190's BMW 801 engine. The resulting CAC R-2560 radial -- expected to produce 1,675 hp for take-off on 100 octane fuel -- was to power both the Ca-15/Fw Kangaroo and the revised CA-4B Woomera bomber. But the plan was a step too far. CAC simply lacked the design personnel for such a major undertaking at that time.
[To be continued]