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Aviation History
1946
1946 - 0647.PDF
APRIL 4TH, I946 FLIGHT 331 An Australian Fighter Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation's CA-15 Long'range Escort : Rolls'Royce Qriffon 61 Engine Rolli-Royce Griffon 61 engine. CLAIMED to have a performance equal to that ofany other fighter with similar power unit, theCA-15long-range escort fighter designed and built by the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation Pty., Ltd., of Mel- bourne, Australia, made its first flights recently. In general external appearance the CA-15 bears a certain superficial re- semblance to the Mustang, but the likeness may be said to be only skin deep, and the Commonwealth is- to be congratulated on producing such a modern type. The work has en- gaged the design and experimental staff for the last two years. When design of the CA-15 was started, the intention was to fit a Pratt and Whitney R.2800 radial air-cooled, but later it was decided to substitute the Rolls-Royce Griffon 61. Design was then fairly far ad- vanced, and construction had begun, but the changeover was effected without drastic alterations, and with results beneficial to performance. The R.A.A.F. specification to which the CA-15 was designed called for some very special qualities owing to ihe fact that the machine was to be used for long-range escort duties in the Pacific theatre of war. Clean de- sign and large fuel capacity were necessary to get the duration and range demanded. In addition, a very high maximum speed was essential, and although performance figures are not yet available, it is claimed that the speed " is not far short of 500 m.p.h." Characteristic external features of the CA-15 are a long tapered nose, square wing tips and a tailplane set at a large dihedral angle (10 deg). Stressed-skin construc- tion is employed throughout, and the wing is of modern laminar-flow aerofoil section derived from the NACA 66 Rotol four-bladed1 airscrew. series. The maximum thickness occurs 45 per cent of the chord from the leading edge. Armament comprises six 0.5 in guns in the wings, and provision has been made for carrying ten rocket projectiles under the wings. The wing is a two-piece structure, with the joint on the centre line. The ailerons, of metal construction, extend over 48 per cent of the span, have a shrouded nose balance with fabric seals, and are fitted with servo tabs and electrically-operated trim on one side. The flaps are hydraulically operated and are designed to be set at 20 deg for take-off and 50 deg for landing. Bearers for the Griffon engine are of sheet-metal construction, and the engine is elastically mounted. The cooling system comprises one Morris- type single-row intercooler followed by a Morris-type three-row main radiator, with a matrix area of 5.8 sq ft. The duct exit area is varied by a hinged door which is thermo- statically controlled by the tempera- ture of the engine coolant. Oil cooling is provided by an oil heat exchanger in the inter-cooler system. The airscrew is a Rotol constant- :peed four-bladcr with compressed- wood blades. Normal fuel tankage is 220 gallons in the wings and 40 gallons in the fuselage, but for long range provision has been made for two auxiliary tanks of 200 gallons capacity to be carried under the wings. The C.A.C. works at Fishermen's Bend, Melbourne, covers a floor area of 900,000 square feet and includes an engine division and foundries. At the peak period the firm employed just over 7,000 people, not including the Government-owned engine factory managed by C.A.C.
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