Boomerang Mk I (Great Britain)

This page is about the premium British fighter Boomerang Mk I (Great Britain). For the other version, see Boomerang Mk II (Great Britain).

▄Boomerang Mk I

▄Boomerang Mk II

▄Boomerang Mk I

▄Boomerang Mk II

Britain

II Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
3.3	3.0	2.7

Class:

PREMIUM

Fighter

Purchase:1 150

Show in game

Description

The ▄Boomerang Mk I is a premium rank II British fighter with a battle rating of 3.3 (AB), 3.0 (RB), and 2.7 (SB). It has been in the game since the start of the Open Beta Test prior to Update 1.27. This variant of the Boomerang represents a version which was designed and manufactured in Australia.

General info

Flight performance

Max speed

at 5 100 m491 km/h

Turn time22 s

Max altitude10 356 m

EnginePratt & Whitney S3C4-G

TypeRadial

Cooling systemAir

Take-off weight4 t

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 5,100 m)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	472	456	10356	23.2	23.9	12.1	12.0	273
Upgraded	513	491		21.4	22.3	18.2	14.9

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
✓	✓	✓	X	X

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
660	320	487	445	225	~12	~9

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 380	< 370	< 340	> 323

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
1,990 m	1,100 hp	1,188 hp

Survivability and armour

Crew1 person

Speed of destruction

Structural660 km/h

Gear320 km/h

Armour plates

• 38 mm Bulletproof glass in front of the pilot.
• 12.7 mm Steel plate behind the pilot, with 3 mm steel plate flaps around it.
• 3 mm pentagonal steel box around the central fuel tank.

Fuel tanks (self-sealing)

• 1 behind the pilot
• 1 in each wing's root (2 total)

Modifications and economy

Repair cost

AB844

RB4 754

SB1 379

Crew training6 900

Experts46 000

Aces320

Research Aces500 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

2 × 50 / 200 / 240 %

2 × 130 / 130 / 130 %

Modifications

Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
Fuselage repair Radiator Airframe Compressor Wings repair Engine Cover Engine injection	EFS	bmg303_belt_pack bmg303_new_gun hispano_belt_pack Mk.II year 1943

Armaments

Offensive armament

Weapon 12 x 20 mm Hispano Mk.II cannon

Ammunition120 rounds

Fire rate600 shots/min

Weapon 24 x 7.7 mm Browning machine gun

Ammunition4 000 rounds

Fire rate1 000 shots/min

The Boomerang Mk I (Great Britain) is armed with:

• 2 x 20 mm Hispano Mk.II cannons, wing-mounted (60 rpg = 120 total)
• 4 x 7.7 mm Browning machine guns, wing-mounted (1,000 rpg = 4,000 total)

Usage in battles

The Mk I Boomerang is not very fast for a fighter for its BR at roughly 460 km/h at sea level with WEP, and it loses power very quickly starting at an altitude of 4,000 m. From this, it would be thought that the Boomerang isn't much of a capable fighter, as most of its opponents are capable of reaching 500 km/h at any altitude, yet the Boomerang possesses great manoeuvrability.

Therefore, the Boomerang is best played in a turn-fighting role, almost as a British A6M, as even though the statistics claim a rather average turn time, at low altitude it is a turning-monster, capable of competing with even some Japanese fighters.

The armament of the Boomerang is also quite acceptable for its rank, with 2 x 20 mm Hispano cannons and 4 x 7.7 mm Browning machine guns, which also emphasises its turn-fighting role. However, Boom and Zoom tactics are also possible with the Boomerang, as its decent rip speed, lack of rudder-stiffness at high speed and good rate of climb allows it to make decent passes on any enemies unfortunate enough to be underneath it.

The Boomerang also possesses a good roll rate, which can help perform aerial manoeuvres faster.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Controllable	Controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Not auto controlled	Separate	Controllable 2 gears	Not controllable

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Tight turn radius and good roll rate at low altitude
• A large amount of secondary machine gun ammunition (4,000 rounds)
• Large choice of ammo belts for both the cannons and machine guns
• Decent climb rate

Cons:

• Poor performance at higher altitude, notably above 4,000 m
• Cannons only have 60 rounds in each gun
• Average speed for a fighter aircraft (even for Rank II)
• Overheats very quickly when using WEP

History

The Boomerang Mk I is the first variant of the CAC Boomerang, a fighter aircraft developed by Australia’s Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC). Designed to equip the RAAF after the start of the Second World War, the aircraft was the first indigenously-built Australian fighter aircraft. The Boomerang was very underpowered due to the limited engine choices, meaning that it was considerably slower than its contemporaries. The aircraft saw limited active service during the Second World War in both frontline and secondary duties.

In the late 1930s, with Nazi Germany and Japan both rapidly increasing the size of their militaries, the Australian Air Force (RAAF) looked to acquire a new fighter aircraft to replace their obsolete squadrons of F2A Buffalos. Following the start of the war, the RAAF was hard-pressed for fighters: the UK, Australia’s primary source for aircraft, was barely supplying enough aircraft for itself, while the USA dedicated almost all of its manufacturing capacity to producing aircraft for the USAAF and USN. As a result, Australia was forced to produce a new fighter indigenously.

The RAAF turned to the CAC, which had been created in 1936 through the merger of several Australian aircraft companies. The CAC was already producing the Wirraway, a training and general-purpose aircraft; the CAC decided to create a new fighter on the basis of the Wirraway, as this could be done quickly and efficiently. The Wirraway's rear fuselage, tail and wings were mated to a new forward fuselage which housed a 1,200 hp Pratt & Whitney twin wasp engine. This prototype configuration first flew in May of 1942 and was later ordered into service as the Boomerang Mark I (contract number CA-12) - a total of 105 Boomerang Mk Is would be built during the war.

In service, the Boomerang proved to be very underpowered and much slower than most comparable allied fighters. In fact, the Boomerang never shot down a single enemy aircraft. The Boomerang proved to be more effective as a ground attack aircraft, replacing the lighter-armed Wirraway in this role: it was frequently used to drop ordnance or strafe enemy targets, or deploy smoke bombs to mark enemy targets. The Boomerang was retired soon after the war’s end; five Boomerang Mk Is remain intact today, including two currently-airworthy aircraft.

In-game description

The CAC Boomerang was an Australian single-seat, single-engine fighter of mixed wood and aluminium construction.

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour on December 7, 1941 and subsequent events in the Pacific theatre of operations showed how unready Australia was for war. The country had fewer than two hundred military aircraft, most of them obsolete. At that time, the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) only produced a trainer, the CAC Wirraway (a licensed version of the American NA-33). The License Agreement provided for modifications, so, in order to have fighter aircraft as soon as possible, the CAC decided to use the trainer as a basis for a new fighter.

The CA-12 (later called the Boomerang Mk.I) was created, the first domestically produced fighter to ever roll off Australian assembly lines. The CA-12 borrowed the Wirraway's landing gear, tail, and wing design and was powered by a license built American Pratt and Whitney Twin Wasp engine, rated at 1,200 hp. The aircraft was armed with two 20 mm Hispano cannon and four 0.303 inch Browning machine guns and could carry four 9kg smoke bombs to mark targets, one 227kg bomb, or a 265 litre external fuel tank.

The CA-12 had high durability, good armament, and excellent handling characteristics at low level, although this performance deteriorated at height and the fighter's top speed was not at all competitive.

Mass production began in July 1942 and 105 Boomerang Mk I fighters were produced.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Boomerang Mk I (Great Britain) from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

The Shooting Range #19 - Pages of History section at 00:46 discusses the CAC Boomerang.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

• Official data sheet - more details about the performance

Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC)
Attackers	▄Wirraway
Fighters	▄Boomerang Mk I · ▄Boomerang Mk II