- Birth of an industry
- World War II
- Into the Jet Age
- Mirages, Macchis and Missiles
- End of an Era
- Into the Civil Market
- Boeing Aerostructures Australia Today
Birth of an industry
De Havilland Australia was established in Melbourne in March 1927, and was the first overseas subsidiary of the de Havilland Aircraft Company. Moving to Sydney in 1930, the company acted as an agency, with assembly, repair and spares facilities for the company’s popular sporting and airliner types. Aircraft design and full manufacture by de Havilland Australia was to wait until WWII, when production of the DH-82 Tiger Moth primary trainer commenced at Bankstown, NSW. By the 1930s, leading Australian industrialists were beginning to arouse Government interest in the local production of aircraft, particularly for military use. By the mid-1930s, it had become clear that the British industry could not supply enough modern aircraft for Australia’s needs, and with the backing of BHP, Broken Hill Associated Smelters, GMH, ICI and the Orient Steam Navigation Company, the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) was formed at Fishermans Bend in October 1936. In January 1937, after an international survey mission, the Australian Government ordered 40 North American NA-16 aircraft, later to be named Wirraway, from CAC. The first of these aircraft flew five months before the outbreak of WWII, and CAC went on to deliver 755 Wirraway aircraft to the RAAF.
With the outbreak of war inevitable, the Australian Government began planning for the acquisition of more modern combat aircraft. Eventually settling on the British-designed Beaufort bomber, the Beaufort Division of the Department of Aircraft Production (DAP) established a factory alongside CAC at Fishermans Bend. The first of 700 Beauforts was delivered to the RAAF in November 1941, making the Beaufort the first Australian-built type to be used in the defence of the country. top
World War II
With the entry of Japan into WWII, the lack of modern aircraft within the RAAF inventory came sharply into focus. Distance prevented the adequate supply of operational aircraft from Britain and the USA, and work soon began on the design of an indigenous fighter aircraft. The result was the CAC Boomerang, which was derived from the Wirraway aircraft. 200 Boomerangs were built at Fishermans Bend, and used the Australian-built Twin Wasp engine as fitted to the Beaufort.
In 1942, the Australian War Cabinet decided to follow the Beaufort program at DAP with the construction of the Beaufighter. The RAAF received 365 of these twin-engined heavy fighter aircraft between May 1944 and November 1945.
During the same period, de Havilland Australia began converting their production from the Tiger Moth trainer and Dragon light transport to the Mosquito aircraft. Used as fighter-bomber and photo-reconnaissance aircraft, initial problems with the wooden materials and construction techniques were soon overcome and Australian-built Mosquitos entered service in 1944. 212 Mosquitos were built at Bankstown between 1943 and 1948, and served the RAAF until 1953.
Shortcomings in the Boomerang aircraft and a need to upgrade saw the RAAF investigate a suitable advanced fighter aircraft for local production in early 1943. Eventually, the North American P-51 Mustang was selected for production by CAC. Due to personnel shortages, this project fell behind schedule, and the first aircraft were delivered to the RAAF only two months before the end of World War II. top
Into the Jet Age
Following World War II, aviation technology moved at a very rapid rate, with the introduction of the jet engine requiring new aircraft for the RAAF. By 1946, DAP had become the Government Aircraft Factories (GAF), and along with CAC and de Havilland Australia, all of the local companies were heavily involved with licence production of military aircraft for the RAAF. Major programs were the Avro Lincoln (73 built by GAF), de Havilland Vampire fighter and trainer (190 built by de Havilland Australia), Canberra bomber (48 built by GAF) and the Avon Sabre (111 built by CAC).In addition to licence production, a number of locally-designed and built aircraft were produced during this period. For the RAAF, the CAC Winjeel provided a modern replacement for the Tiger Moth trainer, and served between 1955 and 1975 as a training aircraft, and through to 1994 in the Forward Air Control role. De Havilland Australia designed the Drover light transport following World War II, and 20 of these three-engined aircraft were built between 1948 and 1952.
One of the most successful projects in Australian history was the Jindivik pilotless target aircraft. Designed to a British requirement between 1948 and 1950, over 500 of these aircraft were built at GAF, and were exported to Britain, the USA and Sweden. Immediately preceding this project was the Pika, a piloted version of the Jindivik used to assess the flying qualities of the design. Two examples of the Pika were built, and remain the only Australian-designed and built jet aircraft. top
Mirages, Macchis and Missiles
By the late 1950s, the Avon Sabre fighter was becoming outdated, and in 1960, the Dassault Mirage III was selected as the new fighter for the RAAF. In an indication of the future of the aircraft industry in Australia, responsibility for the Mirage program was divided, with GAF the prime contractor and responsible for construction of the fuselage and final assembly, and CAC manufacturing the wings, fin and engine. During the 1960s, another of the RAAF’s early jets was due for replacement, this time the De Havilland Vampire trainer. By 1965, the Italian Macchi MB326H had been chosen for local production, this time as a collaborative effort between CAC, and Hawker de Havilland, the newly renamed de Havilland Australia. 97 Macchis served with the RAAF between 1967 and 2001, when the type was replaced by the BAE Systems Hawk 127.
In addition to the continuing military programs, the Australian industry also produced a locally designed civilian type during this period. Designed in the late 1960s, GAF produced the prototype Nomad light transport aircraft in 1971. During a production run lasting until 1984, 170 Nomads were built for civil and military use.
Another area of expertise for the Australian industry was in the field of guided weapons design and production. During the 1950s, GAF had developed the Malkara anti-tank missile for the British Army, and later that decade used this knowledge to develop the Ikara system. A torpedo-carrying guided missile, Ikara was used by the Royal Australian Navy, as well as the Brazilian and British navies. The Ikara design later contributed the basis of the Turana target drone for the Royal Australian Navy. top
End of an Era
In the 1970s, the local industry had another opportunity to diversify with licence production of the Bell 206 helicopter. Although plans were made to produce a number of aircraft for civilian use, increasing costs and Defence cutbacks resulted in 53 Kiowa helicopters being built for use by the Army and Royal Australian Navy between 1973 and 1977.
Another major step in capability for local industry came with the production of the F/A-18 Hornet fighter. Selected to replace the Mirage III in RAAF service, the Hornet program required re-equipping of production facilities by CAC, GAF and HdH due to the increased complexity of systems and materials used in the aircraft. These upgrades provided Australian industry with the infrastructure and skills required in the work being carried out by Boeing Aerostructures Australia in the present day
Much controversy surrounded the next major project carried out by the Australian aircraft industry. By the late 1970s, structural problems with the Macchi trainer resulted in a study for the replacement of this aircraft and the CT4 basic trainer with a new type. In 1981, a consortium consisting of CAC, GAF and HdH had formed to design and produce a training aircraft to this requirement. After changes in specifications, the failure of a possible British order for the aircraft and the expenditure of approximately $70m, the Wamira project was cancelled at the end of 1985.
In its place, the Pilatus PC-9 was ordered for the RAAF, and HdH, who by this time had taken over CAC, built 65 of the 67 PC-9s ordered by the RAAF. This project was to be the last time aircraft were produced under licence in Australia. Subsequent programs such as the Sikorsky Black Hawk and Seahawk helicopters were assembled by HdH and GAF respectively, from imported components with minor local modifications. top
Into the Civil Market
Utilising the offset schemes introduced by the Australian Government in 1970 to provide export earnings against the costs of government procurement, CAC, GAF and Hawker de Havilland all participated in a variety of civil and military component programs which aimed to upgrade technical skills in Australia and provide ongoing work for the local Aerospace industry.
In 1970 the industry took the first steps to move from being predominantly a producer of military aircraft for Australia to a producer of commercial aircraft structures and systems for the world market. Relationships were forged with Boeing, Airbus and other major manufacturers, and investments were made in new equipment and technologies to achieve competitiveness in a global market.
Initially, the industry secured build-to-print contracts and progressed to design participation and then to design and build of increasingly larger, more complex structures. Hawker de Havillands annual sales exceeded $300 million for 2001.
Boeing Aerostructures Australia Today
Research and Development
In February 2009, Hawker de Havilland was renamed Boeing Aerostructures Australia. The company provides customers with a broad range of collaboration opportunities with a number of Australian research and development organisations, specialising in advanced composite carbon fibre technology.
Engineering
Boeing Aerostructures Australia offers customers a capability, which spans the full breadth of engineering and technical skills required to design, test and certify aircraft structural components, including the integration of electrical and mechanical systems. Its applied technology laboratories undertake a wide range of environmental, structural, fatigue, mechanical and chemical testing activities in support of in-house production and external customers.
Manufacturing
Boeing Aerostructures Australia has extensive facilities for manufacturing operations with a wide variety of composite and metal structural materials. In addition to the fabrication of individual components, the company has also incorporated high technology processes for airframe assembly.