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Aircraft History Built by Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC). Constructor Number 17. Delivered to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) as CA-1 Wirraway serial number A20-13. No known nickname or markings. Wartime History Assigned to No. 7 Service Flying Training School (7 SFTS) at Deniliquin Airfield. On November 16, 1942 took off from Deniliquin Airfield piloted by F/Sgt Norman S. Kelso, 401645 with LAC Murray F. Cleveland on a flight and suffered an engine failure and force landed at 1:50pm at Picola, Victoria. Afterwards, repaired and returned to flying duty. Assigned to No. 2 Service Flying Training School (2 SFTS) at Forest Hill. By late February 1945 this Wirraway had accumulated a total of 2,492 flying hours. On February 25, 1945 took off from Forest Hill piloted by F/O Allen C. Beckwith, 419154 observer AC1 Jack J. Crellin, 138504 on a flight and immediately suffered an engine failure and crash landed at 6:55pm one mile due south and impacted a fence. Afterwards, repaired and returned to flying duty. Assigned to No. 2 Operational Training Unit (2 OTU) at Mildura Airfield. On July 25, 1945 took off piloted by F/Sgt Shannan on a flight and suffered an engine failure and landed two miles west of Yelta in Victoria. Afterwards, repaired and returned to flying duty. By early August 1945, this Wirraway had a total of 2,671 flying hours. On August 12, 1945 took off from Mildura Airfield piloted by F/O R. Wehl on a training mission to practice formation flying and the engine seized and at 10:50am force landed at Mildura Airfield. Afterwards, repaired and returned to flying duty. Postwar During May 1960, sold back to Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) for conversion into a Ceres agricultural aircraft. Instead, sold to a private individual and then acquired by Thomas King during the middle 1960s. In late 1967, donated by Thomas King to the The Air Museum of Papua New Guinea in exchange for the right to export A6M2 Zero 51553. During 1970, this Wirraway was donated to the Civil Aviation Training College by Bill Chapman. The Wirraway was restored by Reg Mason and painted with serial number "A20-19" with fuselage letter "R" and placed on display under a sun shade. During late 1972 or early 1973, the sun shade fell down and damaged the canopy. Bruce Hoy adds: "However, when the aircraft arrived in Moresby, it carried the RAAF serial of A20-13. Why Reg Mason who performed the restoration painted it up as A20-19 and the squadron letter R (R for Reg??) I have no idea" Display In 1978, Bruce Hoy arranged for it to be transferred from the Civil Aviation Training College to the National Museum and Art Gallery (NMAG) / PNG War Museum). On January 13, 1979 the disassembled Wirraway was moved with a crane and placed into storage in the back room of the PNG War Museum in Gordon. The wings and stabilizers were removed and placed on a storage shelf. The fuselage section was stored separately nearby. During his tenure with the museum, Bruce Hoy planed to have had it painted in the markings of Wirraway A20-137, but no restoration work was ever undertaken. Between 1978–2015, this Wirraway remained in storage in the back room of the PNG War Museum until the Gordons location closed in 2015. Reportedly, this aircraft is in storage at either Murry Barracks or the National Museum and Art Gallery (NMAG). This plane is the second oldest surviving Wirraway in the world. References Preliminary Report (Internal) of Flying Accident or Forced Landing Wirraway A20-13 16.11.42 (NAA: A9845, 101 page 30) Preliminary Report (Internal) of Flying Accident or Forced Landing Wirraway A20-13 25.02.45 (NAA: A9845, 101 page 32) Preliminary Report (Internal) of Flying Accident or Forced Landing Wirraway A20-13 25.07.45 (NAA: A9845, 101 page 34) Preliminary Report (Internal) of Flying Accident or Forced Landing Wirraway A20-13 12.08.45 (NAA: A9845, 101 page 36) ADF Serials - Wirraway A20-13 Thanks to Bruce Hoy and Daniel Leahy for additional information Contribute
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