Boomerang on approach

Antwerp, October 30th 2016



Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation CA-13 Boomerang Mk.II A46-139 on final approach into Antwerp International Airport during a testflight on October 30th 2016.

CAC CA-13 Boomerang II A46-139 was originally built in September of 1943 and served with the RAAF's 83rd Squadron; it was damaged in a forced landing at Blackhall, Queensland on August 21st 1944.  It was written off in May of 1946, and struck of charge in November of 1948.

The present-day A46-139 is a replica based on a standard North American T-6, which incorporates many original components of a number of Boomerangs.  Built by Dennis Saunders and Dale Clarke, it resided in the United States for some considerable time, before it was sold to a European owner.  It now resides at Antwerp International Airport, where it is based alongside a number of historical aircraft (T-6, T-28, P-51, Stampe SV-4, Hawker Fury, etc...)

Despite being based on a T-6, her Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp engine and three-bladed propellor literally makes her sound like "half a Dakota", and completely unlike a North American T-6 Texan/Harvard...