Founded in 1936, the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) was supposed to provide Australia with combat aircraft of its own production. To speed up, we decided to start with the production of aircraft under license. A special commission of the Australian Air Force selected the American North American Aviation NA-16. The aircraft was modified and received the designation CAC Wirraway. September 3, 1937-the first flight of the general purpose aircraft CAC Wirraway.
The Wirraway differed from the original with a reinforced fuselage and armament — 2 × 7.7 mm wing machine guns instead of 1 for the NA-16. Otherwise, it was the same two-seat low-wing with a retractable landing gear. It was equipped with a Pratt & Whitney R-1340 S1H1-G engine (600 hp) Maximum speed-350 km / h, flight range-1160 km. It could carry up to 454 kg of bombs.
755 CAC Wirraway aircraft of all modifications were produced. It was used as a training, light bomber and attack aircraft. In 1942, the CAC Boomerang fighter was designed on the basis of Wirraway.
