Chapter Nine
EARNEST MONEY
Sir Wilfrid Freeman sighed softly as he tried to settle comfortably into his seat. The damage done by the bullet that had struck his shoulder still troubled him gravely and he had the resigned feeling that the mobility of his arm would never be fully restored. Still, the report he was reading cheered him up greatly. If the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation could pull this off, then the genius of the British for inspired improvisation still survived.
“So you’ve converted the Harvard trainer into a fighter?” Sir Wilfrid deliberately put an incredulous note into his voice. If the CAC could defend this project properly, they would also be capable of driving it to a proper conclusion and taking it even further.
“Not the Harvard; nah. The Wirraway. A cousin ta the Harvard. We took the basic NA-16 design, gave it a R-1340 engine, beefed it up for dive bombin’ and gave it two forward-firin’ machine guns, not one. More or less what North American did with the design ta get the AT-6, which then became your Harvard. Then, of course, North American beefed that aircraft up to be a dive bomber and light attack aircraft, then sold it to the Siamese.”
Sir Wilfrid nodded, taking due care to make his expression as skeptical as possible. “Converting a trainer to a light bomber is one thing. Converting it into a fighter is quite another.”
“It’s a bit more than just a conversion, cobber. We gave it a licensebuilt R-1830, reworked the whole airframe ta cope with the extra power, messed around with the undercart and gave it a pair of 20mm cannons in addition ta its .303s. Changed the wing profile as well. Truth be told, there ain’t much of the ridgy didge Wirraway left there.”
It took him a few seconds to translate the comment into English.
When he had, he was impressed. The file on the aircraft had the estimated performance data and Sir Wilfrid had already made his assessment of that information. The new fighter would be slow at altitude and virtually useless over 15,000 feet; low down, it would be the equal of anything believed to be in the area. Most importantly, it was made using Australian resources and was quite independent of anything that had to be imported. Except the 20mm cannons, of course. They were going to be a problem.
“How long? A year? 18 months?”
The CAC representative looked unbearably smug. “Nah. We’ve rolled the first one out already. We’re doin’ the ground tests now. We’ll fly her in less than five weeks. January 29th is the date we have pencilled in. You’re welcome to come down and see her fly. I know, she ain’t important in the run of thin’s…”
It was time to end the charade. Sir Wilfrid knew that CAC had done an incredible job in getting their little fighter ready in such a short time. It was time to make sure that achievement was recognized.
“Not important? My dear sir, this CA-12 fighter of yours could turn out to be the most important project Australia is currently involved in. The deliveries of American fighters have staunched a gaping hole in our air defenses, but they are a short-term expedient only and they leave us open to unwelcome pressure. One change you will have to make will be the 20mm cannon. We cannot be sure of their supply; make certain the CA-12 can carry four .303 machine guns in their place.”
“The order is confirmed, then?” CAC had an order in hand for 105 CA-12 fighters but they knew Sir Wilfrid was tasked with choosing the aircraft to rearm the RAAF, and controlling of their production, by the Australian government. The CA-12 would be competing with the Department of Aircraft Production Beaufort for the R-1830 engines.
“Of course. And I will be honored to attend the aircraft’s first flight. What do you want to call it, by the way?”
“We thought ta’ Boomerang. Always comes back, ya see. We’ll be proud to see ya at CAC anytime ya like. To be honest, we thought DAP would be takin’ us over.”
Sir Wilfrid shook his head. “They’re all set up to build the Beauforts and their design team will be fully-absorbed in bringing the Beaufighter into production. Anyway, it never hurts to have a little competition, does it? That brings us to the subject of your future. I assume that, with the first flight impending, your design team is reaching the end of their involvement in the CA-12? That being the case, you would be well-advised to come up with some concepts for its successor. You might like to look at some of the wing designs the Americans have come up with.”
The representatives from CAC left with delighted expressions on their faces. Once they were gone, Sir Wilfred opened the next file on his desk. de Havilland Australia were already building Tiger Moth trainers and Dragon Rapide light transports but their capacity was under-utilized. Amongst the treasure trove of documents brought out of Britain were the blueprints for a medium transport aircraft, the Flamingo. Building that aircraft in Australia was the next project to get under way. The problem was getting anybody in Australia to trust a de Havilland-built transport after the DH.86 disaster. He sighed again and shook his head. He’d gone through this whole process once before as the Air Member for Research and Development. That hadn’t ended well, but all he could hope was that his work would have a better outcome this time.
“Now is the time to call a halt.”
R.A.B. Butler had the situation reports from the Middle East in his hands. They showed that Italian resistance in East Africa had crumpled completely, with Italian forces heading in full retreat back to Ethiopia. “The 12th King’s African Division has taken Mogadiscio, while the South Africans have cleared Kenya and are moving northwards into Ethiopia. In the north, General Wavell’s troops are advancing on Asmara while his forces are also entering Ethiopia. A diplomatic engagement with the Italians now will pay dividends and consolidate our gains. We have a victory that we can point to, as justification for our adjustments to Britain’s political outlook.”
“Did you see what the newspapers have said?” Lord Halifax gave no sign of having heard Butler’s words. His own voice was querulous and petty.
“They refer to the South Africans driving the Italians out of Kenya. It is South African Tomahawks that swept the skies of Italian aircraft. Indian troops are advancing on Massawa and invading Ethiopia. African troops are occupying Italian Somaliland. Where is mention of us in all this? According to the newspapers, these victories are being won by the Dominions without any contribution by ourselves. I approved the operations in North Africa and supported General Wavell. Where is mention of that?”
Lord Halifax was genuinely bewildered by the newspaper coverage of the war in North and East Africa. He had expected his friends in the Cliveden Set to ensure that he got all the credit for the apparently remarkable turnaround in the military fortunes of the country. Instead, his name was barely mentioned.
“I suspect that Geoffrey Dawson and Robert Barrington-Ward are
doing you a great kindness in keeping your name out of this.” Butler sounded sincere. “This whole business will end in tears. Wavell has his troops stretched to the absolute limit there, and he has still done nothing to remove the Italians from Egypt. I suspect that the Italians were not expecting him to attack, so he had the element of surprise working for him. When they counterattack, we will see another disaster out there; you mark my words.”
“What I see is the Dominions getting all the credit for winning a series of victories out there. They’re taking the credit for a situation that is my creation. If I hadn’t backed Wavell, he’d never have dared move like this.”