38 | FLIGHTPATH

Part 3

Following the previous

features on the Wirraway’s

origins and war service,

Derek Buckmaster takes

the story from 1945 right

up to today.

Retirement & disposal

Nearing the cessation of hostilities in Au-

gust 1945 the RAAF requirement for Wirra-

ways was drastically reduced. The order for

CA-16 aircraft was cut from 150 to 135 in

January 1946 and many aircraft were deliv-

ered from the factory directly into storage

at Tocumwal.

By February 1954, RAAF Wirraway

strength was down to 267 aircraft, mostly

serving with Citizen Air Force units or Train-

ing Schools. The Department of Air handled

the sale of redundant aircraft and the De-

partment of Aircraft Production handled the

destruction of those not sold. In August the

DoA proposed to dispose 65 aircraft, but

problems with obtaining spare parts for op-

erational Wirraways resulted in those air-

craft being reduced to components instead.

Nineteen Wirraways were transferred to

the Royal Australian Navy between Novem-

ber 1948 and November 1953. A further six

airframes were transferred for use as spare

parts but these were not needed and were

sold to Willsmore Aviation Services for

scrapping in July 1954.

In July 1958 it was decided that the

RAAF requirement for Wirraways would be

reduced to 42 aircraft and the remaining

aircraft would be made redundant by Janu-

ary 1959. This would make 72 aircraft re-

dundant and these were offered for dispos-

al. In August CAC requested five of these

aircraft for use in the Ceres agricultural

aircraft program. On 4 December 1958 a

formation of nineteen Wirraways from

Point Cook – one for each year of their

service – flew over the city of Melbourne in

an official farewell fly-past.

By February 1959 all Wirraways had been

declared redundant, their training commit-

ments being taken over by Vampires or Win-

jeels. The last Wirraway to arrive at To-

cumwal for storage was A20-691 which

arrived from 10 Squadron on 6 March 1959.

24 Squadron held three Wirraways until the

end of February and then two until the end

of March to enable several cadets to com-

plete their training. These aircraft were ap-

proved for disposal in situ in May 1959.

In May 1959 41 aircraft were sold to Hor-

sham Foundry and Engineering Co. But they

did not collect the aircraft from Tocumwal

and in March 1960 these aircraft were all re-

sold to CAC. In total, CAC procured 58 Wir-

raways from the RAAF for use in their Ceres

program. A total of 47 Wirraways were sold

to R.H. Grant Trading Company at Tocumw-

al and these aircraft were dismantled and

melted down. 62 airframes were also sold to

L&M Newman (Metals) Pty. Ltd. in May

1956 for the same purpose.

In May 1954 Austin ‘Aussie’ Miller of Su-

per Spread Aviation, purchased two low-

hours CA-16 Wirraways from the Depart-

ment of Air and installed tanks and

plumbing for agricultural spraying opera-

tions. Although Miller was confident that

the Wirraways would be suitable for his

Wirraway

Wirraway VH-WIR ex A20-652 at the Jamestown

Airshow in 2009 after it was earlier bought off eBay in

controversial circumstances. In 2010 it was acquired

by the Queensland Air Museum and although still

airworthy it is on static display at Caloundra. [Rob Fox]

75th Anniversary