The Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) CA-11 Woomera was a twin-engine prototype bomber developed in Australia during World War II. The project was led by Wing Commander Lawrence James Wackett, the founding managing director and chief designer at CAC. The aircraft was intended to serve as a versatile strike platform, combining the roles of a light/medium bomber, dive-bomber, and torpedo-bomber. This multi-role capability was supported by an internal bomb bay designed to carry either bombs or a torpedo.
The development of the Woomera began with the CA-4 Woomera, also known as the Wackett Bomber, which first flew in 1941. Following a fatal crash of the CA-4 prototype, the design was refined and enlarged, resulting in the CA-11 Woomera. While some sources associate the date of 19 July 1941 with the Woomera prototype's first flight, there is some ambiguity as to whether this date refers specifically to the CA-4 or the CA-11. In total, only two aircraft of the Woomera family were ever built and flown.
Technically, the CA-11 was an advanced design for the early 1940s. It featured a three-man crew consisting of a pilot, a navigator/bomb-aimer, and a gunner/observer. One of its most distinctive features was the inclusion of remote-controlled gun turrets located in the rear of the engine nacelles, which fired aft, eliminating the need for a traditional tail gunner. The aircraft was powered by two air-cooled radial piston engines mounted in the wing nacelles.
Despite its potential, the CA-11 never reached series production. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) operated the prototypes for flight testing and evaluation, but the production order was eventually cancelled. This decision was influenced by the technical complexity of the design and the increasing availability of proven Allied bombers. The only completed CA-11, bearing RAAF serial A23-1, was stripped for parts and scrapped in 1946. No examples of the Woomera survive today, though the project remains a notable example of early Australian aerospace ambition.