The First CAC Mustang

Warbirds Online continues its series on surviving and historic CAC C A-17/CA-18 Mustang and North American built P51 Mustangs. Today we feature the start of Australian production with the most historic surviving Australian produced CAC Mustang, m/f No 1326 NA110-34366 a CA-17 RAAF Serial A68-1 assembled from a “kit set“ of parts shipped from the USA and built at Commonwealth Aircraft Corp, Fisherman’s Bend, Victoria. This aircraft was a Mk. 20 and was the production prototype of 200 CAC Mustangs built in Australia for RAAF.

The aircraft was first flown at CAC plant Fisherman’s Bend on 29th of April 1945 flown by Pilot Jim Schofield and was then taken on charge by the RAAF as A68-1 on 4th of June 1945 at RAAF Number 1 Air Depot (1AD).  She underwent considerable testing, passing on to 1 APU on the 4th July 1945 then passed on to RAAF Tocumwal NSW for storage on the 7th October 1952, eventually being struck off RAAF charge on the 31st March 1953.

The aircrafts fate changed dramatically when it was one of half a dozen stored CAC Mustangs selected to be taken out of storage and flown to Emu Field South Australia in October 1953 to act as a ground target in atomic tests! The Mustangs miraculously all survived the Atomic testing and were finally rescued in 1967. A68-1 and 5 others were sold in May 1967 by tender to a syndicate of Peter Hookway, Stan Booker and Tony Schwerdt. The aircraft was repaired in situ and flown to out by Tony Schwerdt to Cooper Pedy on 31st October 1967and then to Parafield South Australia.

It had been proposed to fly the Mustang on the Australian civil register  as VH-EMS but the process was futile for bureaucratic reasons and eventually the Mustang was sold to American Stanley Booker of Stan Air Inc., Fresno California USA and registered there as N7773. The aircraft then passed on to well-known USA warbird identity Ed Jurist of Vintage Aircraft International, Nyack New Jersey from 1969 to 1970 however it had been damaged in transit to the USA and was placed in open storage at Doyle airfield, Minneapolis until it again changed hands going to Randy Sohn & Roger E. Bakerboth members of the Confederate Air Force and moving to their base at Harlingen Texas in 1973. There was little or no progress on a return to flight and it remained stored in a damaged condition with components missing.

The aircraft then passed through a number of owners including well known Warbird identities John R. Sandberg, and Gary R. Levitz, eventually in 1979 the much travelled Mustang passed to Bill & Don Whittington of Fort Lauderdale Florida in late 1979 and flew again after restoration in November 1980 as N51WB in the colors of RAAF A68-1001 with a pseudo RAAF Scheme. In 1981 the Mustang moved on again to well-known Warbird pilot and air racer Wiley C. Sanders of Wiley Sanders Truck Lines of Troy Alabama, having adopted the North American US DoD Tail ID of 44-15757 and named race #38, “Kangaroo”, and later “Jeanie Too”. The Mustang took part in a few air races from 1981 until 1989 and was badly damaged in a forced landing in 1984 but was rebuilt and still flies as 474960/A68-1001 “Jeanie Too” and remains on the USA register with Wiley Sanders in his collection of Warbirds at Troy Alabama USA.

It should be noted that the real A68-1001 was the USA sourced testbed / preproduction pattern delivered to CAC, Fisherman’s Bend Victoria, which was finished in a camouflage scheme and no longer exists, A68-1 being the first production aircraft. This identity issue has caused much confusion over the years with many believing that A68-1 is in fact A68-1001 which is clearly not the case.

This Mustang is a highly significant part of Australian Aviation history and is a very valuable survivor. Perhaps one day it will be able to return to Australia and take pride of place in one of our Museums.  We can only hope.

© John Parker 2019