Wirraway batch numbers – Mark II aircraft

For reference purposes I’ve collated a list of production batch numbers for the CAC Wirraway aircraft delivered to the RAAF between July 1939 and July 1946. This page contains the batch numbers for Mark II Wirraways, which were delivered under the CA-3, CA-5, CA-7, CA-8 and CA-9 production “contract” numbers. A summary of Mark II production is given in the table below:

Wirraway type CAC Contract Number RAAF Contract Demand Ordering entity Order Number Quantity delivered CAC Constructor’s Numbers RAAF Serials
Mk II CA-3 T.456 DCB (unknown) 60 41 to 100 A20-43 to 102
Mk II CA-5 T.562 DCB (unknown) 32 103 to 134 A20-103 to 134
Mk II CA-7 A.P.C.1 APC (unknown) 100 135 to 234 A20-135 to 234
Mk II CA-8 A.P.C.81 APC (unknown) 200 436 to 635 A20-235 to 434
Mk II CA-9 A.P.C.433 APC (unknown) 132 636 to 766 A20-435 to 565
Mk II CA-9 A.P.C.739 APC C.S.452 56 767 to 823 A20-566 to 622

DCB = Defence Contracts Board
APC = Aircraft Production Commission

Batch numbers
Wirraway production was generally planned in batches of 10 aircraft. But there were two exceptions:

  • At the end of the CA-5 contract, batch “Q” consisted of 12 aircraft, to make up the total of 32 aircraft delivered against this contract
  • At the end of the CA-9 contract, batch “W” consisted of only 8 aircraft, to make up the total of 188 aircraft delivered against this contract

Batch numbers consisted of a letter for each batch followed by a number for each aircraft in that batch (e.g. A1, A2, A3, A4, etc)..The letters I, O, Q and V were generally not used as batch numbers, as they could be confused for numbers.

Usually a new contract (such as CA-1, CA-2, etc) started with batch “A”. However the CA-5 contract started with batch “N” (following from the final CA-3 batch which was “M”)

The definitive source for batch numbers is a ledger book kept by Mr Gordon Parker, Supervisor in the Sales Department, and one of CAC’s earliest employees from 1936. This book is now held in the collection of the Australian National Aviation Museum at Moorabbin Airport. The list below is transcribed from the Parker list, and has been checked against photographic records as well as airframes and ID tags held in museums and private collections.

During production, batch numbers were temporarily attached to the firewall and then the rudder (once the engine was mounted). These temporary numbers are sometimes visible in factory photos.

Constructor’s numbers
These were a sequence of numbers allocated to each aircraft in the sequence that they came off the line. For example, Wirraways delivered under the CA-3 contract were given constructor’s numbers from 41 to 100.

RAAF stores number
All equipment in the RAAF was allocated a stores number for tracking and accounting purposes. Aircraft were tracked under the category “A” and each aircraft was given a specific number, Wirraway aircraft being allocated the category A20. These numbers are often referred to as the “serial number” of the aircraft in RAAF service.

Linking batch numbers, stores numbers and constructor’s numbers
Here are several photos showing Mark II Wirraways under construction, allowing us to link the batch codes to RAAF stores/serial numbers.

Mark II Wirraways commenced with the 41st aircraft, A20-44 (c/n 41) and in the photo below we see the last Mark I aircraft (A20-42, on the far side of the factory closest to the doors) and the first Mark II aircraft (furthest to the right, with G1 batch number on the rudder). Workers are pushing G4 in the foreground (A20-46).

Figure 1: CAC factory floor in mid February 1940, the point of changing from Mark I aircraft to Mark II aircraft (Australian War Memorial, ref 000626/06)

Early in CA-5 production the photo below shows six fins and rudders, from the left N8, with A20-110 also labelled, then N9 (batch label hidden) with its tail wheel on the ground, then N10 (batch label hidden), then P1 and P2 and finally P3 with its label hanging half-off. 

Figure 2: Early CA-5 production, showing the fins of N8 to P3, corresponding to A20-110 to A20-115 (Author’s collection)

The photo below shows a group of Wirraway aircraft under construction, late in the CA-9 contract, around March 1942. Batch numbers taped to the rudder of each aircraft are (from the left) P6-570, P5-569, P1-565, N9-563. These correspond to A20-570, A20-569, A20-565 and A20-563. Incidentally, these aircraft (the last 56 in the CA-9 contract) were originally intended for the RAF, but the War Cabinet decided to retain them in Australia. They were also delivered with two-bladed propellers, as De Havilland had run out of imported “spider” castings for three-bladed propellers.

Mark II Wirraways under construction (CA-9 contract)
Figure 3: Mark II Wirraways under construction for the CA-9 contract (Lewis Family Collection, State Library of South Australia, ref PRG 247/143/9, cropped)

The table below lists batch numbers and construction numbers for all Mark II Wirraway aircraft, delivered under the CA-3, CA-5, CA-7, CA-8 and CA-9 contracts. The batch numbers are transcribed from Gordon Parker’s delivery records, and have been cross-checked with photographic evidence (some of which is shown above) and several frames and ID tags held in museums or private collections.

CAC Contract Number CA- CAC Constructor’s Number RAAF Serial Batch Number
3 41 A20-43 G1
3 42 A20-44 G2
3 43 A20-45 G3
3 44 A20-46 G4
3 45 A20-47 G5
3 46 A20-48 G6
3 47 A20-49 G7
3 48 A20-50 G8
3 49 A20-51 G9
3 50 A20-52 G10
3 51 A20-53 H1
3 52 A20-54 H2
3 53 A20-55 H3
3 54 A20-56 H4
3 55 A20-57 H5
3 56 A20-58 H6
3 57 A20-59 H7
3 58 A20-60 H8
3 59 A20-61 H9
3 60 A20-62 H10
3 61 A20-63 J1
3 62 A20-64 J2
3 63 A20-65 J3
3 64 A20-66 J4
3 65 A20-67 J5
3 66 A20-68 J6
3 67 A20-69 J7
3 68 A20-70 J8
3 69 A20-71 J9
3 70 A20-72 J10
3 71 A20-73 K1
3 72 A20-74 K2
3 73 A20-75 K3
3 74 A20-76 K4
3 75 A20-77 K5
3 76 A20-78 K6
3 77 A20-79 K7
3 78 A20-80 K8
3 79 A20-81 K9
3 80 A20-82 K10
3 81 A20-83 L1
3 82 A20-84 L2
3 83 A20-85 L3
3 84 A20-86 L4
3 85 A20-87 L5
3 86 A20-88 L6
3 87 A20-89 L7
3 88 A20-90 L8
3 89 A20-91 L9
3 90 A20-92 L10
3 91 A20-93 M1
3 92 A20-94 M2
3 93 A20-95 M3
3 94 A20-96 M4
3 95 A20-97 M5
3 96 A20-98 M6
3 97 A20-99 M7
3 98 A20-100 M8
3 99 A20-101 M9
3 100 A20-102 M10
5 103 A20-103 N1
5 104 A20-104 N2
5 105 A20-105 N3
5 106 A20-106 N4
5 107 A20-107 N5
5 108 A20-108 N6
5 109 A20-109 N7
5 110 A20-110 N8
5 111 A20-111 N9
5 112 A20-112 N10
5 113 A20-113 P1
5 114 A20-114 P2
5 115 A20-115 P3
5 116 A20-116 P4
5 117 A20-117 P5
5 118 A20-118 P6
5 119 A20-119 P7
5 120 A20-120 P8
5 121 A20-121 P9
5 122 A20-122 P10
5 123 A20-123 Q1
5 124 A20-124 Q2
5 125 A20-125 Q3
5 126 A20-126 Q4
5 127 A20-127 Q5
5 128 A20-128 Q6
5 129 A20-129 Q7
5 130 A20-130 Q8
5 131 A20-131 Q9
5 132 A20-132 Q10
5 133 A20-133 Q11
5 134 A20-134 Q12
7 135 A20-135 A1
7 136 A20-136 A2
7 137 A20-137 A3
7 138 A20-138 A4
7 139 A20-139 A5
7 140 A20-140 A6
7 141 A20-141 A7
7 142 A20-142 A8
7 143 A20-143 A9
7 144 A20-144 A10
7 145 A20-145 B1
7 146 A20-146 B2
7 147 A20-147 B3
7 148 A20-148 B4
7 149 A20-149 B5
7 150 A20-150 B6
7 151 A20-151 B7
7 152 A20-152 B8
7 153 A20-153 B9
7 154 A20-154 B10
7 155 A20-155 C1
7 156 A20-156 C2
7 157 A20-157 C3
7 158 A20-158 C4
7 159 A20-159 C5
7 160 A20-160 C6
7 161 A20-161 C7
7 162 A20-162 C8
7 163 A20-163 C9
7 164 A20-164 C10
7 165 A20-165 D1
7 166 A20-166 D2
7 167 A20-167 D3
7 168 A20-168 D4
7 169 A20-169 D5
7 170 A20-170 D6
7 171 A20-171 D7
7 172 A20-172 D8
7 173 A20-173 D9
7 174 A20-174 D10
7 175 A20-175 E1
7 176 A20-176 E2
7 177 A20-177 E3
7 178 A20-178 E4
7 179 A20-179 E5
7 180 A20-180 E6
7 181 A20-181 E7
7 182 A20-182 E8
7 183 A20-183 E9
7 184 A20-184 E10
7 185 A20-185 F1
7 186 A20-186 F2
7 187 A20-187 F3
7 188 A20-188 F4
7 189 A20-189 F5
7 190 A20-190 F6
7 191 A20-191 F7
7 192 A20-192 F8
7 193 A20-193 F9
7 194 A20-194 F10
7 195 A20-195 G1
7 196 A20-196 G2
7 197 A20-197 G3
7 198 A20-198 G4
7 199 A20-199 G5
7 200 A20-200 G6
7 201 A20-201 G7
7 202 A20-202 G8
7 203 A20-203 G9
7 204 A20-204 G10
7 205 A20-205 H1
7 206 A20-206 H2
7 207 A20-207 H3
7 208 A20-208 H4
7 209 A20-209 H5
7 210 A20-210 H6
7 211 A20-211 H7
7 212 A20-212 H8
7 213 A20-213 H9
7 214 A20-214 H10
7 215 A20-215 J1
7 216 A20-216 J2
7 217 A20-217 J3
7 218 A20-218 J4
7 219 A20-219 J5
7 220 A20-220 J6
7 221 A20-221 J7
7 222 A20-222 J8
7 223 A20-223 J9
7 224 A20-224 J10
7 225 A20-225 K1
7 226 A20-226 K2
7 227 A20-227 K3
7 228 A20-228 K4
7 229 A20-229 K5
7 230 A20-230 K6
7 231 A20-231 K7
7 232 A20-232 K8
7 233 A20-233 K9
7 234 A20-234 K10
8 436 A20-235 A1
8 437 A20-236 A2
8 438 A20-237 A3
8 439 A20-238 A4
8 440 A20-239 A5
8 441 A20-240 A6
8 442 A20-241 A7
8 443 A20-242 A8
8 444 A20-243 A9
8 445 A20-244 A10
8 446 A20-245 B1
8 447 A20-246 B2
8 448 A20-247 B3
8 449 A20-248 B4
8 450 A20-249 B5
8 451 A20-250 B6
8 452 A20-251 B7
8 453 A20-252 B8
8 454 A20-253 B9
8 455 A20-254 B10
8 456 A20-255 C1
8 457 A20-256 C2
8 458 A20-257 C3
8 459 A20-258 C4
8 460 A20-259 C5
8 461 A20-260 C6
8 462 A20-261 C7
8 463 A20-262 C8
8 464 A20-263 C9
8 465 A20-264 C10
8 466 A20-265 D1
8 467 A20-266 D2
8 468 A20-267 D3
8 469 A20-268 D4
8 470 A20-269 D5
8 471 A20-270 D6
8 472 A20-271 D7
8 473 A20-272 D8
8 474 A20-273 D9
8 475 A20-274 D10
8 476 A20-275 E1
8 477 A20-276 E2
8 478 A20-277 E3
8 479 A20-278 E4
8 480 A20-279 E5
8 481 A20-280 E6
8 482 A20-281 E7
8 483 A20-282 E8
8 484 A20-283 E9
8 485 A20-284 E10
8 486 A20-285 F1
8 487 A20-286 F2
8 488 A20-287 F3
8 489 A20-288 F4
8 490 A20-289 F5
8 491 A20-290 F6
8 492 A20-291 F7
8 493 A20-292 F8
8 494 A20-293 F9
8 495 A20-294 F10
8 496 A20-295 G1
8 497 A20-296 G2
8 498 A20-297 G3
8 499 A20-298 G4
8 500 A20-299 G5
8 501 A20-300 G6
8 502 A20-301 G7
8 503 A20-302 G8
8 504 A20-303 G9
8 505 A20-304 G10
8 506 A20-305 H1
8 507 A20-306 H2
8 508 A20-307 H3
8 509 A20-308 H4
8 510 A20-309 H5
8 511 A20-310 H6
8 512 A20-311 H7
8 513 A20-312 H8
8 514 A20-313 H9
8 515 A20-314 H10
8 516 A20-315 J1
8 517 A20-316 J2
8 518 A20-317 J3
8 519 A20-318 J4
8 520 A20-319 J5
8 521 A20-320 J6
8 522 A20-321 J7
8 523 A20-322 J8
8 524 A20-323 J9
8 525 A20-324 J10
8 526 A20-325 K1
8 527 A20-326 K2
8 528 A20-327 K3
8 529 A20-328 K4
8 530 A20-329 K5
8 531 A20-330 K6
8 532 A20-331 K7
8 533 A20-332 K8
8 534 A20-333 K9
8 535 A20-334 K10
8 536 A20-335 L1
8 537 A20-336 L2
8 538 A20-337 L3
8 539 A20-338 L4
8 540 A20-339 L5
8 541 A20-340 L6
8 542 A20-341 L7
8 543 A20-342 L8
8 544 A20-343 L9
8 545 A20-344 L10
8 546 A20-345 M1
8 547 A20-346 M2
8 548 A20-347 M3
8 549 A20-348 M4
8 550 A20-349 M5
8 551 A20-350 M6
8 552 A20-351 M7
8 553 A20-352 M8
8 554 A20-353 M9
8 555 A20-354 M10
8 556 A20-355 N1
8 557 A20-356 N2
8 558 A20-357 N3
8 559 A20-358 N4
8 560 A20-359 N5
8 561 A20-360 N6
8 562 A20-361 N7
8 563 A20-362 N8
8 564 A20-363 N9
8 565 A20-364 N10
8 566 A20-365 P1
8 567 A20-366 P2
8 568 A20-367 P3
8 569 A20-368 P4
8 570 A20-369 P5
8 571 A20-370 P6
8 572 A20-371 P7
8 573 A20-372 P8
8 574 A20-373 P9
8 575 A20-374 P10
8 576 A20-375 R1
8 577 A20-376 R2
8 578 A20-377 R3
8 579 A20-378 R4
8 580 A20-379 R5
8 581 A20-380 R6
8 582 A20-381 R7
8 583 A20-382 R8
8 584 A20-383 R9
8 585 A20-384 R10
8 586 A20-385 S1
8 587 A20-386 S2
8 588 A20-387 S3
8 589 A20-388 S4
8 590 A20-389 S5
8 591 A20-390 S6
8 592 A20-391 S7
8 593 A20-392 S8
8 594 A20-393 S9
8 595 A20-394 S10
8 596 A20-395 T1
8 597 A20-396 T2
8 598 A20-397 T3
8 599 A20-398 T4
8 600 A20-399 T5
8 601 A20-400 T6
8 602 A20-401 T7
8 603 A20-402 T8
8 604 A20-403 T9
8 605 A20-404 T10
8 606 A20-405 U1
8 607 A20-406 U2
8 608 A20-407 U3
8 609 A20-408 U4
8 610 A20-409 U5
8 611 A20-410 U6
8 612 A20-411 U7
8 613 A20-412 U8
8 614 A20-413 U9
8 615 A20-414 U10
8 616 A20-415 W1
8 617 A20-416 W2
8 618 A20-417 W3
8 619 A20-418 W4
8 620 A20-419 W5
8 621 A20-420 W6
8 622 A20-421 W7
8 623 A20-422 W8
8 624 A20-423 W9
8 625 A20-424 W10
8 626 A20-425 X1
8 627 A20-426 X2
8 628 A20-427 X3
8 629 A20-428 X4
8 630 A20-429 X5
8 631 A20-430 X6
8 632 A20-431 X7
8 633 A20-432 X8
8 634 A20-433 X9
8 635 A20-434 X10
9 636 A20-435 A1
9 637 A20-436 A2
9 638 A20-437 A3
9 639 A20-438 A4
9 640 A20-439 A5
9 641 A20-440 A6
9 642 A20-441 A7
9 643 A20-442 A8
9 644 A20-443 A9
9 645 A20-444 A10
9 646 A20-445 B1
9 647 A20-446 B2
9 648 A20-447 B3
9 649 A20-448 B4
9 650 A20-449 B5
9 651 A20-450 B6
9 652 A20-451 B7
9 653 A20-452 B8
9 654 A20-453 B9
9 655 A20-454 B10
9 656 A20-455 C1
9 657 A20-456 C2
9 658 A20-457 C3
9 659 A20-458 C4
9 660 A20-459 C5
9 661 A20-460 C6
9 662 A20-461 C7
9 663 A20-462 C8
9 664 A20-463 C9
9 665 A20-464 C10
9 666 A20-465 D1
9 667 A20-466 D2
9 668 A20-467 D3
9 669 A20-468 D4
9 670 A20-469 D5
9 671 A20-470 D6
9 672 A20-471 D7
9 673 A20-472 D8
9 674 A20-473 D9
9 675 A20-474 D10
9 676 A20-475 E1
9 677 A20-476 E2
9 678 A20-477 E3
9 679 A20-478 E4
9 680 A20-479 E5
9 681 A20-480 E6
9 682 A20-481 E7
9 683 A20-482 E8
9 684 A20-483 E9
9 685 A20-484 E10
9 686 A20-485 F1
9 687 A20-486 F2
9 688 A20-487 F3
9 689 A20-488 F4
9 690 A20-489 F5
9 691 A20-490 F6
9 692 A20-491 F7
9 693 A20-492 F8
9 694 A20-493 F9
9 695 A20-494 F10
9 696 A20-495 G1
9 697 A20-496 G2
9 698 A20-497 G3
9 699 A20-498 G4
9 700 A20-499 G5
9 701 A20-500 G6
9 702 A20-501 G7
9 703 A20-502 G8
9 704 A20-503 G9
9 705 A20-504 G10
9 706 A20-505 H1
9 707 A20-506 H2
9 708 A20-507 H3
9 709 A20-508 H4
9 710 A20-509 H5
9 711 A20-510 H6
9 712 A20-511 H7
9 713 A20-512 H8
9 714 A20-513 H9
9 715 A20-514 H10
9 716 A20-515 J1
9 717 A20-516 J2
9 718 A20-517 J3
9 719 A20-518 J4
9 720 A20-519 J5
9 721 A20-520 J6
9 722 A20-521 J7
9 723 A20-522 J8
9 724 A20-523 J9
9 725 A20-524 J10
9 726 A20-525 K1
9 727 A20-526 K2
9 728 A20-527 K3
9 729 A20-528 K4
9 730 A20-529 K5
9 731 A20-530 K6
9 732 A20-531 K7
9 733 A20-532 K8
9 734 A20-533 K9
9 735 A20-534 K10
9 736 A20-535 L1
9 737 A20-536 L2
9 738 A20-537 L3
9 739 A20-538 L4
9 740 A20-539 L5
9 741 A20-540 L6
9 742 A20-541 L7
9 743 A20-542 L8
9 744 A20-543 L9
9 745 A20-544 L10
9 746 A20-545 M1
9 747 A20-546 M2
9 748 A20-547 M3
9 749 A20-548 M4
9 750 A20-549 M5
9 751 A20-550 M6
9 752 A20-551 M7
9 753 A20-552 M8
9 754 A20-553 M9
9 755 A20-554 M10
9 756 A20-555 N1
9 757 A20-556 N2
9 758 A20-557 N3
9 759 A20-558 N4
9 760 A20-559 N5
9 761 A20-560 N6
9 762 A20-561 N7
9 763 A20-562 N8
9 764 A20-563 N9
9 765 A20-564 N10
9 766 A20-565 P1
9 767 A20-566 P2
9 768 A20-567 P3
9 769 A20-568 P4
9 770 A20-569 P5
9 771 A20-570 P6
9 772 A20-571 P7
9 773 A20-572 P8
9 774 A20-573 P9
9 775 A20-574 P10
9 776 A20-575 R1
9 777 A20-576 R2
9 778 A20-577 R3
9 779 A20-578 R4
9 780 A20-579 R5
9 781 A20-580 R6
9 782 A20-581 R7
9 783 A20-582 R8
9 784 A20-583 R9
9 785 A20-584 R10
9 786 A20-585 S1
9 787 A20-586 S2
9 788 A20-587 S3
9 789 A20-588 S4
9 790 A20-589 S5
9 791 A20-590 S6
9 792 A20-591 S7
9 793 A20-592 S8
9 794 A20-593 S9
9 795 A20-594 S10
9 796 A20-595 T1
9 797 A20-596 T2
9 798 A20-597 T3
9 799 A20-598 T4
9 800 A20-599 T5
9 801 A20-600 T6
9 802 A20-601 T7
9 803 A20-602 T8
9 804 A20-603 T9
9 805 A20-604 T10
9 806 A20-605 U1
9 807 A20-606 U2
9 808 A20-607 U3
9 809 A20-608 U4
9 810 A20-609 U5
9 811 A20-610 U6
9 812 A20-611 U7
9 813 A20-612 U8
9 814 A20-613 U9
9 815 A20-614 U10
9 816 A20-615 W1
9 817 A20-616 W2
9 818 A20-617 W3
9 819 A20-618 W4
9 820 A20-619 W5
9 821 A20-620 W6
9 822 A20-621 W7
9 823 A20-622 W8

I welcome feedback on the table above, with supporting evidence of any possible inaccuracies.

References:

Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation. Sales Department Aircraft Delivery Ledger; Kept by Gordon Parker. CAC Collection, Australian National Aviation Museum.

Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation. Aircraft Drawing Office Manual. Incorporating up to Amendment List No. 2, Melbourne, Australia, 1946.