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Joe's WWII Blog
Operation Foxes Den - Neutralization of Australia
WW2 Operations
Operation Argument | USAAF attack on German fighter plane factories (Jan 11 - Mar 1, 1944) |
Operation Avalanche | US Fifth Army attack on Salerno, Italy (Sep 9, 1943) |
Operation Barney | US Navy submarine attack into the Sea of Japan (Jun 1945) |
Operation Baytown | Allied invasion of Italy in region of Calabria by British and Canadian troop crossing the Straits of Messina on September 3, 1943. See also Operation Avalanche and Operation Slapstick. |
Operation Brassard | Allied attack to capture Elba (Jun 17, 1944) |
Operation Brewer | US attack on the Admiralty Islands (Feb 19, 1944) |
Operation Brimstone | Allied attack on Sardinia (Sep 18, 1944) |
Operation Catchpole | US attack on Eniwetok Island (Feb 17, 1944) |
Operation Chariot | British attack on St. Nazaire on March 28, 1942. (St. Nazaire Raid) |
Operation Clarion | Allied air attack on Germany (Feb 22, 1945) |
Operation Cobra | US First Army movement from Normandy to St Lo (Jul 25, 1944) |
Operation Corkscrew | Allied attack on Pantelleria Island (May 18, 1943) |
Operation Crossbow | Allied air attack on German rocket sites (Aug 17, 1943) |
Operation Daffodil | Allied attacks on Tobruk in North Africa on September 13, 1942. (Part of Operation Agreement.) |
Operation Desecrate | US attack of Palau Islands (Mar 31, 1943) |
Operation Detachment | US attack on Iwo Jima (Feb - Mar, 1945) |
Operation Dragoon | Allied attack on French Riviera (Aug 15, 1944) |
Operation Flintlock | US attack on Marshall Islands (1944) |
Axis attack operation on Australia (1943) | |
Operation Grenade | US Ninth Army movement toward Rhine River (Feb 23, 1945) |
Operation Hailstone | US carrier attack on Truk Island (Feb 16 - 17, 1944) |
Operation Husky | Allied attack on Sicily (Jul 10, 1943) |
Operation Iceberg | US attack on Okinawa (Apr 1, 1945) |
Operation Infatuate | Allied landings on the island of Walcheren on November 1, 1944 as part of the Battle of the Scheldt. |
Operation Jubilee | Allied attack on Dieppe (Aug 11, 1942) |
Operation Longsuit | USMC 2nd Division attack on Tarawa (Nov 20, 1943) |
Operation Market-Garden | Allied attack in the Netherlands (Sep 1944) |
Operation Meeting House | USAAF fire bomb attack on Tokyo (Mar 9, 1945) |
Operation Mike I | US amphibious attack on Luzon (Jan 9, 1945) |
Operation Neptune | Initial landing phase of the Allied invasion of northwest Europe, Operation Overlord. |
Operation Overlord | Allied invasion of Normandy (Jun 6, 1944) |
Operation Plunder | Allied movement across the Rhine River (Mar 23, 1945) |
Operation Quicksilver | Allied deception plan to convince Germans that D-Day landings would occur on Calais. |
Operation Reckless | US attack on Hollandia (Apr 22, 1944) |
Operation Road's End | Allied destruction of Japanese ships that survived the war (Feb 1946) |
Operation Slapstick | British landings at Taranto, Italy on September 9, 1943. See also Operation Avalanche and Operation Baytown. |
Operation Shingle | Allied amphibious attack on Anzio (Jan 22, 1944) |
Operation Tidal Wave | Ninth USAAF attack on oilfields in Ploesti (Aug 1, 1943) |
Operation Titanic | Allied dummy parachute drops in Normandy (Jun 6, 1944) |
Operation Torch | Allied invasion of North Africa (Nov 8, 1942) |
Operation Varsity | Allied airborne drop across the Rhine River (17th Airborne Div) |
Operation Watchtower | US attack on Guadalcanal and Tulagi (Aug 7, 1942) |
Commonwealth (CAC) Boomerang

The Boomerang was of a utilitarian and traditional design, appearing much like the early stout monoplanes featured in the latter half of the 1930's in the United States. Wings - which were taken directly from the Wirraway design - were forward and low-mounted on the fuselage which was of an all new design. Additionally, the empennage and the retractable landing gear system were also of the preceding designs creation leading to a conversion model of sorts in the Boomerang. The pilot sat behind the powerplant in a framed canopy cockpit. Armament consisted of 2 x 20mm cannons in the wings and an array of 4 x 7.7mm machine guns in the wings.
With aircraft development hitting full stride in England and the United States, the Pratt & Whitney brand Twin Wasp series engine was deemed too underpowered for the new designs. As such, a surplus of the type was made available for use in Australia and was promptly set into the Boomerang fuselage. The resulting mating of power and design produced an aircraft capable of just over 300 miles per hour, a ceiling of 34,000 feet and a range of 1,600 miles on the 1,200 horsepower radial piston engine. From design to flying prototype, the CAC team created the Boomerang in an impressive three months of development.
At first glance, the statistics could appear quite pedestrian considering the type would be fighting against the powerful Nakajima, Aichi and Mitsubishi designs of the Pacific but the Boomerang surprisingly faired quite well in the theater - for the short time it was given. Factors leading to its success were directly tied to the systems ability to withstand punishment, deliver a formidable arsenal on its target through its combination machine gun/cannon armament and turn alongside the best the Japanese could field. As quickly as the Boomerang arrived into frontline service, it quickly gave way to the more capable American designs coming off the assembly line at record pace. Once surplus resources had been built up in the United States, England, Canada and Australia were quickly fielding the capable and available American designs en mass. Nevertheless, the symbol that was the Boomerang would long remain the symbol of a nation with a proud effort in designing producing a wartime fighter when it needed one most.