26 Facts About Lawrence Wackett

Lawrence Wackett has been described as "one of the towering figures in the history of Australian aviation covering, as he did, virtually all aspects of activities: pilot, designer of airframes and engines, entrepreneur and manager".

Lawrence Wackett was knighted for his services to aviation and was a winner of the Oswald Watt Gold Medal.

Lawrence Wackett was a keen angler and wrote two books on the subject.

Lawrence Wackett joined the Australian Army and graduated from the Royal Military College, Duntroon, then with the rank of lieutenant joined No 1 Squadron of the Australian Flying Corps which had formed at Point Cook the day before his 20th birthday.

Lawrence Wackett was one of twelve pilots that went to Egypt with the Squadron to operate in support of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign, embarking on 16 March 1916 and arriving at Suez four weeks later.

Lawrence Wackett's modification meant that all he had to do was point the whole aircraft at his adversary and that he had a measure of protection when on a bombing mission.

Lawrence Wackett used his modified BE2c to good effect on several occasions.

Lawrence Wackett flew towards them firing the gun and the Rumplers broke off the fight.

Lawrence Wackett was able to use his aircraft to assist the Martinsyde in defending their comrades and fighting off the attack.

Lawrence Wackett later transferred to No 3 Squadron AFC in France and played a significant role in the Battle of Hamel fought on 4 July 1918.

Lawrence Wackett was asked to do the work as his reputation had spread; 'he had a gift for mechanical inventions' according to his superiors.

Post-war, Lawrence Wackett was one of just 21 officers who formed the nucleus of the new Royal Australian Air Force in 1921.

Lawrence Wackett entered and won second prize in the 1924 Low-Powered Aeroplane Competition with his first design, the Warbler.

Lawrence Wackett learned of war surplus machine tools slated for disposal from a workshop in Randwick, Sydney, and prevailed upon his superiors to acquire the workshop.

Lawrence Wackett tried to obtain permission to design and build an entirely Australian aircraft, but the RAAF had no money in its budget for this and would not give the go-ahead unless Wackett could obtain funds from some other source.

Lawrence Wackett was on board with Brinsmead and two mechanics; all were unhurt.

Lawrence Wackett himself flew the Widgeon II extensively, later saying, "I proved its capability by flying it on a 9,000-mile journey across and around part of the Australian continent in 1928".

On 21 March 1927, Lawrence Wackett was elected the inaugural chairman of the NSW Division of the Institution of Aeronautical Engineers in Sydney.

Lawrence Wackett found time to act as the New South Wales RAAF Aide de Camp to the Governor General, although the duties were not onerous.

Lawrence Wackett resigned from the RAAF with the rank of wing commander and transferred to the Cockatoo Island Naval Dockyard.

The second type to emerge from CAC under Lawrence Wackett's stewardship was the eponymous Lawrence Wackett Trainer, the first prototype flying for the first time just after the outbreak of World War II.

In many ways the story of Lawrence Wackett was inextricably linked with the history of the RAAF and CAC for over twenty years.

Lawrence Wackett was hugely influential within the Australian aircraft industry as a whole and within the RAAF, which often chose its combat aircraft types based on his recommendations.

Lawrence Wackett suffered personal tragedy during the war when his son, Squadron Leader Wilbur Lawrence Wackett, was killed in 1944 while serving as a Beaufighter pilot with No 31 Squadron RAAF.

Lawrence Wackett negotiated with North American Aviation and Rolls-Royce to manufacture the Sabre jet fighter and Avon engine of those companies under licence.

Lawrence Wackett and the CAC Board undertook extensive lobbying to reverse the decision but the best that could be achieved was a subcontract to build the Mirage's wings, tails and engines.