From Australia’s Jewish past

Friedrich Wilhelm – Fred David – renowned aeronautical designer

Fred was born on 17 January 1900 in Vienna, Austria, into a middle-class Jewish family.  He graduated as a mechanical engineer, worked in Sweden, Germany, and America, developing aeronautical expertise.  During the 1930s, he helped design aircraft in Germany and Japan, some of which were used against the Allies in World War II.  This included the raids on Pearl Harbour and Darwin.

In 1939, he and his wife, Else, arrived in Melbourne as refugees.  His mother and two siblings also managed to leave Vienna before the war, and they too settled in Melbourne.  He was classified as an “enemy alien”, having to report to the local police station weekly, having been interned by Australian immigration officials.

Fred David, as he became known, secured work at the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation at Fisherman’s Bend, where he led the design of the early Australian-developed fighter plane that saw combat in the Pacific War.  This was the CAC Boomerang used by the Royal Australian Air Force.  Fred worked on several projects throughout the war, but his most technically advanced aircraft never got past the prototype stage.  This was the CAC CA-15 Kangaroo piston fighter. The project was commissioned in early 1943 to overcome the speed and aeronautical limitations of the CAC Boomerang, but the prototype did not fly until March 1946.  However, despite the aircraft exceeding the maximum speed and climb rate of the Spitfire and Mustang, it was obsolete as the dawn of the jet age had arrived.  Once the war was over, Fred moved on to working for the Australian government’s research arm and became a specialist in aerodynamics. This role evolved into heading the team that produced the Ikara (Missile) Project, an Australian ship-launched anti-submarine missile named after an Aboriginal word for “throwing stick”.  It launched an acoustic torpedo to a range of nineteen kilometres, allowing fast-reaction attacks against submarines at ranges that would otherwise require the launching ship to close for attack, placing itself at risk.  This missile was used by the Royal Australian Navy, the Royal, Chilean and Brazilian navies.

Fred was a quiet achiever with a personal passion for music, often performing as a cellist in a string quartet.  It is true to say that he had an improbable career, with his focus on locating his technical work within an ever-changing social and cultural context.  He passed away on 28 September 1992, aged ninety-two, having become the most significant aircraft designer for the Australian aircraft industry during World War II.  He was one of the few people to have worked for both sides (Allies and Axis powers) in designing aircraft that were used during the war.

The AJHS acknowledges the following references in the preparation of this story:

Wikipedia, Naval Historical Society of Au

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