Sir Lawrence James Wackett KBE, DFC, AFC (2 January 1896 – 18 March 1982) is widely regarded as "father of the Australian aircraft industry".

He 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".

He 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.

[4][5] In Egypt he designed a mounting to attach a Lewis Gun to the upper wing of his BE2c; considerably improving the fighting ability of a type that was described by Hudson Fysh (who served with Wackett in No.

Further investigation and in-depth study of British, Australian and Turkish records by researcher Dr. Ilan Gal Peer, confirmed that the most likely pilot was Wackett of Number 1 Squadron attached to EEF, who believed a non-existent ammunitions shed was located in the immediate vicinity.

He entered and won second prize in the 1924 Low-Powered Aeroplane Competition (held at Richmond in December that year) with his first design, the Warbler.

The result was the Widgeon, a wooden hull biplane flying boat powered by an Armstrong Siddeley Puma of 230 hp (170 kW) located below and forward of the upper wing.

This aircraft, the first flying boat to be wholly designed and constructed in Australia, was registered to the Civil Aviation Branch out of the Australian sequence (i.e. G-AUxx) as G-AEKB, after E. K. Bowden, Minister for Defence.

A larger amphibian, the Widgeon II, powered by a 440 hp (330 kW) Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar engine, was the next aircraft to emerge from the Experimental Section workshop.

Wackett himself flew the Widgeon II extensively, later saying, "I proved its capability by flying it on a 9,000-mile (14,000 km) journey across and around part of the Australian continent in 1928".

[11] The next aircraft developed at Randwick was the two-seat Warrigal I of 1929, a biplane trainer of conventional design, powered by a 180 hp (130 kW) Armstrong Siddeley Lynx radial engine.

[14] As a result of a government-sponsored report and pressure from British manufacturers, who saw Wackett as a threat to their monopoly on Australian orders, the Randwick Station was closed in 1931.

[1][4] Wackett resigned from the RAAF with the rank of wing commander and transferred (with some personnel and equipment) to the Cockatoo Island Naval Dockyard.

His marine designs at the Dockyard included small motorboats such as the Cettien (which won the Griffith Cup in 1934 and 1935)[18] and the racing hydroplane Century Tire II, and larger commercial passenger-carrying vessels as well.

The following year, following a series of accidents involving Australian-operated de Havilland D.H.86s, he and his brother Ellis (who was then the Director of RAAF Technical Services) were asked to provide their views and recommendations to a special conference convened by the Civil Aviation Branch, held to examine the type and its shortcomings.

[20] On completion of the mission Wackett returned to Tugan Aircraft, where the Codock design was developed into the LJW7 Gannet six/seven passenger airliner powered by two de Havilland Gipsy Six engines.

Aircraft types emerging from CAC during the war period included the innovative and advanced Woomera and CA-15, however like many of his pre-war designs these were built as prototypes only, being the victims of circumstance and changing requirements.

He also 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.

[21] Following World War II his influence was again exerted over the RAAF when it became necessary to replace the de Havilland Vampire first-generation jet fighters then in service.

The use of the Avon and other features such as using 30mm Aden cannon armament instead of .50in Browning machine guns necessitated a 60% redesign of the Sabre fuselage and resulted in perhaps the best variant of that aircraft.

When the time came to replace the Sabre, Wackett once again was largely responsible for deciding which aircraft was selected, albeit with less desirable results from CAC's point of view.

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.

His name lives on – the RMIT University established the Sir Lawrence Wackett Centre for Aerospace Design Technology in 1991 at the former CAC factory.