CAC CA-32 Kiowa A17-054

The Bell OH-58 Kiowa is a twin-bladed helicopter, developed in the mid 1960s, based on the commercial Bell 206A Jet Ranger, an aircraft popular with ambulance services, corporate executives and news media. The military variant has an uprated engine and lengthened rotor blades and incorporated higher skids for operating in unprepared areas. Australia's first military Bell OH-58A Kiowas were leased from the U.S. Army in 1971 for use by No 161 Independent Reconnaissance Flight in Vietnam.

The Kiowa was subsequently selected over the French SA.341 Gazelle in 1971 as the Australian Army's standard light observation helicopter. Originally the program had been for 200 aircraft, but the military requirement was eventually reduced by 1974 to only 56 airframes. The first twelve were manufactured in the USA and then re-assembled in Australia, with the balance being manufactured in Australia by the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) . The Australian CAC Kiowas are unique in having a double hinged rear port cabin door and a removable door pillar, allowing the loading and carrying of stretcher-bound casualties.

Kiowa helicopter A17- 054 was delivered in 1975, and took part in operational flights in East Timor during 2003. It was placed in long term storage in 2005.