Lockheed Hudson cockpitLockheed Hudson Bomber,Clyde Engineering Works
In late 1937 Lockheed sent a cutaway drawing of the Model 14 to various publications, showing the new aircraft as a civilian aircraft and converted to a light bomber.[4] This attracted the interest of various air forces and in 1938, theBritish Purchasing Commission sought an American maritime patrol aircraft for theUnited Kingdom to support theAvro Anson.
The Commission ordered 200 aircraft for use by the Royal Air Force and the first aircraft started flight trials fromBurbank, California on 10 December 1938.[5] The flight trials showed no major issues, and deliveries to the RAF began on 15 February 1939.[5] Production was sped up after the British indicated they would order another 50 aircraft if the original 200 could be delivered before the end of 1939.[5] Lockheed sub-contracted some parts assembly toRohr Aircraft Corp of San Diego and increased its workforce, allowing the company to produce the 250th aircraft seven and a half weeks before the deadline.[5]
A total of 350 Mk I and 20Mk II Hudsons were supplied (the Mk II had differentpropellers). These had two fixed Browningmachine guns in the nose and two more in theBoulton Paul dorsal turret. TheHudson Mk III added one ventral and two beam machine guns and replaced the 1,100 hpWright R-1820 Cyclone 9-cylinder radials with 1,200 hp versions (428 produced).[6]
TheHudson Mk V (309 produced) andMk VI (450 produced) were powered by the 1,200 hpPratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp 14-cylinder two-row radial. The RAF also obtained 380Mk IIIA and 30Mk IV Hudsons under theLend-Lease program.
By February 1939, RAF Hudsons began to be delivered, initially equippingNo. 224 Squadron RAF atRAF Leuchars,Scotland in May 1939. By the start of the war in September, 78 Hudsons were in service.[7] Due to theUnited States' neutrality at that time, early series aircraft were flown to the Canada–US border, landed, and then towed on their wheels over the border into Canada by tractors or horse drawn teams, before then being flown toRoyal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) airfields where they were then dismantled and "cocooned" for transport as deck cargo, by ship toLiverpool. The Hudsons were supplied without theBoulton Paul dorsal turret, which was installed on arrival in the United Kingdom.
Although later outclassed by larger bombers, the Hudson achieved some significant feats during the first half of the war. On 8 October 1939, overJutland, a Hudson became the first Allied aircraft operating from theBritish Isles to shoot down an enemy aircraft[8] (earlier victories by aFairey Battle on 20 September 1939 overAachen and byBlackburn Skuas of theFleet Air Arm on 26 September 1939 had been by aircraft based inFrance or on anaircraft carrier). Hudsons also provided top cover during theBattle of Dunkirk. On 23 July 1941 a Hudson shot down aFocke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor, while escorting a shipping convoy off Ireland.[9]
On 27 August 1941, a Hudson ofNo. 269 Squadron RAF, operating fromKaldadarnes, Iceland, attacked and damaged theGerman submarine U-570 causing the submarine's crew to display a white flag and surrender – the aircraft achieved the unusual distinction of capturing a naval vessel. The Germans were taken prisoner and the submarine taken under tow when Royal Navy ships subsequently arrived on the scene.[10] A PBO-1 Hudson of theUnited States Navy squadronVP-82 became the first US aircraft to destroy a German submarine,[11] when it sankU-656 southwest ofNewfoundland on 1 March 1942.U-701 was destroyed on 7 July 1942 while running on the surface offCape Hatteras by a Hudson of the396th Bombardment Squadron (Medium),United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). A Hudson ofNo. 113 Squadron RCAF became the first aircraft of the RCAF's Eastern Air Command to sink a submarine, when Hudson625 sankU-754 on 31 July 1942.[12]
In 1941, the USAAF began operating the Hudson; the Twin Wasp-powered variant was designated theA-28 (82 acquired) and the Cyclone-powered variant was designated theA-29 (418 acquired). The US Navy operated 20 A-29s, redesignated thePBO-1. A further 300 were built as aircrew trainers, designated theAT-18.
Lockheed Hudson aircraft of No. 1 Squadron under assembly atRAAF Station Richmond. The Hudson in the right foreground was flown byFlt Lt John Lockwood, who led the first Allied attack against the Japanese. He and his wingmen damaged the Japanese freighter,Awazisan Maru, forcing its abandonment.
Its opponents found that the Hudson had exceptional manoeuvrability for a twin-engine aircraft; it was notable for the tight turns achievable if either engine was brieflyfeathered.
High-scoring Japanese aceSaburō Sakai, praised the skill and fighting abilities of an RAAF Hudson crew killed in action overNew Guinea after being engaged by nine highly manoeuvrableMitsubishi A6M Zeroes on 22 July 1942.[14][15] The crew, captained byP/O Warren Cowan, in Hudson Mk IIIAA16-201 (bu. no.41-36979) ofNo. 32 Squadron RAAF, was intercepted overBuna by nine Zeroes of theTainan Kaigun Kōkūtai led by Sakai. The Hudson crew accomplished many aggressive and unexpected turns, engaging the Japanese pilots in a dogfight for more than 10 minutes. It was only after Sakai scored hits on the rear/upper turret that the Hudson could be destroyed. Its crew made such an impression on Sakai that, after the war's end, he sought to identify them. In 1997, Sakai wrote formally to the Australian government, recommending that Cowan be "posthumously awarded your country'shighest military decoration".[14] In 2023, the crew ofA16-201 were posthumously awarded theMedal for Gallantry.[16]
On 23 November 1942, the crew of aNo. 3 Squadron, Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) Hudson Mk IIIA,NZ2049,[17] (41-46465) after spotting an enemy convoy nearVella Lavella, was engaged by three Japanese floatplane fighters. After skilled evasive manoeuvring at an altitude of less than 50 feet (15 metres), by the Hudson's captain,Flying Officer George Gudsell,[18] the crew returned with no casualties toHenderson Field, Guadalcanal.
Hudson III, ex RAAF, operated by Adastra Aerial Surveys 1953–1972
After the war, numbers of Hudsons were sold by the military for civil operation as airliners and survey aircraft. In Australia,East-West Airlines ofTamworth, New South Wales (NSW), operated four Hudsons on scheduled services from Tamworth to many towns in NSW and Queensland between 1950 and 1955.[19]Adastra Aerial Surveys based at Sydney's Mascot Airport operated seven L-414s between 1950 and 1972 on air taxi, survey and photographic flights.[20]
The type formed the basis for development of theLockheed Ventura resulting in them being withdrawn from front line service from 1944, though many survived the war to be used as civil transports, primarily in Australia and a single example was briefly used as an airline crew trainer in New Zealand.
A Hudson I from 11 Squadron, RCAFHudson Mk V ofNo. 48 Squadron RAF, in early 1942A US Navy PBO-1 from VP-82 at Argentia, 1942A 3-view drawing of a Lockheed AT-18 Hudson
Model 414
Company designation for the military A-28 / A-29 and Hudson variants.
US Military designation powered by two 1,050 hp (780 kW)Pratt & Whitney R-1830-45 engines; 52 lend-lease to Australia as Hudson IVA.[22]
A-28A
US Military designation powered by two 1,200 hp (890 kW)Pratt & Whitney R-1830-67 engines, interiors convertible to troop transports; 450 lend-lease to RAF/RCAF/RNZAF as Hudson VI; 27 units passed to theBrazilian Air Force.[22]
As A-29 but with convertible interiors as troop transports; 384 lend-lease to the RAF/RAAF/RCAF/RNZAF Chinese Air Force as Hudson IIIA, some retained by USAAF as the RA-29A.[22]
A-29B
24 of the 153 A-29s retained by the USAAF converted for photo-survey.[22]
AT-18
Gunnery trainer version of the A-29 powered by two Wright R-1820-87 engines, 217 built.
AT-18A
Navigational trainer version with dorsal turret removed, 83 built.
C-63
Provisional designation changed to A-29A.
PBO-1
Twenty former RAF Hudson IIIAs repossessed for use by Patrol Squadron 82 (VP-82) of the USN
Hudson Mk III at Point Cook (2008)Hudson Bomber converted for civilian passenger use after the Second World War and flown by East-West Airlines; it is restored as a Hudson Mk III and is currently located at the Temora Aviation Museum
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Vincent, David.The RAAF Hudson Story: Book One Highbury, South Australia: David Vincent, 1999.ISBN0-9596052-2-3
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