Main Menu

United States' Lockheed Hudson bomber^1,2,3

Lockheed Hudson Mk III bomber, taken over by the United States:

Lockheed Hudson A-29 bomber:

Design

The design of the Lockheed Hudson was based on the Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra civil transport.^1,3 The Hudson was to become a maritime reconnaissance plane.²

Fuselage

The internal area could be converted to carry passengers.¹

Tail

The twin vertical fins allowed for the gunner to have nearly a clear field of fire.¹

Prototype

The prototype first flew on December 10, 1938.^1,2,3

Production

Production of the Lockheed Hudson ended in May 1943.^1,3

• Hudson Mk I: 350³
• Hudson Mk II: 20³
• Hudson Mk III: 428³
• Hudson Mk IIIA / A-29: 800³
• Hudson Mk IV: 130³
• Hudson Mk IVA / A-28: 52³
• Hudson Mk V / A-28A: 409^2,3
• Hudson Mk VI: 450³
• AT-18/A: 300³
• Total: 2,941^1,3

Variants

• Hudson Mk I:
• Hudson Mk II: Had hydromatic propellers.²
• Hudson Mk III: Had Wright GR-1820-G205A radial engines (1,200 HP).²
• Hudson Mk IIIA / A-29: Lend-Lease supply.³
• Hudson Mk IV: Had Pratt & Whitney radial engines.²
• Hudson Mk IVA / A-28: Lend-Lease supply.³
• Hudson Mk V: Had Pratt & Whitney radial engines.²
• Hudson Mk VI: Had Pratt & Whitney radial engines.²
• Hudson ??: Search and rescue version with a lifeboat under the fuselage.¹
• A-28: US Army Air Force attack version.¹
• A-28A:
• A-29: US Army Air Force attack version.¹ Models taken back from the United Kingdom.²
• A-29A: Models taken back from the United Kingdom.²
• AT-18: Trainer.^1,2 Gunnery.³
• AT-18B: Trainer.² The dorsal turret was removed.² Navigation.³
• PBO: The US Navy's patrol bomber.¹

Usage

Used by Australia^1,2,3, Canada^1,2,3, China^1,2, Netherlands³, New Zealand^1,2,3, Portugal^1,2, South Africa^1,2,3, the Soviet Union^1,2, United Kingdom^1,2,3, and United States^1,2,3.

U-boats captured or destroyed

On August 27, 1941, a Hudson of Squadron No. 269 helped cause U-boat U-570 surrender.²

On March 15, 1942, US Navy Hudsons sank two U-boats.¹

On July 7, 1942, an A-29 sank U-701.¹

In May 1943 a Hudson was the first to sink a U-boat with rockets.³

United Kingdom

The Lockheed Hudson was the first American built plane to serve with the Royal Air Force (RAF).¹ The United Kingdom ordered 200 (increased to 350) Hudson Mk Is.^2,3 The first one arrived in Liverpool on February 15, 1939.² Eventually the British were to receive ~2,000.³ Of these 1,170 were supplied under Lend-Lease.³

The first unit to receive the Hudson was the Royal Air Force's No. 224 Squadron.² These replaced their Avro Ansons.²

On October 8, 1939, a Hudson shot down the first German aircraft of the war.³

A Hudson lead the British navy to the German prison ship the Altmark in February 1940.^1,3

The No. 280 Squadron was the first to have Hudsons drop lifeboats in the North Sea in 1943.¹

2,487 Hudsons were purchased by the United Kingdom.² 423 were supplied to Australia, Canada, China, New Zealand, Portugal, and South Africa.²

By the end of the war the Hudson was being primarily used as a transport plane in 31 RAF squadrons.²

South Atlantic

There were Lockheed Hudsons based in Manaos, Brazil to patrol the South Atlantic.¹

Australia

Starting in January 1940 the first of 247 Hudsons were delivered to Australia.³ Two squadrons were hit by the Japanese attack on Malaya on December 8, 1941.³

United States Navy

Twenty PBO-1s (A-29s) were received by the US Navy.³ These scored the first two submarine kills for the US Navy.³

	Lockheed Hudson3	Lockheed Hudson Mk I1,3	Lockheed Hudson Mk II3	Lockheed Hudson Mk III3	Lockheed A-29 / Hudson Mk IIIA2	Lockheed Hudson Mk IV3	Lockheed A-28 / Hudson Mk IVA3	Lockheed A-28A / Hudson Mk VA3	Lockheed Hudson Mk VI3
Type	Reconnaissance bomber3	Maritime patrol / bomber1			Bomber2
Crew	4 - 53	41 Pilot, navigator, bomb-aimer, radio operator1			42
Engine (Type)		2: Wright GR-1820-G-102A piston1 2: Wright R-1820-G102A Cyclone3	2: Wright R-1820-G102A Cyclone3	2: Wright R-1820-G205A3	2: Wright R-1820-87 piston2 2: Wright 1820-G205A3	2: Pratt & Whitney R-1830-SC3G Twin Wasp3	2: Pratt & Whitney R-1830-SC3G Twin Wasp3	2: Pratt & Whitney R-1830-S3C4-G3	2: Pratt & Whitney R-1830-S3C4-G3
Cylinders		Radial1, Radial 93	Radial 93		Radial2	Radial 143	Radial 143
Cooling
HP		1,100 each1,3	1,100 each3	1,200 each3	1,200 each2,3	1,200 each3	1,200 each3	1,200 each3	1,200 each3
Propeller blades		3 each1,3	3 each3	3 each3	3 each3	3 each3	3 each3	3 each3	3 each3
Dimensions
Span	65' 6"3 19.96 m3	65'1 19.96 m1			65' 6"2 19.96 m2
Length	44' 3.75"3 13.5 m3	44'1 13.51 m1			44' 4"2 13.51 m2
Height	10' 10.5"3 3.32 m3	12'1 3.61 m1			11' 11"2 3.63 m2
Wing area		551 ft2 1 51.19 m2 1			551 ft2 2 51.19 m2 2
Weight
Empty		11,605 lb1 5,275 kg1		13,160 lb3 5,969 kg3	12,825 lb2 5,817 kg2
Loaded		17,464 lb1 7,938 kg1		20,000 lb3 9,072 kg3	20,500 lb2 9,299 kg2
Performance
Speed @ 6,500' / 1,980 m		245 mph1 396 kph1
Speed @ 15,000' / 4,570 m					253 mph2 407 kph2
Speed @ 15,000' / 4,572 m				252 mph3 405 kph3
Cruising speed				155 - 196 mph3 249 - 315 kph3
Climb to 10,000' / 3,050 m				1,200'/minute3 366 m/minute3	6.3 minutes2
Service ceiling		25,000'1 7,620 m1		25,000'3 7,620 m3	26,500'2 8,075 m2
Range		1,955 miles1 3,154 km1		1,355 miles3 2,180 km3	1,550 miles2 2,494 km2
Range with max load				780 miles3 1,255 km3
Armament		up to 7 0.303" MG3		up to 7 0.303" MG3
Nose		2: 7.62 mm MG1			2: 7.62 mm MG2
Dorsal turret		2: 7.62 mm MG1			1: 7.62 mm MG2
Ventral position					1: 7.62 mm MG2
Bomb-bay - bombs or depth charges		1,400 lb1, 1,600 lb3 635 kg1, 726 kg3		1,600 lb3 726 kg3	1,600 lb2 726 kg2

Sources:

1. Aircraft of WWII, General Editor: Jim Winchester, 2004
2. Fighting Aircraft of World War II, Editor: Karen Leverington, 1995
3. Aircraft of WWII, Stewart Wilson, 1998

---