World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseWhen the British Purchasing Commission went to Lockheed Corporation for a model to support the Avro Anson aircraft for reconnaissance duties, Lockheed presented a modified version of the civilian design Model 14 Super Electra airliner. The commission was quickly convinced, and the military version of the Model 14 went into production with the new designation Hudson. Delivery began in Feb 1939, and by the time the European War started in Sep, 78 were in service with the Royal Air Force, fulfilling coastal reconnaissance and light bombing duties. On 8 Oct 1939 over Jutland, a Hudson bomber became the first RAF aircraft to shoot down a German aircraft. During the Dunkirk evacuation, Hudson bomber acted as fighters. When the United States entered the war, a number of Hudson aircraft were purchased by the US Navy; one of the US Hudson bombers became the first US aircraft to sink a German submarine when it sank U-656 off Newfoundland on 1 Mar 1942. Some of the Hudson aircraft also went to the Commonwealth forces in the South Pacific; on 7 Dec 1941, one of the Royal Australian Air Force Hudson bombers became the first Allied aircraft to attack a Japanese ship in the Pacific War when it sank Japanese Navy transport Awajisan Maru off Kota Bharu. When production ceased in 1942, a total of 2,584 were built. They were withdrawn from front line service in 1944.

A-29 Hudson Timeline

SPECIFICATIONS

Mk I

Machinery	Two Wright Cyclone 9-cylinder radial engines rated at 1,100hp each
Armament	2x7.7mm nose Browning machine guns, 2x7.7mm dorsal turret Browning machine guns, 340kg of bombs or depth charges
Crew	6
Span	19.96 m
Length	13.51 m
Height	3.62 m
Wing Area	51.20 m²
Weight, Empty	5,400 kg
Weight, Loaded	7,930 kg
Weight, Maximum	8,390 kg
Speed, Maximum	397 km/h
Rate of Climb	6.20 m/s
Service Ceiling	7,470 m
Range, Maximum	3,150 km

Photographs

Visitor Submitted Comments

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5.  David Stubblebine says:
16 Aug 2013 09:40:50 PM

To Comment #4: Navy aircraft with BuNo 23353 was a single-engine TBM-3 Avenger with a crew of 3. I am only guessing based on your comment, but given the similarities in the numbers, the log entry that listed BuNo 23353 was more likely the same aircraft listed with Army SER 41-23353, which was an A-29 Hudson.

8.  Alan Chanter says:
19 Mar 2021 08:48:22 AM

In January 1940 the Hudson aircraft of RAF Coastal Command were fitted with the first IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) and ASV Mark 1 radar which would be a boon to locating submarines by night or in poor visibility.