A-29 Hudson
| Country | United States |
| Manufacturer | Lockheed Corporation |
| Primary Role | Medium Bomber |
| Maiden Flight | 10 December 1938 |
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 They were withdrawn from front line service in 1944.
ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia.
Last Major Revision: Jun 2007
A-29 Hudson Timeline
| 23 Jun 1938 | Sir Henry Self, Contracts director at the British Air Ministry, signed a order with Lockheed for 175 Model B14 Hudson aircraft with a provision for a maximum of 250 by December 1939. It was the largest British military order placed with a US Company to date. |
| 10 Dec 1938 | The Lockheed Hudson took flight for the first time. The Hudson would later become the first American-built aircraft to be used operationally by the RAF in World War II. Based on the Electra civil airliner, it was ordered by the British Purchasing Commission as early as in Jun 1938 and deliveries began arriving in the UK in Jan 1939. Pressed into service for Maritime Patrol and Anti-Shipping missions, the type saw wide-spread service around the world and was also operated by the RCAF, RAAF, RNZAF, and both the USAAF and US Navy. |
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
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Visitor Submitted Comments
2 Aug 2010 02:23:02 PM
what if i found one?
2 Aug 2010 02:24:36 PM
in perfect shape//
16 Aug 2013 04:03:46 PM
My Father-in -Law Fred August Wise (1923-1986) was a Navy radioman, His Aviation flight logbook shows that he flew a 5.2-hour coast patrol mission in this aircraft BuNo 23353 with an Army pilot Lt. Tuttle and six others on March 15, 1942. He also flew on 11 other patrols in A-29’s with different BuNo’s and Army Pilots from March thru November of 1942.
He was assigned at NAS Alameda to Patrol Wing Eight (PATWING-8) which would later become Fleet Air wing Eight (FAW-8).
http://www.flickr.com/photos/13935339@N05/6197312143/in/photostream/
Army Air Forces serial 41-23353, originally slated for the RAF (serial BW491).On 21 August 1944 the ship was assigned to the 135th Base Unit at Millville Army Air Field, NJ when it was written off in a landing accident/ground loop.
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.
15 Sep 2013 03:04:12 PM
David, This thread is about A-29's
Below the link to a Flickr photo in comment #4 BuNo 23353 is correctly identified as 41-23353.
Here's a list of A-29's that Fred Wise flew in.
Type of Number of
Machine Machine
A-29 23353
A-29 123418
A-29 41-23421
A-29 41-23335
A-29 41-123364
A-29 41-123342
A-29 41-123362
A-29 41-23339
A-29 41-123378
A-29 123342
A-29 123339
A-29 123448
As you can see not all entries included the 41-.
The second entry in an Navy Aviation Flight logbook is type of machine.
Here’s a tutorial on Navy Aviation Flight log books:
http://www.nasflmuseum.com/aviation-diaries.html
14 Jul 2016 02:02:14 AM
My uncle ,Ralph Williams,RAAF ,was a pilot officer flying out of Darwin during WW2 in a Hudson bomber the plane was shot down over the Arafura sea with the loss of all but two ,who were caught by the Japanese taken to Ambon and executed
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.
All visitor submitted comments are opinions of those making the submissions and do not reflect views of WW2DB.
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Winston Churchill, 1935
26 Nov 2007 09:44:17 AM
A friend recently mentioned flying recon/photo flights from Recife,Brazilextra fuel tanks added,armament removed...