The Lockheed Hudson was an American-built light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built initially for the Royal Air Force.
Lockheed AT-18 Hudson
Design/Development
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 This attracted the interest of various air forces and in 1938, the British Purchasing Commission sought an American maritime patrol aircraft for the United Kingdom to support the Avro Anson.
The British Puchasing Commission ordered 200 aircraft for use by the Royal Air Force and the first aircraft started flight trials from Burbank on 10 December 1938. The flight trials showed no major issues and deliveries to the RAF began on 15 February 1939.Production was speeded up after the British indicated they would order another 50 aircraft if the original 200 could be delivered before the end of 1939. Lockheed sub-contracted some parts assembly to Rohr Aircraft of San Diego and increased its workforce, the company produced the 250th aircraft seven and a half weeks before the deadline.
A total of 350 Mk I and 20 Mk II Hudsons were supplied (the Mk II had different propellers). These had two fixed Browning machine guns in the nose and two more in the Boulton Paul dorsal turret. The Hudson Mk III added one ventral and two beam machine guns and replaced the 1,100 hp Wright R-1820 Cyclone 9-cylinder radials with 1,200 hp versions (428 produced)
"Your exciting Journey into digital world of aviation starts here"
You are definitely intrigued
to discover AT-18 Hudson.
The Lockheed Hudson was an American-built light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built initially for the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and primarily operated by the RAF thereafter. The Hudson was a military conversion of the Lockeed Model 14 Super Electra airliner, and was the first significant aircraft construction contract for the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation—the initial RAF order for 200 Hudsons far surpassed any previous order the company had received. The Hudson served throughout the war, mainly with Coastal Command but also in transport and training roles as well as delivering agents into occupied France.
Lockheed
Lockheed AT-18 Hudson
Postwar, numbers of Hudsons were sold by the military for civil operation as airliners and survey aircraft. In Australia, East-West Airlines of Tamworth, New South Wales (NSW), operated four Hudsons on scheduled services from Tamworth to many towns in NSW and Queensland between 1950 and 1955. Adastra Aerial Surveys based at Sydney's Mascot Airport operated seven L-414s between 1950 and 1972 on air taxi, survey and photographic flights.
Role Bomber, reconnaissance, transport, maritime patrol aircraft
Manufacturer Lockheed
Designer Clarence "Kelly" Johnson
First flight 10 December 1938;
Introduction 1939
Produced 1938–1943
Number built 2,941
Crew: 6
Length: 44 ft 4 in (13.51 m)
Wingspan: 65 ft 6 in (19.96 m)
Height: 11 ft 10 in (3.62 m)
Empty weight: 12,000 lb (5,400 kg); Loaded weight: 17,500 lb (7,930 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 18,500 lb (8,390 kg)
Powerplant: 2 × Wright R-1820 Cyclone 9-cylinder radial engines, 1,100 hp (820 kW) each
Maximum speed: 218 kt (246 mph, 397 km/h)
Range: 1,700 nmi (1,960 mi, 3,150 km); Service ceiling: 24,500 ft (7,470 m)
Armament; Guns:
2 × .303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns in dorsal turret
2× .303 Browning machine guns in nose
Bombs: 750 lb (340 kg) of bombs or depth charges
Lockheed AT-18 Hudson
Aircrafttotaal
The Lockheed Hudson was an American-built light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built initially for the Royal Air Force
Aircrafttotaal