The Lockheed Hudson was the first American aircraft to be used operationally by the RAF during World War II. It was designed to meet a British requirement for a martime patrol/navigational trainer aircraft. The first 200 aircraft arrived in England in February 1939, with about 1500 total procured before introduction of the Lend-Lease program. In USAAF service the various versions served as troop transports, bomber crew trainers, photo-reconnaissance aircraft, anti-submarine patrol aircraft, trainers for ai r gunners, and as a target tug. Twenty examples were used by the U.S. Navy as maritime patrol aircraft under the designation PBO-1. In all, over 2500 Hudsons were built, and many remained in service in a secondary role until the end of the war.
(For more information on this aircraft, visit
Joe
Baugher's Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft)
USAF archives on this aircraft, click
here.
For additional data and history on the PBO-1, click here
for Jack McKillop's article on Microworks.net.
For more photos, history, and info on the PBO-1, see the PBO-1 webpage at
vpnavy.com
(updated September
2006)
Lockheed A-28/A-29 Hudson
Type: maritime patrol bomber Crew: ? Armament: five 0.30 inch machine guns up to 1,600 lbs. of bombs Specifications: Length: 44' 4" (13.51 m) Height: 11' 11" (3.63 m) Wingspan: 65' 6" (19.96 m) Wing area: 551 sq. ft (51.19 sq. m) Empty Weight: 12,825 lb (5817 kg) Max Weight: 20,500 lb (9299 kg) max at takeoff Propulsion: No. of Engines: 2 Powerplant: Wright R-1820-87 Cyclone 9 radial Horsepower: 1200 hp each Performance: Range: 1550 miles (2494 km) Cruise Speed: 205 mph ( 330 km/h) Max Speed: 253 mph ( 407 km/h) at 15,000 ft Ceiling: 26,500 ft (8075 m)
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