L/F reference on the Hudson/Electra

[yeehah1]

22-06-07

Anyone know where I can get some good reference for the interior of a Hudson? And the landing gear while i am at it.

Thanks in advance

Liam

[Len Thomson]

I have some photos of the undercarriage and bays I took at Hendon. PM me with your e-mail addy and I will send them to you.

As for the interior, I seem to recall a walkaround on either Hyperscale or ARC with cockpit shots, and there was a series of shots in SAMI or Model Aircraft monthly about a year ago.

Edited June 22, 2007 by Len Thomson

[jimmaas]

These might help:

Kiwi website

Australian War Memorial

interior

turret

cockpit

[yeehah1]

These might help:

interior

23-06-07

Thanks man.

I have taken a quick look at the links and have two questions.

1) In the link to thge interior pic, on the right of the pic there;s a rack of some sort with

what looks to be containers or something. Any idea what they are?

2) Looking at pics presented, I notice that on some you can see the ribbing and stuff on some

and on others, the interior walls seem to be smooth, as if panelling has been applied.

What's the story with this? Any idea?

And thanks again, those pics are a great boone

Liam

[jimmaas]

1) In the link to thge interior pic, on the right of the pic there;s a rack of some sort with

what looks to be containers or something. Any idea what they are?

Sorry, I don't know what they are, but the same sort of rack shows up in other photos, with what looks like small oxygen bottles, below the forward three starboard windows in the main cabin. The plate with the semi-circular cutout just above this rack is wood and is a swing up (and fold-out) support for the astrodome, which when not deployed was stored on the opposide side of the fuselage from the support. Note that many shots of the Hudson interior are not wartime standard - I seriously doubt that natty wicker chairs were standard kit!

2) Looking at pics presented, I notice that on some you can see the ribbing and stuff on some

and on others, the interior walls seem to be smooth, as if panelling has been applied.

What's the story with this? Any idea?

Most pictures I've seen show exposed ribbing - plush paneling makes me suspect postwar fit. The best collection of interior (and gear well) info I've found is in Model Aircraft Monthly, Vol. 1 #4, but even this is a modern display aircraft. For example, the bomb-aimer's area doesn't look like a wartime photo of found in the book Lockheed Hudson In World War II (Andrew Hendrie, Airlife Publishing, Shrewsbury 1999) on page 12. I don't think I'd recommend buying the book for modeling purposes but if the local library can get a copy for you, it might be worth the effort.

The Hudson is oddly under-referenced considering the number built. Even recent sources like the Alan Hall Lockheed Hudson - Warpaint #59 monograph miss things like the fact that the elevator is one continuous piece - it's not split in the middle (there's a socket on the bottom that moves over the rear fuselage). Hope this info helps, and I'd recommend getting the Model Aircraft Monthly issue if you can dig it up.

Edited June 24, 2007 by jimmaas