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RAAF WWII Lockheed Hudson to perform Sydney flypast in honour of Queen’s Birthday

written by Staff reporter | June 11, 2021

A 32SQN King Air, showing off its 70th anniversary tail whilst flying with the Hudson from Temora museum.
Credit: Australian Defence

A RAAF World War Two Lockheed Hudson is scheduled to fly over Sydney’s Government House on Saturday, to mark the Queen’s Birthday holiday in New South Wales.

A Lockheed Hudson aircraft is due to undertake a flyover of Government House, located within Sydney’s Royal Botanic Gardens, to mark the Queen’s Birthday, the Department of Defence has confirmed.

The flyover is expected to take place at 11:00am on Saturday, 12 June 2021, and can be viewed in areas surrounding Sydney’s Government House, including Sydney Harbour, the Opera House, and Circular Quay.

However, the Department of Defence has warned that due to air traffic control in the area, there remains a risk that the demonstration could be cancelled.

The Lockheed Hudson was used during the Second World War by the Royal Australian Air Force as a bomber and reconnaissance aircraft, and is also remembered by some as “the Old Boomerang”.

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Just last year, Canberra Airport introduced a new virtual memorial for the Lockheed Hudson.

“For most people, this is the closest they will ever get to being inside a Hudson bomber. Pop-up icons let the user see photos, watch videos, hear recordings and uncover the stories behind a plane that has played such an important role in Australia’s experience of the Second World War,” Major General (Ret’d) Brian Dawson said of the experience last year.

The Australian War Memorial calls the Hudson RAAF’s workhorse.

While the Boomerang and Spitfire captured the country’s imagination during WWII, the Hudson’s can-do attitude made it the more invaluable team-player. Simply put, it may be the most versatile aircraft RAAF has deployed.

Hudsons could transport troops and carry out patrols, but they were also adept as long-range bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. They could even be adapted to carry airborne lifeboats under their fuselage for air-sea rescue. While the type made its first flight in 1938, it served long after the war. In total, 2,941 were built worldwide, of which RAAF received 247 between January 1940 and May 1942 in several iterations.

If you want to see one for yourself, restored Hudsons are on display at both the Temora Aviation Museum and the Australian War Memorial. Temora’s, A16-112, conducted anti-submarine patrols off the coast of WA and served out of Milne Bay, PNG, on bombing armed reconnaissance. Meanwhile, the War Memorial’s example, A16-105, was used to train RAAF aircrews and carried out supply flights during the Allied advance on Buna on PNG’s north coast.

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