FIRST FLIGHT

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 76, 22 May 1941, Page 4

FIRST FLIGHT

NEW LOCKHEED HUDSON BOMBER SUCCESSFUL TEST AT AUCKLAND ! ! LONG RANGE AND OFFENSIVE | POWER (United Press Association] Auckland, May 21. ] The fastest and most modern warplane in New Zealand, the first of the Lockheed Hudson bombers newly delivered from the United States for the Royal New Zealand Air Force, was flown for the first time in the Dominion 1 this week. Already famous as the natural enemy of U-boat and prowling surface raider, two types of enemy craft which have been heavily hit by Hudsons of the Coastal Command of the Royal Air Force, the Hudson is a newcomer to the Dominion. Its long ; range, good speed and heavy offensive power make it an eminently suitable 1 craft for use from a remote island country such as New Zealand and the • presence in the Dominion of such machines is a valuable asset in wartime. Assembled by a New Zealand ground staff, the first of the Hudsons was watched by a large proportion of the | station staff as she left the hangar and was run up preparatory to her test flight. A long and detailed checking on the ground had been completed and the big monoplane towered over the assortment of other aircraft on the tarmac. With a minimum of fuss and surprisingly little noise, the two twin-row Pratt and Whitney engines, each of 1200 horse-power, lifted the Hudson off the runway, leaving an ample margin. The take-off, always a critical part of a test flight, was closely watched by all who could spare a moment from their duties. There was nothing spectacular about it, however, I merely a big aeroplane getting cleanly i off the ground, tucking up her wheels I behind the engine nacelles and disappearing swiftly into low cloud, j For 45 minutes those who waited on ; ! the flying field could hear the monoplane speeding overhead. They could ■ not see her behind a curtain of cloud till the test pilot “shot up” the aero- : drome, diving to 300 miles an hour and then pulling up steeply into a zoom that carried the Hudson a couple : of thousand feet up in seconds. Watchers saw a confused pattern of • brown and green, heard the bellow of ' the twin engines and then for a moment caught the characteristic Lock- • heed outline against a patch of blue as the bomber shot skyward. ■ The subsequent landing was an anticlimax. The Hudson approached with i all the docility of a light trainer. With • undercarriage and flaps down, she > lazed over the boundary fence, sat down on her big air wheels and ■ trundled to a halt, having completed i a successful test. l Developed from the successful com- . mercial machine, the Lockheed 14, the L Hudson has proved itself as a recont naissance bomber. Many New Zealanders serving with the Coastal Com--1 mand of the Royal Air Force have r successfully engaged not only enemy ships but enemy warplanes, for the [ Hudson, apart from turret armament t carries a forward-firing machine-gun l and has a sting in her tail in the form x of twin Vickers guns that command a . wide arc beneath the machine. > Long range is one of the most desirable features of the type. Hudsons for , Britain regularly fly the Atlantic l from Newfoundland bases and, operat- , ing from English aerodromes, fly hun- [ dreds of miles on escort duty and in search of enemy ships. Among the latest developments incorporated in the machines are selfsealing fuel tanks built up of layers of a special material and capable of preventing leaks in spite of being pierced by bullets. A self-inflating rubber dinghy is also carried, neatly stowed in the main door, and the two engines fitted to the models supplied to New Zealand are newer and even more - powerful than those which have al- • ready carried many scores of Hudsons ’ to Britain to join the squadrons of the ' Royal Air Force. WELLINGTON SEES HARVARD TRAINER > Wellington, This Day. ! Wellington was given some indica--5 tion of the performance of New Zea- ! land’s newly-acquired American Har- : vard advanced training planes when one of them appeared over the city ? yesterday morning. Wellington people 1 are used to the roar of Lockheeds and ; the buzz of Moths, so the highly-pitch- ' ed whine of the Harvard’s radial motor was the first indication of something ’ new in the sky. The pilot for some time cruised round ■ in wide circles, at a speed above that of , any aircraft normally seen over Wellj ington. But before those watching had • really had time to appreciate the speed • the engine's whine rose still higher, and the machine could be seen to be travelling still faster. It began to climb, gently at first, then straighten up - anc [ over in a loop. Whereas most i planes that have been flown in New Zealand till now come gently out of a i loop, lest the wings tear off, the Hari vard came out in a swooping dive with its engine well open. Another loop, ’ some more circling, and the Harvard • set off toward the south.