Hudson Nose
Numbers
| In
common with some other Lockheed aircraft, Hudsons carried their
MSN (or part thereof) stencilled on the nose. The first fifty
RAAF Hudsons carried the last two digits of the MSN preceeded
by a 1, 2 or 3. The reason for this is unknown. From A16-51
onwards, the full four digit MSN was used. Some nose numbers
were later removed, either deliberately or through not being
replaced after repairs or repainting. The fuselage of Hudson A16-22, extant to this day, still carries the faded number 237 on the nose between the two rows of nose windows. It is surmised that the first digit might have some relevance to the modification state of the aeroplane. One known anomaly is A16-76 (MSN 1929) which carried the nose number 327 in larger, lighter digits than usual. It should be noted that A16-76 is thus far the only known example where a nose number does not correspond with an MSN. When the very last Hudson rolled off the production line, it carried the nose number 414-7589 which comprised the model number (414) and the full MSN (7589). |
| RAAF | NOSE NUMBER | MSN |
|---|---|---|
|
A16-1
|
150
|
1750
|
|
A16-2
|
178
|
1778
|
|
A16-3
|
179
|
1779
|
|
A16-4
to A16-50
|
255
to 303
|
1855
to 1903
|
|
A16-51
to A16-247
|
4
digits same as MSN
|
| UNEXPLAINED ANOMALIES | ||
|
A16-76
|
327
|
1929
|
|
SOURCE
|
|
The
RAAF Hudson Story, Books 1 & 2, self-published by
David Vincent, 1999 and 2010.
|
| Issue | Date | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 15OCT21 |
Added
a guess at the significance of the first digit in
the nose number of A16-22.
|
| 2 | 18FEB19 |
Page
completely revised (after exactly 21 years!)
|
| 1 | 18FEB98 |
Original
issue.
|
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