It is well known that the Hudson had its origins in the Lockheed 14 Super Electra airliner. It is therefore understandable that in the post-war years, some entrepreneurs would seek to convert Hudsons back into airliners. Having done that, at least one was subsequently converted back to a bomber! (See: Israeli Air Force). This page describes some of the modifications required to convert a Hudson bomber back to an airliner in post-war Australia.

Perhaps the most obvious step in converting a Hudson to an airliner would be the removal of any provision for armaments such as the gun turret if one was fitted. Some of the RAAF Hudsons had the turret removed in service and indeed several were fitted with passenger seats but most post-war civil operators had to start with a bomber.

The following Station Diagram for the Hudson is extracted from Curtis Madsen Aircrafts Pty Ltd Drawing Number 17 dated 23 February 1948. The drawing is titled "Conversion Drawing Fuselage Stations for Lockheed Hudson". The diagram has been redrawn by the compiler from a poor quality photocopy sourced from the National Archives of Australia. It is believed to relate to the conversion of the former A16-110 as VH-JCM which curiously entered service before the date of the drawings.

The table that follows the diagram lists the various modifications and their location on the airframe. It appears that the list of modifications relates to the aforementioned Drawing Number 17. The Drawing Numbers in the table relate to the Curtis Madsen detailed drawings which unfortunately are not available, with the exception of Drawing Number 13 which describes the construction of the Hinged Nose. It is believed that only VH-JCM and VH-BLA (for Guinea Air Traders) were fitted with the hinged nose.

Following the table of airframe modifications is another table listing modifications specific to the engines. The engine type is not specified but if this list also applies to VH-JCM then the engine in question is clearly the Pratt & Whitney R-1830. It is not known if any inference can be drawn from the reference "as for DC2".

In a military Hudson, the only access to the nose compartment was via the crawlway forward of the co-pilot's seat. It is believed that most of the civil conversions were not fitted with dual controls but even so, loading baggage into the nose compartment would have been difficult.

The first attempt at alleviating this difficulty was the installation of a hinged nose. It is believed that only two Hudsons were modified with the hinged nose, Curtis Madsen's own VH-JCM and VH-BLA which was converted by Curtis Madsen for Guinea Air Traders. It appears that all subsequent conversions were fitted with a conventional door on the port side of the nose compartment. This is hardly surprising as the Model 14 Super Electra and the Model 18 Lodestar were fitted with such a door as standard.

The hinged nose provided an opening measuring 37 inches high by 24 inches wide. The following image illustrates that this would have presented problems of its own as a loader would have required a raised platform to reach the opening and would have had limited control over the distribution of items loaded through the nose. In all probability it would have been necessary for another loader to access the nose compartment via the cockpit to distribute and restrain items loaded through the nose.

It is believed that most civil Hudson conversions featured a conventional door in the port side of the forward fuselage.

The conversion of former RAAF Hudsons to airliners was largely driven by the upsurge in migration from Europe in the immediate post-war years. Several entrepreneurs began operating charter flights, mainly from Rome and Athens, in what became known amongst the main players as The Migrant Caper. These operations are covered in exquisite detail in Geoff Goodall's seminal work. The following link will take you to Geoff Goodall's Aviation History Site:

The Migrant Caper