16/06/2026
✈️ The last of her kind , and she still flies.
Wings Over Shellharbour 2026 was graced by an aircraft so rare, so historically significant, that no words quite do it justice. The Lockheed Hudson Mk.III (VH-KOY), RAAF serial A16-112 , the only airworthy Lockheed Hudson anywhere in the world , took to the sky over Shellharbour, and every single person watching knew they were witnessing something extraordinary.
Built in 1939, A16-112 has a combat record that reads like a history of Australia's early war in the Pacific and beyond. She served with No. 14 Squadron on anti-submarine patrol off the coast of Western Australia, then with No. 32 Squadron off the east coast, and then with No. 6 Squadron at Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea , flying bombing, armed reconnaissance and patrol missions for twelve months over some of the most ferocious fighting of the Pacific War.
But the Hudson's place in Australian military history goes even deeper. It was the Lockheed Hudson that fired Australia's first shots against Japan , RAAF Hudsons were the very first Allied bombers to strike Japanese forces in the opening hours of the Pacific War on 8 December 1941.
After the war A16-112 served with East-West Airlines and later Adastra Aerial Surveys before the Long family purchased her in 1976 and undertook a painstaking restoration back to military configuration, completed in 1993. Today she flies under the banner of No. 100 Squadron RAAF, operated by the Temora Aviation Museum in NSW , one of the finest warbird collections in the southern hemisphere , and at Shellharbour she surprised the crowd with the agility and speed that made the Hudson so effective in combat, rolling through steep turns that had people reaching for their cameras.
There is only one flying Hudson left in the world. We are extraordinarily lucky to have her in Australia. 🇦🇺
📍 Wings Over Shellharbour 2026
✈️ Lockheed Hudson Mk.III | VH-KOY | A16-112
🏠 No. 100 Squadron RAAF | Temora Aviation Museum, Temora NSW
Temora Aviation Museum
