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The Hughes H-4 Hercules ("Spruce Goose") is an aircraft designed and built by Howard Hughes' Hughes Aircraft company. The nickname arose as a way of mocking the Hercules project due to Hughes' alleged misuse of government funding to build the aircraft. The Hercules is the largest flying boat, and has the largest wingspan of any aircraft in existence. Only one was ever built.
Due to wartime restrictions on the availability of metals, the H-4 was built almost entirely of laminated birch, not spruce as its nickname suggests. The aircraft was a marvel in its time. It married a soon-to-be outdated technology — flying boats — to a massive airframe that required some truly ingenious engineering innovations. Hughes himself detested the nickname "Spruce Goose".
History
In 1942, the U.S. Department of War was faced with the need to transport war matériel and personnel to Britain. Allied shipping in the Atlantic Ocean was suffering heavy losses to German U-boats, so a requirement was issued for an aircraft that could cross the Atlantic with a large payload. More on [ Hughes H-4 Hercules ]
Spruce Goose - Information on the flying boat, with pictures.
Spruce Goose - Display information from Boeing.
Meta Description: [ Hughes' H-4 Hercules Flying Boat, better known as the "Spruce Goose," is the centerpiece of a new Northwest aviation museum opening this week in McMinnville, Ore. ]
Spruce Goose: Where Is It Now? - Detailed information on the history of the airplane, with pictures.
Meta Description: [ In 1992 the famous Hughes Flying Boat "Spruce Goose" was forced to move. Where is it now??... How did it get there??. ]
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