|
 In 1941 the Hughes Aircraft Company was commissioned by the U.S. government to build a flying vessel capable of carrying men and supplies. The result was the Spruce Goose which was developed at a cost of $23 million. The Spruce Goose flew to a height of 70 feet at a distance of one mile during its first and only test. It was then stored by designer Howard Hughes for a cost of $1 million per year. The Spruce Goose is currently housed at the Evergreen Aviation Museum.
Spruce Goose Design
The call for the Spruce Goose came during World War II when vast numbers of supplies and people needed to be sent over the Atlantic Ocean to war. America's shipyards were operating at full capacity; this wasn't enough because of the work of enemy submarines.
Henry Kaiser, a shipbuilder, came up with the idea of a flying ship that could avoid the danger hiding beneath the water. Howard Hughes was enlisted to help because he was known as an innovator in the aircraft industry. The concept was originally known as HK-1. After Kaiser withdrew from the project the craft became known as H-4, or more commonly, the Spruce Goose.
Development during World War II was difficult; there were restrictions on steel and so the materials used were plastic-laminated birch and spruce beneath a fabric covering. The light-colored wood gave the craft the nickname Spruce Goose.
Also nicknamed the Hughes Flying Boat, the Spruce Goose is the largest aircraft ever built:
- Wingspan of 320 feet
- Eight propeller engines
- Designed to carry 750 men or two Sherman class tanks
Goose in Flight and Beyond
The aircraft, completed after the war was over, was referred to as a "flying lumberyard" by one Senator. Hughes defended the Spruce Goose in Washington, D.C. During a taxi test, the Spruce Goose flew its short - and only - flight. It never went into production; critics doubted the wooden framework would be supportive enough over long flights.
After Hughes' death, the Spruce Goose had a series of owners including the Walt Disney Company. In February 1993 it completed the trip to McMinnville, Oregon and it resides there today as the centerpiece of the Evergreen Aviation Museum.
Resources:
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/spruce-goose-flies
https://aafo.com/goose/
https://www.evergreenmuseum.org/the-museum/aircraft-exhibits/the-spruce-goose/
| 
Re: November 2, 1947 – The “Spruce Goose” Flew
