HOME | DD

Description
In 1942, the U.S. War Department needed to transport war materiel 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. Wartime priorities meant the aircraft could not be made of strategic materials (e.g., aluminum). The aircraft was the brainchild of Henry J. Kaiser, a leading Liberty ship builder and manufacturer. Kaiser teamed with aircraft designer Howard Hughes to create what would become the largest aircraft yet built. It was designed to carry 68,000 kg.
The aircraft contract was issued in 1942 as a development contract and called for three aircraft to be constructed in two years for the war effort. It would be built mostly of wood to conserve metal (its elevators and rudder were fabric-covered), and was nicknamed the Spruce Goose (a name Hughes disliked) or the Flying Lumberyard. Construction of the first one took place 16 months after the receipt of the development contract. Kaiser then withdrew from the project.
Hughes continued the program on his own, signing a new government contract that now limited production to one example. Work proceeded slowly, and the H-4 was not completed until well after the war was over. A house moving company transported the airplane on streets to Long Beach, California. On November 2, 1947, the taxi tests began with Hughes at the controls. Then the airplane never flew again. Its lifting capacity and ceiling were never tested. Afterwards a full-time crew of 300 workers, all sworn to secrecy, maintained the aircraft in flying condition in a climate-controlled hangar. The company reduced the crew to 50 workers in 1962 and then disbanded it after Hughes' death in 1976.
Guess the airplane was huge enough even to transport dinosaurs - if they were still alive... :-D

Description
In 1942, the U.S. War Department needed to transport war materiel 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. Wartime priorities meant the aircraft could not be made of strategic materials (e.g., aluminum). The aircraft was the brainchild of Henry J. Kaiser, a leading Liberty ship builder and manufacturer. Kaiser teamed with aircraft designer Howard Hughes to create what would become the largest aircraft yet built. It was designed to carry 68,000 kg.
The aircraft contract was issued in 1942 as a development contract and called for three aircraft to be constructed in two years for the war effort. It would be built mostly of wood to conserve metal (its elevators and rudder were fabric-covered), and was nicknamed the Spruce Goose (a name Hughes disliked) or the Flying Lumberyard. Construction of the first one took place 16 months after the receipt of the development contract. Kaiser then withdrew from the project.
Hughes continued the program on his own, signing a new government contract that now limited production to one example. Work proceeded slowly, and the H-4 was not completed until well after the war was over. A house moving company transported the airplane on streets to Long Beach, California. On November 2, 1947, the taxi tests began with Hughes at the controls. Then the airplane never flew again. Its lifting capacity and ceiling were never tested. Afterwards a full-time crew of 300 workers, all sworn to secrecy, maintained the aircraft in flying condition in a climate-controlled hangar. The company reduced the crew to 50 workers in 1962 and then disbanded it after Hughes' death in 1976.
Guess the airplane was huge enough even to transport dinosaurs - if they were still alive... :-D