The Hughes H-4 Hercules (commonly known as the Spruce Goose; registration NX37602) is a prototype strategic airliftflying boat designed and built by the Hughes Aircraft Company. Intended as a transatlantic flight transport for use during World War II, it was not completed in time to be used in the war. The aircraft made only one brief flight, on November 2, 1947, and the project never advanced beyond the single example produced.
Built from wood (Duramold process) because of wartime restrictions on the use of aluminum and concerns about weight, the aircraft was nicknamed the Spruce Goose by critics, although it was made almost entirely of birch.[1][2] The Birch Bitch was a more accurate but less socially acceptablemoniker that was allegedly used by the mechanics who worked on the plane.[3] The Hercules is the largest flying boat ever built, and it had the largest wingspan of any aircraft ever flown until the twin-fuselaged Scaled Composites Stratolaunch first flew on April 13, 2019.[4][5] The aircraft remains in good condition. After having been displayed to the public in Long Beach, California, from 1980 to 1992, it is now on display at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon, United States.[6]
Design and development
Size comparison between the H-4 and a Douglas DC-3
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).[7]
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 150,000 pounds (68,000kg), 750 fully equipped troops or two 30-ton M4 Sherman tanks.[8] The original designation "HK-1" reflected the Hughes and Kaiser collaboration.[9]
The HK-1 aircraft contract was issued in 1942 as a development contract[10] and called for three aircraft to be constructed in two years for the war effort.[11] Seven configurations were considered, including twin-hull and single-hull designs with combinations of four, six, and eight wing-mounted engines.[12] The final design chosen was a behemoth, eclipsing any large transport then built.[10][13][N 1] It would be built mostly of wood to conserve metal (its elevators and rudder were fabric-covered),[14] and was nicknamed the Spruce Goose (a name Hughes disliked) or the Flying Lumberyard.[15]
While Kaiser had originated the "flying cargo ship" concept, he did not have an aeronautical background and deferred to Hughes and his designer, Glenn Odekirk.[13] Development dragged on, which frustrated Kaiser, who blamed delays partly on restrictions placed for the acquisition of strategic materials such as aluminum, and partly on Hughes' insistence on "perfection."[16] Construction of the first HK-1 took place 16 months after the receipt of the development contract. Kaiser then withdrew from the project.[15][17]
Rearward view of the Hercules H-4's fuselage
Hughes continued the program on his own under the designation H-4 Hercules,[N 2] 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. The plane was built by the Hughes Aircraft Company at Hughes Airport, location of present-day Playa Vista, Los Angeles, California, employing the plywood-and-resin "Duramold" process[14][N 3] – a form of composite technology – for the laminated wood construction, which was considered a technological tour de force.[9] The specialized wood veneer was made by Roddis Manufacturing in Marshfield, Wisconsin. Hamilton Roddis had teams of young women ironing the (unusually thin) strong birch wood veneer before shipping to California.[18]
A house moving company transported the airplane on streets to Pier E (now Pier T[19]) in Long Beach, California. They moved it in three large sections: the fuselage, each wing—and a fourth, smaller shipment with tail assembly parts and other smaller assemblies. After Hughes Aircraft completed final assembly, they erected a hangar around the flying boat, with a ramp to launch the H-4 into the harbor.[1]
Howard Hughes was called to testify before the Senate War Investigating Committee in 1947 over the use of government funds for the aircraft. During a Senate hearing on August 6, 1947 (the first of a series of appearances), Hughes said:
The Hercules was a monumental undertaking. It is the largest aircraft ever built. It is over five stories tall with a wingspan longer than a football field. That's more than a city block. Now, I put the sweat of my life into this thing. I have my reputation all rolled up in it and I have stated several times that if it's a failure, I'll probably leave this country and never come back. And I mean it.[20][N 4]
In all, development cost for the plane reached $23 million (equivalent to $246 million in 2023 dollars).[21]
Operational history
The flight deck of the H-4, 2010
Hughes returned to California during a break in the Senate hearings to run taxi tests on the H-4.[14] On November 2, 1947, the taxi tests began with Hughes at the controls. His crew included Dave Grant as copilot, two flight engineers, Don Smith and Joe Petrali, 16 mechanics, and two other flight crew. The H-4 also carried seven invited guests from the press corps and an additional seven industry representatives. In total, thirty-six people were on board.[22]
Four reporters left to file stories after the first two taxi runs while the remaining press stayed for the final test run of the day.[23] After picking up speed on the channel facing Cabrillo Beach, the Hercules lifted off, remaining airborne for 26 seconds at 70ft (21m) off the water at a speed of 135 miles per hour (217km/h) for about one mile (1.6km).[24] At this altitude, the aircraft still experienced ground effect.[25] To Hughes, these tests demonstrated that the (now-unneeded) plane was flight-worthy, and thus worth the use of government funds.[26]
The H-4 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.[27][28]
Display
H-4 Hercules at Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum. A Douglas DC-3 parked beneath its wing shows the scale of the H-4.
Ownership of the H-4 was disputed by the U.S. government, which had contracted for its construction. In the mid-1970s, an agreement was reached whereby the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum would receive the Hughes H-1 Racer and section of the H-4's wing, the Summa Corporation would pay $700,000 and receive ownership of the H-4, the U.S. government would cede any rights, and the aircraft would be protected "from commercial exploitation."[29][30]
Underside of port wing of the H-4
In 1980, the H-4 was acquired by the Aero Club of Southern California, which later put the aircraft on display in a very large geodesic dome next to the Queen Mary ship exhibit in Long Beach, California. The large dome facility became known as the Spruce Goose Dome. The very large enclosed indoor dome area around the H-4 consisted of meeting and special event space, elaborate audio-visual displays about Howard Hughes and the aircraft itself, and dining areas for tourists. Many convention groups held large dinners, sales meetings, and even concerts under the wings of the aircraft at night when the Spruce Goose Dome was closed to tourists. In 1986, a secondary simulator-style attraction named Time Voyager was constructed next to the H-4, at a cost of $2.5 million (~$5.9million in 2023).[31] In 1988, The Walt Disney Company acquired both Long Beach attractions and the associated Long Beach real estate by Pier J. In 1991, Disney informed the Aero Club of Southern California that it no longer wished to display the Hercules aircraft after its highly ambitious Port Disney plan was scrapped.
After a long search for a suitable host, the Aero Club of Southern California arranged for the Hughes Hercules flying boat to be given to Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in exchange for payments and a percentage of the museum's profits.[32] The aircraft was transported by barge, train, and truck to its current home in McMinnville, Oregon (about 40 miles (64km) southwest of Portland), where it was reassembled by Contractors Cargo Company and is currently on display. The aircraft arrived in McMinnville on February 27, 1993, after a 138-day, 1,055-mile (1,698km) trip from Long Beach. The Spruce Goose geodesic dome is now used by Carnival Cruise Lines as its Long Beach terminal.
By the mid-1990s, the former Hughes Aircraft hangars at Hughes Airport, including the one that held the Hercules, were converted into sound stages. Scenes from movies such as Titanic, What Women Want and End of Days have been filmed in the 315,000-square-foot (29,300m2) aircraft hangar where Howard Hughes created the flying boat. The hangar will be preserved as a structure eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places in what is today the large light industry and housing development in the Playa Vista neighborhood of Los Angeles.[33] It has since been converted to office and event space by Google.[34][35]
Howard Robard Hughes Jr. was an American aerospace engineer, business magnate, film producer, investor, philanthropist, and pilot. He was best known during his lifetime as one of the richest and most influential people in the world. He first became prominent as a film producer, and then as an important figure in the aviation industry. Later in life, he became known for his eccentric behavior and reclusive lifestyle—oddities that were caused in part by his worsening obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), chronic pain from a near-fatal plane crash, and increasing deafness.
A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in having a fuselage that is purpose-designed for flotation, while floatplanes rely on fuselage-mounted floats for buoyancy.
The Hughes Aircraft Company was a major American aerospace and defense contractor founded on February 14, 1934 by Howard Hughes in Glendale, California, as a division of Hughes Tool Company. The company produced the Hughes H-4 Hercules aircraft, the atmospheric entry probe carried by the Galileo spacecraft, and the AIM-4 Falcon guided missile.
The Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum is an independent, 501(c)(3) non-profit, aviation museum in McMinnville, Oregon. Its exhibits include the Hughes H-4 Hercules and more than fifty military and civilian aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (drones), and spacecraft. The museum complex includes four main buildings: the original aviation exhibit hall, a large screen digital theater, a second exhibit hall focused on space technology, and a water park.
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The Hughes H-1 Racer is a racing aircraft built by Hughes Aircraft in 1935. Utilising different wings, it set both a world airspeed record and a transcontinental speed record across the United States. The H-1 Racer was the last aircraft built by a private individual to set the world speed record; most aircraft to hold the record since have been military designs.
The Sikorsky S-43 is a 1930s American twin-engine amphibious flying boat monoplane produced by Sikorsky Aircraft.
The Hughes Airport was a private airport owned by Howard Hughes for the Hughes Aircraft Company. It was located just north of the Westchester bluffs and district of Los Angeles, California, from 1940 until its closure in 1985. It was directly south of and along Jefferson Boulevard and Ballona Creek, the location of the present-day neighborhood of Playa Vista.
The Sikorsky VS-44 was a large four-engined flying boat built in the United States in the early 1940s by Sikorsky Aircraft. Based on the XPBS-1 patrol bomber, the VS-44 was designed primarily for the transatlantic passenger market, with a capacity of 40+ passengers. Three units were produced: Excalibur, Excambian, and Exeter, plus two XPBS-1 prototypes.
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Winfield Bertrum "Bert" Kinner was an American aircraft engine designer and designer of the first folding wing aircraft. Kinner founded Kinner Airplane & Motor Corporation in Glendale, California, which produced radial engines and aircraft.
Glenn Odekirk was an American aerospace engineer who made significant contributions to the work of Hughes Aircraft.
McMinnville Municipal Airport is three miles southeast of McMinnville, in Yamhill County, Oregon. The FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2009–2013 categorized it as a general aviation facility. It is across Oregon Route 18 from the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, home to the Hughes H-4 Hercules Spruce Goose flying boat.
Duramold is a composite material process developed by Virginius E. Clark. Birch or poplar plies are impregnated with phenolic resin and laminated together in a mold under heat and pressure for use as a lightweight structural material. Similar to plywood, Duramold and other lightweight composite materials like the similar Haskelite were considered critical during periods of material shortage in World War II, replacing scarce materials such as aluminum alloys and steel.
Wally Timm was an American aircraft designer, pilot and manufacturer.
References
Notes
↑ Quote: "Kaiser announces the most monumental program in the history of aviation."
↑ The Hughes design was initially identified as the HFB-1 to signify "Hughes Flying Boat, First Design".[14]
↑ The Hughes Corporation had used the duramold process, which laminated plywood and resin into a lightweight but strong building material that could be shaped.
↑ Hughes' Senate Hearings testimony is now in the public domain.
Citations
1 2 Parker, Dana T. Building Victory: Aircraft Manufacturing in the Los Angeles Area in World War II, pp. 49–58, Cypress, CA, 2013. ISBN978-0-9897906-0-4.
↑ Parker, Dana T. Building Victory: Aircraft Manufacturing in the Los Angeles Area in World War II, p. 55, Cypress, CA, 2013. ISBN978-0-9897906-0-4.
↑ Parker, Dana T. Building Victory: Aircraft Manufacturing in the Los Angeles Area in World War II, pp. 49, 51, Cypress, CA, 2013. ISBN978-0-9897906-0-4.
↑ Herman, Arthur. Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II, pp. 277–81, Random House, New York, NY. ISBN978-1-4000-6964-4.
↑ Dean, Paul. "The Man Who Keeps The Spruce Goose." Los Angeles Times, April 21, 1983, p. J1.
↑ Dietrich, Noah; Thomas, Bob (1972). Howard, The Amazing Mr. Hughes. Greenwich: Fawcett Publications, Inc. pp.209–216.
↑ PROCEEDINGS OF THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE BOARD OF REGENTS, SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, Smithsonian Institution, January 24, 1975, p.91, For over two years the General Services Administration has been negotiating with Summa Corporation (formerly the Hughes Tool Co.) concerning the disposition of the experimental wooden cargo plane known as the "HK-1" that was constructed by Howard Hughes' company in the 1940s under a Government contract. The "HK-1" is of historic interest, but it is an enormous aircraft presenting major housing and maintenance problems. Within the last few months the Smithsonian has been drawn into these negotiations because of the National Air and Space Museum's interest in the "HK-1" and in another aircraft owned by Summa called the "Hughes Racer." GSA, Summa, and SI are now exploring the feasibility of an arrangement whereby GSA will transfer its rights to the "HK-1" to the Smithsonian, and the Smithsonian will exchange the "HK-1" with Summa in return for a model of the "HK-1" suitable for museum display, the "Hughes Racer," and $600,000. Such an arrangement will also settle any dispute between GSA and Summa regarding existing ownership rights in the "HK-1" and will protect the "HK-1" from commercial exploitation.
↑ "Spruce Goose Acquired by NASM". Smithsonian Institution Archives. Smithsonian Institution. 1975. Retrieved May 12, 2017. Summary: The National Air and Space Museum acquires the Hughes Flying Boat, HK-1, "Spruce Goose," from the U.S. General Services Administration. The museum decided to retain a 51-foot wing section and return the rest of the craft to the builder, the Hughes Tool Company (now the Summa Corporation). The Summa Corporation donated $700,000 and the historic Hughes Racer (in which Howard Hughes established world records in 1935 and 1937), and made portions of the aircraft available to eight public museums selected from a list compiled by the Smithsonian.
Francillon, René J. McDonnell Douglas Aircraft since 1920: Volume II. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1990. ISBN1-55750-550-0.
McDonald, John J. Howard Hughes and the Spruce Goose. Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania: Tab Books Inc., 1981. ISBN0-8306-2320-5.
Odekirk, Glenn E. Spruce Goose (Title inside cover: HK-1 Hercules: A Pictorial History of the Fantastic Hughes Flying Boat). Long Beach, California: Glenn E. Odekirk and Frank Alcantr, Inc., 1982. No ISBN.
Parker, Dana T. Building Victory: Aircraft Manufacturing in the Los Angeles Area in World War II, Cypress, CA, 2013. ISBN978-0-9897906-0-4.
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