Hughes H-4 Hercules (Spruce Goose)

History

This famous Howard Hughes airship - officially designated as H-4 "Hercules" by Hughes Aircraft - made only one flight (with Hughes himself under control), and only in one working example Made in. The folly of the project earned the H-4 the nickname "Spruce Goose" and is widely regarded as a failure of World War II-era aircraft design. The main impetus behind such a massive fuselage was to provide the U.S. military - which was waging war in Europe and the Pacific at the time - with an oversized transport capable of airlifting vast quantities of battlefield equipment to the front lines. The situation was compounded by the regular Allied deliveries of ships to German U-boats in the Atlantic and elsewhere, which took a toll on vital supplies trying to reach European forces.

Therefore, military requirements were placed on transatlantic cargo aircraft with a large payload.

While the H-4's design looked promising, it came too late in the war to serve any great purpose, adding to the image of the project that Hughes was a complete failure. After the war was officially over, the H-4 also suffered from cuts in defense spendingmany programs were either shelved indefinitely or canceled entirely.

Hughes was then forced to appear before a Senate committee to answer the government's money spent on his H-4.

When completed, the H-4 became the largest aircraft in the world and the largest airship ever designed and built. It is powered by eight Pratt & Whitney R-4360 28-cylinder engines, each producing 3,000 horsepower. Four engines are attached to one wing.

Each wing is mounted high and straight in its overall design, with the engine nacelles attached to the leading edge. Each wing itself is the entire wingspan of a competing four-engine Boeing B-29 Superfortress heavy bomber.

To demonstrate the H-4's internal carrying capacity, the cargo bay can hold up to 700 infantry or two M4 Sherman medium tanks. The lifespan of the aircraft is estimated to be approximately 21 hours of flight time. Its airship qualitieswith its boat-like hull and outboard pontoon legsallow the H-4 to take off and land from virtually any water source. In addition, the plane was constructed of wood (birch), which aided in buoyancy, and did not require extensive use of metal during construction (metal proved to be an important war resource). The timber approach also extends to another Hughes wartime project - the D-2 heavy fighter (described in detail elsewhere on this page).

Spruce Goose's sarcasm refers to the heavy use of wood in product construction.

The original H-4 concept was designed by Henry Kaiser, and the direct design was written by engineer Glenn Odekirk. Howard Hughes, who was the project's director, put her hands on the controls on her only flight.

The only prototype preserved in the postwar period can be seen in its full glory at the EVA Air Museum in McMinnville, Oregon, USA.

In terms of aviation advancements to date (November 2013), the Hughes H-4 Hercules still has the largest wingspan of any aircraft ever built, let alone considered production. This prestige even includes the giant American Boeing 747 and the Soviet Russian An-225 Mriya.

Also, no other airship design exceeds her size.

Specification

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