In
1942, the U.S. requested a giant flying boat to transport personnel
and material over the Atlantic then controlled by German
U-boats. Another requirement was that the aircraft be built
with a minimum of "strategic materials". The Hughes
flying boat was built mostly of wood and received the nickname "Spruce
Goose".
Other names include Hercules (the official
Hughes Aircraft name) and Flying Lumberyard (by its
detractors).
Howard Hughes and Henry Kaiser worked on the huge
flying boat from 1942 to 1944 when Kaiser withdrew from the
project. Howard Hughes persevered through 1947 and flew the
Hercules once to prove it could fly.
After the flight, Hughes had the Spruce Goose put
in storage and kept in airworthy condition until his death in 1976.
