Editor’s note: This story was originally published on Nov. 2, 2024.
A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives.
On Nov. 2, 1947, Howard Hughes piloted his Hughes H-4 Hercules, nicknamed the “Spruce Goose,” on its one and only flight; a massive wooden seaplane with a wingspan longer than a football field, it remained airborne for 26 seconds.
And that was it. The plane never advanced beyond the prototype.
Per historians, the Spruce Goose was first conceived during World War II, when German submarines were sinking hundreds of Allied ships, and there was a growing need to move troops and materials across the Atlantic Ocean. Henry Kaiser conceived the idea of a massive flying transport and turned to Hughes to design and build it. Hughes took on the task, made even more challenging by the government’s restrictions on materials critical to the war effort, such as steel and aluminum.
Six times larger than any aircraft of its time, the Spruce Goose, also known as the Hughes Flying Boat, is made entirely of wood and flew just once, in Long Beach, California.
“Hughes flies giant plane on first flight,” read the Deseret News headline on Nov. 3, 1947.
The aircraft had eight engines. It is now more popular than ever, as a museum piece at the Evergreen Aviation Educational Institute in McMinnville, Oregon.
Here are some stories from Deseret News archives about Hughes and his aviation history:
“Hughes was a Hollywood maverick”
“Spruce Goose settles into its new home”
“Spruce Goose wows museum crowds”
“Historic aircraft plant shutting down”
“Flights of fancy: Model maker uses simple materials to make miniature airplanes”