Hughes H-4 Hercules

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The Hughes H-4 Hercules (commonly known as the Spruce Goose; registration NX37602) is a prototype strategic airlift flying 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 prototype. 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. The Birch Bitch was a more accurate but less socially acceptable moniker that was allegedly used by the mechanics who worked on the plane. The Hercules is the largest seaplane 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. The aircraft remains in good...

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