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The Hughes H-4 flying boat, also known as the “Spruce Goose,” was designed and built by the Hughes Aircraft Company as an ultra-large, transoceanic military transport for use during World War II. The massive flying boat was the largest all-wood airplane ever built. It was constructed primarily of birch due to restrictions on the use of aluminum during the war. Though the aircraft was intended to transport as many as 750 troops to the European or Pacific theaters , it was not completed before the end of the war. On November 2, 1947, the prototype made its first and only flight off the coast of San Pedro, California, with Howard Hughes at the controls. The enormous aircraft flew for just over a mile at an altitude of 70 feet for one minute.
This image was posted on December 01, 2021.