Horsepower is a photograph by Jon Burch Photography which was uploaded on October 14th, 2016.
Horsepower
The Hughes H-4 Hercules known as the Spruce Goose is a prototype heavy strategic airlift military transport aircraft designed and built by the Hughes... more
Title
Horsepower
Artist
Jon Burch Photography
Medium
Photograph - Digital Capture/faa Watermark Will Not Be On Your Finished Photograph.
Description
The Hughes H-4 Hercules known as the "Spruce Goose" is a prototype heavy strategic airlift military transport aircraft 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 single example produced. Built from wood because of wartime restrictions on the use of aluminum and concerns about weight, it was nicknamed by critics the "Spruce Goose", although it was made almost entirely of birch.
In 1942, the U.S. War Department needed to transport war materiel and personnel to Britain. Allied shipping in the Atlantic Ocean was suffering heavy losses to German U-boats, so a requirement was issued for an aircraft that could cross the Atlantic with a large payload. Wartime priorities meant the aircraft could not be made of strategic materials.
The aircraft was the brainchild of Henry J. Kaiser, a leading Liberty ship builder. He teamed with aircraft designer Howard Hughes to create what would become the largest aircraft built at that time. It was designed to carry 150,000 pounds, 750 fully equipped troops or two 30-ton M4 Sherman tanks.
Seven configurations were considered, including twin-hull and single-hull designs with combinations of four, six, and eight wing-mounted engines. The final design chosen was a behemoth, eclipsing any large transport then built. It would be built mostly of wood to conserve metal with elevators and rudder covered with fabric, and was nicknamed the "Spruce Goose" which Hughes hated, or the Flying Lumberyard.
Image copyright 2016 Jon Burch Photography
Uploaded
October 14th, 2016
