"the Army Air Forces for: a spy aircraft and a troop transport unit for combat use in World War II. In 1947, with the H-4 Hercules flying boat still in construction, Hughes finishes the XF-11 reconnaissance aircraft and takes it for a test flight. However, after an hour and forty-five minutes, one of the engines fails midflight, and the aircraft crashes in Beverly Hills, with Hughes getting severely injured. With the war already being over for two years, the army cancels its order for the H-4 Hercules, although Hughes still continues the development with his own money. When he is"
"land-based runways during World War II. Further, as the speed and range of land-based aircraft increased, the commercial competitiveness of flying boats diminished; their design compromised aerodynamic efficiency and speed to accomplish the feat of waterborne takeoff and landing. Competing with new civilian jet aircraft like the de Havilland Comet and Boeing 707 proved impossible. The Hughes H-4 Hercules, in development in the U.S. during the war, was even larger than the BV 238, but it did not fly until 1947. The ""Spruce Goose"", as the 180-ton H-4 was nicknamed, was the largest flying boat ever to fly. Carried out"
"boat for use during World War II to transport troops and equipment across the Atlantic as an alternative to seagoing troop transport ships that were vulnerable to German U-boats. The project was opposed by the military services, thinking it would siphon resources from higher priority programs, but was advocated by Hughes' powerful allies in Washington, D.C. After disputes, Kaiser withdrew from the project and Hughes elected to continue it as the H-4 Hercules. However, the aircraft was not completed until after the end of World War II. The Hercules was the world's largest flying boat, the largest aircraft made from"
"wood, and, at , had the longest wingspan of any aircraft (the next largest wingspan was about ). (The Hercules is no longer the longest nor heaviest aircraft ever built; both of those titles are currently held by the Antonov An-225 ""Mriya"".) The Hercules flew only once for one mile (1.6 km), and above the water, with Hughes at the controls, on November 2, 1947. The Hercules was nicknamed the ""Spruce Goose"" by its critics, but it was actually made largely from birch, not spruce, rather than of aluminum, because the contract required that Hughes build the aircraft of ""non-strategic"
"Hercules flying boat in 1947–1948. While Hughes had designed its predecessors to be fighter variants, the F-11 was intended to meet the same operational objective as the Republic XF-12 Rainbow. Specifications called for a fast, long-range, high-altitude photographic reconnaissance aircraft. A highly modified version of the earlier private-venture Hughes D-2 project, in configuration the aircraft resembled the World War II Lockheed P-38 Lightning, but was much larger and heavier. It was a tricycle-gear, twin-engine, twin-boom all-metal monoplane with a pressurized central crew nacelle, with a much larger span and much higher aspect ratio than the P-38's wing. The XF-11 used"
"re-entered service in July 1954 following the grounding of the de Havilland Comet, being retired again in December. This was not the end of the Hermes in airline service, however, as surplus aircraft were sold to independent charter airlines, with Airwork purchasing four in 1952, others being operated by Britavia and Skyways, particularly in the trooping role. Many of these aircraft were fitted with Hercules 773 engines which could run on lower octane fuel than the original Hercules 763s, being designated as Hermes IVA, returning to Hermes IV standards when fuel supplies improved. Later, the Hermes were flown on inclusive"
"the H-4 Hercules. Hughes Aircraft Company, a division of Hughes Tool Company, was founded by Hughes in 1932, in a rented corner of a Lockheed Aircraft Corporation hangar in Burbank, California, to build the H-1 racer. During and after World War II, Hughes fashioned his company into a major defense contractor. The Hughes Helicopters division started in 1947 when helicopter manufacturer Kellett sold their latest design to Hughes for production. The company was a major American aerospace and defense contractor manufacturing numerous technology related products that include spacecraft vehicles, military aircraft, radar systems, electro-optical systems, the first working laser, aircraft"
"World War II the company designed and built several prototype aircraft at Hughes Airport. These included the famous Hughes H-4 Hercules, better known by the public's nickname for it, the ""Spruce Goose"", the H-1 racer, D-2, and the XF-11. However the plant's hangars at Hughes Airport, location of present-day Playa Vista in the Westside of Los Angeles, California, were primarily used as a branch plant for the construction of other companies' designs. At the start of the war Hughes Aircraft had only four full-time employees—by the end the number was 80,000. Hughes Aircraft was one of many aerospace and defense"
"be worth repairing. The aircraft made a brief appearance in the 1936 movie ""Song of Freedom"" starring Paul Robeson. The H.P.45 carried more passengers with a reduced range and baggage capacity, and was intended for Imperial Airways' European routes. G-AAXC was named after Heracles, also known as Hercules, who was the son of Zeus and Alcmene in Greek mythology and was noted for his extraordinary strength. ""Heracles"" first flew on 8 August 1931 and was impressed into service with the RAF on 3 March 1940. The aircraft was destroyed in a gale on 19 March 1940 at Whitchurch Airport, Bristol,"
"fourth, smaller shipment with tail assembly parts and other smaller assemblies. After Hughes Aircraft completed final assembly, they erected a hangar around the flying boat, with a ramp to launch the H-4 into the harbor. Howard Hughes was called to testify before the Senate War Investigating Committee in 1947 over the use of government funds for the aircraft. During a Senate hearing on August 6, 1947 (the first of a series of appearances), Hughes said: The Hercules was a monumental undertaking. It is the largest aircraft ever built. It is over five stories tall with a wingspan longer than a"
"Development of the civil Hermes was delayed to resolve the instability that caused the accident to the first prototype, and the chance was taken to lengthen the second prototype, producing the HP 74 Hermes II (""G-AGUB""), first flying on 2 September 1947. Meanwhile, orders were placed on 4 February 1947 for 25 of the definitive HP 81 Hermes IV, fitted with a tricycle undercarriage and powered by 2,100 hp (1,570 kW) Bristol Hercules 763 engines, for BOAC and two HP Hermes V, powered by the Bristol Theseus turboprop engines. While the first Hermes IV (registered ""G-AKFP"") flew on 5 September"
"controls. His crew included Dave Grant as copilot, two flight engineers, Don Smith and Joe Petrali, 16 mechanics, and two other flight crew. The H-4 also carried seven invited guests from the press corps and an additional seven industry representatives. Thirty-six were on board. Four reporters left to file stories after the first two taxi runs while the remaining press stayed for the final test run of the day. After picking up speed on the channel facing Cabrillo Beach the Hercules lifted off, remaining airborne for 26 seconds at off the water at a speed of for about one mile"
"and climb. Only eight prototypes were completed and the aircraft did not see production, mainly because of the shortages of DB 601 ""component"" engines to construct the ""power systems"" they formed. The first two prototypes were built as land planes, with retractable landing gear. The third prototype (V3) was constructed as a seaplane with twin floats. This was tested at the ""Erprobungsstelle Travemünde"" military seaplane test facility on the Baltic coast, and was scrapped in 1942 at Heinkel's factory airfield in the coastal Rostock-Schmarl community, then known as Marienehe. On 22 November 1937, the fourth prototype (V4) made a world"
"never completed, being suspended in 1944 and scuttled incomplete after the war. The three that were commissioned were all lost. Five ships of this class were ordered in 1942 and 1943 (""Z.46"" - ""Z.50""), all from A.G. Weser at Bremen; none were launched, just two were started - ""Z.46"" and ""Z.47"" - and both were bombed by Allied aircraft while under construction and were scrapped on the slipways in 1945. This design was a response to the vulnerability to air attack of early German destroyers and would have used six new 128 mm Flak 40 guns (originally designed for the"
"she was launched on May 18, 1942. After World War II, she was taken by the United Kingdom to England, where she was rebuilt in a salvage tug, and renamed ""Hercules"" in 1949. She was based in Gibraltar from 1950 until 1954 when she was sold to Turkey. Her Turkish owner, the Denizcilik Bankası renamed her ""Hora"" and put her as salvage tug in service four year long from 1954 in Istanbul, and then ten years long in İzmir. In 1968, she was acquired by the Port Authority of Izmir to be used as stationary pilot boat. In 1975, MTA"
"(1.6 km). At this altitude the aircraft still experienced ground effect. The brief flight proved to detractors that Hughes' (now unneeded) masterpiece was flight-worthy—thus vindicating the use of government funds. The ""Spruce Goose"", however, never flew again. Its lifting capacity and ceiling were never tested. A full-time crew of 300 workers, all sworn to secrecy, maintained the aircraft in flying condition in a climate-controlled hangar. The company reduced the crew to 50 workers in 1962 and then disbanded it after Hughes' death in 1976. Ownership of the H-4 was disputed by the U.S. government, which had contracted for its construction."
"this was also not placed into production. Tupolev Tu-70 The Tupolev Tu-70 (NATO reporting name: Cart) was a Soviet passenger variant of the Tu-4 bomber (which was reverse-engineered from the American Boeing B-29 Superfortress) and designed immediately after the end of World War II. It used a number of components from Boeing B-29s that had made emergency landings in the Soviet Union after bombing Japan. It had the first pressurized fuselage in the Soviet Union and first flew on 27 November 1946. The aircraft was successfully tested, recommended for serial production, but ultimately not produced because of more pressing military"
"Pilatus P-4 The Pilatus P-4 was a Swiss five-seat cabin monoplane designed and built by Pilatus, but had little sales success. The P-4 was not designed specifically as a passenger aircraft, but rather as a versatile working aircraft. The aim was to build a robust aircraft with good slow-flying handling, requiring only short takeoff and landing runs and little maintenance. The P-4 HB-AET took off for its maiden flight on 22 March 1948. Series production never went ahead due to capacity bottlenecks. The P-4 was unveiled to a wide international public at the 18th Paris Air Show in 1949, and"
"from a short stint as an anti-submarine carrier in 1968, the ship remained in this role until her 1974 decommissioning. ""Arromanches"" was broken up for scrap in 1978. Work on the ""Majestic""-class was suspended in May 1946, with the ship about 75% complete. The carrier remained in an unfinished condition until January 1957, when she was purchased by the Indian Navy. Fitted with an angled flight deck, ""Hercules"" was commissioned into the Indian Navy as in 1961. ""Vikrant"" was not involved in the 1962 Sino-Indian War or the 1965 Indo-Pakistani War because she was docked for maintenance and refits on"
"Hercules aircraft. The first PRIME vehicle was launched from Vandenberg AFB on 21 December 1966 atop an Atlas launch vehicle. This mission simulated a low Earth orbit reentry with a zero cross-range. The ballute deployed at 99,850 feet (30.43 km), though the recovery parachute failed to completely deploy. The vehicle crashed into the Pacific Ocean. The second vehicle was launched on 5 March 1967. This flight simulated a 654-mile (1053-kilometre) cross-range reentry, and banking at hypersonic speeds. The recovery parachute deployed properly and was located by two of the deployed recovery aircraft. During an inspection fly-by of the descending parachute"
"for both aircraft, the Supermarine Seagull, was cancelled in 1952, with only prototypes being constructed. By that time, air-sea rescue helicopters were taking over from small flying-boats. The Walrus was known as the ""Shagbat"" or sometimes ""Steam-pigeon""; the latter name coming from the steam produced by water striking the hot Pegasus engine. The first Seagull V, ""A2-1"", was handed over to the Royal Australian Air Force in 1935, with the last, ""A2-24"" delivered in 1937. The type served aboard HMA Ships ""Australia"", ""Canberra"", ""Sydney"", ""Perth"" and ""Hobart"". Walrus deliveries to the RAF started in 1936 when the first example to"
"never completed. The TSC-1A4 was a 1977 Teal Aircraft proposal for a four-seat stretched Teal III, which would have had a gross weight of . The plan was for a turbocharged Lycoming powerplant, a extension for the fuselage, the wingspan increased by and the tailplane by . None were ever built. Thurston Teal The Thurston Teal is a family of two- and four-seat all-aluminium amphibious flying boats designed by David Thurston in the United States and first flown in 1968. A total of 38 Teals were manufactured. The Teal design features a high wing with tip floats for lateral stability."
"to reduce wind resistance. Odekirk co-designed the H-4 Hercules (commonly known as the ""Spruce Goose"") and many sources state that Odekirk was aboard when Hughes piloted the plane on its only flight on November 2, 1947. However, according to ""The Ouderkerk Family Saga: 350 Years in America"", Glenn Odekirk was not on the Hercules. Odekirk recalls that day: ""I dropped Hughes down on the dock and he said to me, 'Odie, you don't mind not being aboard while I taxi' ""...and I said, ""Oh, come on."" ""The fellows back there (the Brewster committee) were giving him a bad time and"
"Hovercraft could take standard height coaches with luggage space at the rear. Film footage of operations is included in the 1974 spy film ""The Black Windmill"" with Michael Caine. [1] Film footage also appeared in the 1980 film ""Hopscotch"" with Walter Matthau. The SR.N4 craft were powered by four Bristol Proteus gas turbine engines which consumed significant amounts of aviation kerosene. As the world wide oil crisis of the 1970s caused fuel prices to rise sharply, the operation of the SR.N4 became increasingly uneconomic. Furthermore, the closure of the British Hovercraft Corporation meant that maintenance of the craft was also"
"A flight school owner at the New Smyrna Beach Airport has restored a DC-7 to serve as a restaurant, the DC-7 Grille, but it never opened. A DC-7 tail number C-0921 (nicknamed ""Charlie 21"") was installed at Iliff Preschool in Denver in 1971 and is still serving as a kindergarten classroom. Douglas DC-7 The Douglas DC-7 is a transport aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1953 to 1958. It was the last major piston engine-powered transport made by Douglas, being developed shortly after the earliest jet airliner—the de Havilland Comet—entered service and only a few years before the"
"bought the site and constructed a private airfield runway, named Hughes Airport, and an aircraft factory with large hangars for his Hughes Aircraft Company production. The famous Spruce Goose (Hughes H-4 Hercules plane), with the largest wingspan and height of any aircraft in history, was built in the hangar and then transported to Long Beach Harbor for its only flight in 1947. During the late 1990s, DreamWorks failed in its attempt to build a studio in Playa Vista. Phase One of Playa Vista began in 2001 as ""a mix of affordable and luxury housing, office and commercial space and open"
"it was made almost entirely of birch. The Hercules is the largest flying boat ever built, and it has the largest wingspan of any aircraft that has ever flown. The aircraft remains in good condition. After being displayed to the public for almost 11 years in Long Beach, California from 1980 to 1991, it is now displayed at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon, United States. 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"
"it no longer wished to display the Hercules aircraft after its highly ambitious Port Disney plan was scrapped. After a long search for a suitable host, the Aero Club of Southern California arranged for the Hughes Hercules flying boat to be given to Evergreen Aviation Museum in exchange for payments and a percentage of the museum's profits. The aircraft was transported by barge, train, and truck to its current home in McMinnville, Oregon (about 40 miles (60 km) southwest of Portland), where it was reassembled by Contractors Cargo Company and is currently on display. The aircraft arrived in McMinnville on"
"2006, the aircraft was reportedly still in existence in a dismantled state in the hands of a Californian collector. Atlas H-10 The Atlas H-10 was the prototype for a four-seat cabin monoplane aircraft, registered ""N37463"", designed by Max Harlow, which was flown in the United States shortly after World War II. The Atlas H-10 had been constructed from the unfinished Harlow PJC-4 sporting monoplane which had been left uncompleted at the outbreak of the conflict. The water heater company Rheem Manufacturing Company briefly invested in the project as the PCC-10 (Pasadena City College Model 10) but did not pursue the"
"renamed as ""Indus IV"" in 1904. The ship was converted to a kite balloon storeship in 1915, during World War I, and her name was changed to HMS ""Valiant III"". She was offered for sale in 1922, but there were no takers so the ship was converted into a floating oil tank in 1926 and towed to Hamoaze. Hector-class ironclad The ""Hector""-class ironclads were a pair of armoured frigates built for the Royal Navy (RN) in the 1860s. was completed in 1864 and assigned to the Channel Fleet until she began a refit in 1867. 's builder went bankrupt and"
"On the aircraft side of the business Mr. Broadsmith continued as director and general manager. All other senior posts in the executive staff remain unchanged. In 1947 they flew the SR.A/1 fighter prototype, one of the world's first jet-powered flying boats, and in 1952 they flew the prototype Princess airliner, but the age of the flying-boat was over and the two further Princess examples to be completed were never flown. No further new seaplanes were produced here. Modification work on Short-built flying boats continued at Cowes until 1955. The last fixed-wing aircraft they built was experimental SR53 mixed-power interceptor. In"
"Havilland Hydromatic propeller earned it the nickname ""Tripala"" (""three blades""). It first flew in 1951, and although 200 were planned only 65 were built. The Hispano engine was an upright V12 instead of the inverted V12 Daimler-Benz DB 601 & 605 engines used in the Bf 109 but, being of compact design, it fitted the airframe of the Bf 109 well and was able to credibly represent the Bf 109 in the German 1957 film ""Der Stern von Afrika"" (""The Star of Africa"") about Luftwaffe ace Hans-Joachim Marseille. The original design, starting with the Bf 109F, had an asymmetrical tail-fin"
"and remained in service with BOAC until retired in 1947. From 1947 until 1954 it lay moored in Rochester Harbour near its birthplace, where it had made its first flight. In 1954, it ran aground at Harty Ferry on the Isle of Sheppey whilst on tow to a new anchorage. It was eventually scrapped due to hull damage. Short S.26 The Short S.26 G-class was a large transport flying-boat with non-stop transatlantic capability. Three aircraft were built for Imperial Airways, subsidised by the Air Ministry in anticipation of military use. All three were impressed into military service. The S.26 was"