North Douglas herald., December 01, 2024, Page 7, Image 7

North Douglas Herald
December 2024
Page 7
Hercules H4 Named an Oregon Registered Historic Place
Continued from Front Page
engineered systems that became standard
in large aircraft after the Second World
War. As a one-of-a-kind prototype, the
Hughes Flying Boat flew only one time, on
November 2, 1947. From 1947 until 1953,
the aircraft served as a testbed for a variety
of aviation innovations, including the
application of Duramold wood composite
in large aircraft construction, redundant
fire suppression and flight control systems.
The Hughes Flying Boat is also the largest
seaplane, largest wooden aircraft, and
largest propeller-driven plane ever built.
After its flight, the Hughes Flying
Boat was housed in Long Beach, California,
where it remained until 1992. The plane
was then disassembled and moved to
McMinnville. In 1980, the plane was listed
in the National Register, but because it
was moved to Oregon without prior NPS
approval, it was automatically delisted.
In 2001, the aircraft was reassembled and
today it is the centerpiece of the Evergreen
Aviation & Space Museum.
The Hughes Flying Boat (H-4
Hercules) is the only individually listed
aircraft in Oregon. The National Register
is maintained by the National Park Service
under the authority of the National Historic
Preservation Act of 1966. Properties listed
in the National Register are:
Recognized as significant to the nation,
state, or community;
Considered in the planning of federal or
federally-assisted projects;
Eligible for federal and state tax benefits;
Qualify for historic preservation grants
when funds are available;
Eligible for leniency in meeting certain
building code requirements;
Subject to local laws pertaining to the
conservation and protection of historic
resources.
State law in Oregon requires local
governments to offer a minimal level
of protection for properties listed in the
National Register of Historic Places;
the decisions about how to accomplish
that goal reside with local governments,
which also have the authority to create
and regulate local historic districts and
landmarks. More information about the
National Register and recent Oregon
listings are online at oregonheritage.org
(under the heading “Designate”).
called Duramold. Criss-cross layers of wafer
thin birch veneers were bonded together with
resins to create a strong and beautiful skin
that required no rivets. The entire surface was
sanded down by hand and finished with layers
of rice paper and silver aluminium paint.
The Hercules was more than double the
size of any contemporary aircraft. Its wingspan
was 320 feet, longer than the Statue of Liberty.
The wings carried eight Pratt & Whitney R4360
28-cylinder radial engines. They produced
24,000 horsepower to lift the 400,000lb fully
loaded airframe. With a 3,000-mile range and
cruise speed of 200 mph, the Hercules was
designed to carry 400 troops or two Sherman
tanks safely across the ocean.
The sheer scale of the aircraft presented
unique challenges that Hughes solved with
innovative solutions. During construction,
normal workbenches were far too small to be
useful. So the moviemaker used film projectors
to display plans onto the factory floor, allowing
his engineers to manufacture parts to size.
The Hercules pioneered advances in
control and power systems that paved the way
for future large aircraft types. To overcome
sheer size and weight problems, Hughes
designed the first hydraulically actuated control
system.
Huges pioneered a 120v DC electrical
system, which enabled the use of smaller cables,
saving 75% of the weight of miles of electrical
cables. A series of intercom radio points were
used to enable immediate communication with
engineers on board and counter the distances
inside the aircraft.
The interior featured two decks connected
by an elegant spiral staircase. The cockpit had
large windows and reclining padded chairs
for the pilot and flight crew. Two generators
bolted to the floor of the flight deck provided
air , but being less than fresh, Hughes had a
pipe installed to pump fresh air directly over
the left hand side pilot’s seat, where he would
be seated.
Amongst Hughes’ many aviation feats
was a record-setting global circumnavigation
in 1938. Concerned about ditching at sea, he
prepared his aircraft with 80lbs of ping-pong
balls positioned in the wings and fuselage to
keep the aircraft afloat. For the Hercules, he
scaled this idea up and used nets of inflatable
beach balls stowed in the fuselage and wings.
Progress was slow. Hughes was a
legendary perfectionist and he involved himself
in every decision, no matter how small. The
Hercules was not his only project. As 24
months came and went, Kaiser withdrew in
frustration. The airframe was not ready for
testing until June 1946 and that required
moving from Culver City to the ocean, which
was a major operation. Crews went ahead to
prepare the route by taking down over 2,000
telephone and power cables. The hull, wings,
tail and control surfaces were positioned on
enormous trailers. Crawling along at 2mph, the
convoy took two days to complete the 28 mile
journey to Terminal Island, Long Beach.
The Hercules was nearing completion,
but the urgency had waned. The Allies had long
since turned the tide and won the war. Hughes
was being questioned and criticism grew. In
the summer of 1947, he was called to a Senate
hearing and accused of wasting government
funds.
Although contracted to produce three
aircraft, Hughes had not completed even one.
He conceded that the process was slow but
argued that building an aircraft on this scale
had pushed the boundaries of aviation design.
He had made discoveries that would prove vital
in future aircraft manufacture.
“If I made any mistake on this airplane
it was not through neglect. It was through
supervising each portion of it in too much
detail… I am by nature a perfectionist, and
I seem to have trouble allowing anything to
go through in a half-perfect condition. So if I
made any mistake it was in working too hard
and in doing too much of it with my own two
hands.”
Hughes reputation was on the line and he
argued his case. The Hercules had cost $25M
so far, which included $7M of Hughes own
money.
“I put the sweat of my life into this thing.
I have my reputation rolled up in it, and I have
stated that if it was a failure I probably will
leave this country and never come back, and
I mean it’.
Hughes organised the taxi trials
like a Hollywood premiere. VIPs, starlets,
photographers and the media were all in
attendance. On 2 November 1947, crowds
of onlookers lined the shores watching the
Hercules taxi out into the harbour in blustery
conditions.
Closely watching for debris in the water,
Hughes completed one low speed taxi run,
before turning into wind for a second faster
run. The Hercules rose up on to the step, slicing
across the wave tops. Above the rumble of the
engines, those on board could hear the water
slapping off the hull.
When the second run was safely
completed, a correspondent asked Howard if
he intended to fly that day. ‘Of course not’ he
replied. The reporter asked to go ashore to file
his copy. He and others looking for a “Scoop”,
grabbed a quick boat ride to shore.
A radio newsman remained on board
recording a broadcast: ‘This is James
McNamara speaking to you from aboard the
Howard Hughes two hundred-ton flying boat,
the world’s largest aircraft. At this moment we
speak to you from the spacious flight deck.
This mighty monster of the skies is slowly
The Legend of The Silver Ghost
During World War II, one American
defied convention to build the largest aircraft
in the world. The H-4 Hercules, the iconic
flying boat of the 1940s. Famously known as
the ‘Spruce Goose’, the vast silver ship is as
legendary as its inventor Howard Hughes.
In 1942 the United States and her Allies
battled against the Axis powers. Nazi U-boats
patrolled the oceans, sinking Allied vessels and
threatening vital supply lines. By mid summer
nearly 700 ships had been lost to the submarine
peril.
American industrialist Henry Kaiser began
ship building in 1940 and he revolutionised the
industry with his ‘Liberty Ships’. He reduced
the build time of a 10,000-ton freighter from
355 to just 48 days, but in 1942 this was not
enough. The submarines torpedoed vessels
faster than they could be launched.
Eccentric Hollywood moviemaker
with a talent for aviation, Howard Hughes was
born in Texas in 1905. A huge success in the oil
business, he later directed a series of successful
films and then his focus turned to aviation. A
talented engineer, Hughes was also a skilled
test pilot. In 1932, he set up the Hughes Aircraft
Company at Culver City, CA, to manufacture
his unique designs.
The prospect of building the world’s
largest aircraft intrigued Hughes. The two men
agreed that if Hughes designed and built the
prototypes, Kaiser would offer his shipyards to
build a fleet. They won a government contract
for $18M to produce three prototype aircraft.
The contract allowed only 24 months
and Kaiser was boasting they would do it in
ten. Due to war efforts they were not allowed
to use materials deemed scarce, such as
aluminium. The great flying boat would have
to be constructed from wood, a feat that many
considered impossible. To counter the problems
of using wood, Hughes developed a technique
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