The Spruce Goose

This passage is about the largest plane ever flown.

Lexile Level: 1310L

Categories: History People & Places Science & Technology

During World War II, the United States needed to transport soldiers, tanks, and other supplies to the war front in Britain so they asked Howard "The Aviator" Hughes to build the largest plane ever designed and assembled. Hughes agreed and built the H-4 Hercules, which is the largest plane to ever be flown. Hughes' company had the plane constructed out of wood since metals in the United States were restricted for more immediate use in other equipment and vehicles for the war effort. People nicknamed the plane the "Spruce Goose" even though the wood used was birch, not spruce. By the time the plane was completed, the war had been over for two years, but Hughes decided to fly the aircraft anyway. The Spruce Goose took off for the first and only time on November 2, 1947, when it struggled to get off the ground but managed to fly almost a mile. This famous, colossal plane is now proudly displayed in the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville, Oregon.