What was the nickname given to the Hughes H-4 Hercules, a heavy transport flying boat which achieved flight in 1947?

The story behind the answer

Spruce Goose is correct because the Hughes H-4 Hercules—a massive World War II–era transport flying boat—was built largely of wood due to wartime metal shortages, prompting the press to dub it the “Spruce Goose.” Ironically, most of it was birch, and Howard Hughes disliked the nickname. It achieved a single brief flight on November 2, 1947, lifting off for about 26 seconds over Long Beach Harbor.

Memorize it with the rhyme and image: a giant “goose” made of “spruce” that barely flew. Despite its short hop, it still holds the record for the largest wingspan ever built and now resides at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in Oregon, a towering reminder of ambitious aerospace engineering.