A Goose picture

Reader John Fry wrote in with this great picture (taken June 15 or 16, 1946) and note (you can click on the picture to blow it up):
"I've been going through some family negatives.  We lived in Navy Housing at West Willard and Santa Fe in the late 1940s.  I believe this is me pointing to the Spruce Goose heading down Santa Fe.  I turned 3 on October 4, 1946."

Moving the Spruce Goose, Part 2

The hull of the Spruce Goose on the Pontoon Bridge
heading to Terminal Island, June 1946.

In 1946, despite the end of World War II, Howard Hughes was continuing development of a massive flying boat, designated the H-4 Hercules and popularly known as the Spruce Goose.

The massive plane was constructed at Hughes Airport, just southwest of Culver City. But now it was time for final assembly of the plane, followed by testing, and the Port of Long Beach was chosen for this stage of the project, specifically Berth 120 on Pier E, at the southeast end of Terminal Island. (This is part of Pier T today.)

On June 11, 1946, Star House Movers began driving the 160-foot-long wing sections on a 28-mile route to Terminal Island. From the 15th to the 16th, the hull of the plane was moved. Utility companies had to raise or cut 2,300 power and phone lines along the route, which took the hull down Santa Fe Avenue and eventually over the Pontoon Bridge onto Terminal Island.

The assembled plane at Pier E, Berth 120.

Once in place, the pieces of the flying boat were assembled over the next year, until it was time for taxi tests on November 2, 1947. During the tests, Hughes opened up the throttles and the plane lifted off the water briefly for the plane's only flight.

The Spruce Goose (a name disliked by Hughes, plus the plane was made mostly of birch) then was returned to its hangar where it remained under wraps until 1980, when it was moved out in preparation for its move to the dome next to the Queen Mary.

Read about the later moves of the Spruce Goose

Photo gallery of the Spruce Goose's 1946 move and 1947 flight

The wings are moved down Seaside Boulevard. The Cyclone Racer
and other Long Beach landmarks can be seen in the background.

Herman the German

Herman the German lifts the Spruce Goose in 1980.

An icon on the Port of Long Beach's skyline for nearly 50 years was the floating crane YD-171, located at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard. The crane was, of course, much better known by its unofficial nickname, "Herman the German" and it made its home at the Port from 1948 until 1996.

The nearly 375-foot-tall crane came by its "German" moniker honestly; it was one of three giant floating cranes seized by the Allies from the Nazis at the end of World War II. The Russians and British each had sister cranes but were unable to transport them successfully to their home countries.

The Navy carefully dismantled Herman and shipped it to Long Beach via the Panama Canal, reconstructing it in Long Beach at a cost of $350,000 (about $3.2 million today). The crane was erected here in January 1948 and after extensive testing put into operation on New Year's Eve, 1948.

Some interesting facts about YD-171: its hoisting capacity was 386 tons (but tests took that up to 425 tons), it used 11,681 feet of wire rope and its three 900-horsepower diesel engines at full load used 144 gallons of fuel per hour at 100% load.

Herman lifted ships, parts of ships, and even other cranes, but one of its most notable lifting jobs was in the early 1980s, when the crane was used to lift the Spruce Goose in preparation for its move to the dome next to the Queen Mary.

After the closure of the Naval Shipyard in the early 1990s, it was decided that Herman was no longer needed at the Port of Long Beach (its diesel emissions were a concern as well) and the crane was shipped in 1996 to Panama, where it is still in operation at the Canal. No longer "Herman the German," now the crane is "la Titan."

Read an article on Herman's move from Long Beach to Panama

Herman the German photo gallery

Moving the Spruce Goose

Reader Glenn Styron sent us the following message about the preparations for the move of the Spruce Goose. Housed for years in a hangar on what is now Pier T, the mammoth plane, officially the Hughes H-4 Hercules, was moved to its dome next to the Queen Mary in 1982. The flying boat was moved once again in the early 1990s, to its current home at the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville, Ore.

Styron writes:

"I was involved in the demolition, preservation and recycling efforts of the Spruce Goose. It was in winter of 1979. I was was on winter break from CSULB and needed a short term job. A man that lived across the alley from me was the foreman and added me to the work crew.

"The amazing thing I found was a machinists payscale guide; I found on the floor of one of the workshops. These machinists were certified to various levels and the top pay was about $1.75 per hour.

"The other incredible feeling was to be around the dry-dock facility where the water could be let into the "lock," filled quickly to deploy the fantastic flying boat. I remember the height and depth of the dry dock made it seem like a far way down to the water level.

"The other thing that struck me was the reckless smashing of the surrounding buildings and the violence at which history was torn apart and made way for progress. But in the long run it was the correct thing to do and now the aircraft is properly cared for."

Click here to see more photos of the moving of the Spruce Goose.

If you have stories or photos of the Spruce Goose you'd like to share, please leave a comment or use our Share Your Memories form to get in touch with us.

More about the Spruce Goose