Transporting the wings of Howard Hughes’ Spruce Goose to Long Beach, June 11, 1946

Posted on August 20, 2017 by

Transporting the wings of Howard Hughes’ Spruce Goose to Long Beach, June 11, 1946When Howard Hughes’ H-4 Hercules (“Don’t call it the Spruce Goose!”) was ready to be moved from Hughes Airport in what is now Playa Vista down to Long Beach, where the test flight would take place, it was so big, they had to move it in sections. The big move took place on June 11, 1946 and lasted all day—those trucks are moving at 2 miles per hour. I don’t know which part of the journey this shot was taken at, but you can be sure that land is now covered in suburbia.

UPDATE: It appears that these truck are driving southbound Lincoln Blvd., near Hughes Airport.

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9 responses to “Transporting the wings of Howard Hughes’ Spruce Goose to Long Beach, June 11, 1946”

  1. Louella Rehfield says:
    August 20, 2017 at 10:56 am

    Love these; thanks for sharing. Did I ever tell you that I actually met Mr. Hughes?
    It was in the early 40’s (before Pearl Harbor) and I was in San Francisco for a skating competition – my father was doing publicity for Hughes’ film “The Outlaw” & we met outside the Geary theater (S.F.). Mr. Hughes had very kindly paid for our train trip from L.A. to S.F. and also the hotel bill for the week there. He had such a sad ending.

    Reply
  2. J Yuma says:
    August 20, 2017 at 10:30 pm

    This post from a LA centric forum seems to know where this picture was taken. They claim southbound Lincoln Blvd., near Hughes Airport.

    http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showpost.php?p=5972077&postcount=11556

    Reply
  3. Duane Coyle says:
    October 15, 2020 at 8:02 am

    The truck drivers were Lefty and Loraine Hayes. Loraine Hayes later married Cliff Ellis, my grandfather.

    Reply
    • Martin Turnbull says:
      October 15, 2020 at 11:27 am

      Hi Duane – thank you for stopping by and sharing that information with us. The more info the better!

      Reply
    • Ken Stegall says:
      November 10, 2021 at 9:19 am

      I’m with the Corbitt Preservation Association the makers of the trucks that moved the goose. If you happen to have any photos o sure would love to see them or know what ever happened to those trucks

      Thanks
      Ken Stegall

      Reply
  4. Gail Gooding says:
    August 27, 2023 at 5:32 am

    Ran across this photo doing geneology research. My grandmother’ second husband, Clyde Palmer, worked for the Star House Movers Co. He was the foreman in charge of the job of moving the Spruce Goose from Culver City to Long Beach. My grandmother and my mother both met Howard Hughs during the course of the move. My grandmother had a copy of ‘Who’s Who’ mentioning Clyde Palmer for being involved in the historic move.

    Reply

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