Friday 11th October 2024
Difficulty: Very hard
Flying boats (Quiz #693)
"The Spruce Goose". Photo: SDASM Archives. (Public domain)
A flying boat is a type of seaplane with a boat-shaped hull, allowing it to land on water. In the early days of international air travel, they had the advantage of not requiring runways, making it relatively easy to set up new routes (as long as there was water to land on).
1. In April 1939, you could catch an Imperial Airways flying boat from Southampton to Sydney. If you took off on Saturday, 15th April 1939, when would you expect to land at Sydney?
2. Which World War II flying boat was nicknamed Fliegendes Stachelschwein ("Flying Porcupine") by the Germans, due to its defensive firepower?
3. Howard Hughes's H4 Hercules flying boat (pictured above), completed in 1947, was the largest aircraft ever made at the time. It was nicknamed "The Spruce Goose", but what name would have been more accurate?
Privacy: we believe in respecting our users' privacy. When you click the button above, you'll get your score straight away. We won't request your details, or try to sell you anything, or ask you to subscribe.