John Batchelor posing with others in Boulder City, Nevada. The caption provided with the image reads: "Mayor John Batchelor of Boulder City (center) expresses Boulder City's hopes for Proton Accelerator for Eldorado Valley to Dr. Rodney L. Cool, Associated Director, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and Herbert E. Grier, President, Southern Nevada Industrial Foundation, who recently visited the proposed sites adjacent to Boulder City for the benefit of the Atomic Energy Commission. Mayor Batchelor and Boulder City delegation accompanied the team of five and officials of Southern Nevada Industrial Foundation, E.G. & G. and other agencies seeking placing of the $300 million project in this area. This picture was taken at the proposed site in Eldorado Valley just before the five experts boarded the plane with Pat Head of the Colorado River Commission to complete their reconnaissance."
Materials contain photographs of the HK-1 Hercules, otherwise known as the "Spruce Goose" or the "Flying Boat," from 1945 to 1947. The photographs primarily depict the construction, transportation, and storage of the plane, but also include the first and only test flight of the HK-1 above Los Angeles Harbor in 1947. Howard Hughes designed the HK-1 as the world's largest plane, capable of transporting large quantities of U.S. military hardware and personnel. In 1947, under the program's new designation H-4 Hercules, Hughes had the plane transported from his factory in Culver City, California to Los Angeles Harbor. On November 2, he piloted the plane during its only test flight. The U.S. Air Force abandoned the controversial project, and Hughes was called to testify before the Truman Committee of the U.S. Senate to justify the use of government funds on a program that never succeeded.
Archival Collection
Howard Hughes Public Relations Photograph Collection