Howard Hughes inspecting the equipment on the flight deck inside of the HK-1, Hughes Flying Boat, which he designed and built. The man pictured behind Hughes is possibly Earl Martyn, Hughes' flight engineer. The Flying Boat was near completion and was located on Terminal Island in the Los Angeles Harbor.
Typed onto a piece of paper given with the image: "Hughes' Plane Over Los Angeles, Cal. -- The world-girdling plane of Howard Hughes pictured from an American Airlines plane as it flew over Los Angeles as Hughes and four companions on the record-breaking flight arrive at Los Angeles for the ovation accorded them by proud Southern Californians. The Los Angeles City Hall is in the background. Credit Line (ACME) 8/2/38 NY
Description given with photo: "Hull of "Hercules" Starts Journey to Assembly Dock, Culver City, Calif. - The 220-foot-long fuselage of Howard Hughes' gigantic airplane crawls down the highway on truck dollies after leaving the Culver City, Calif., plant. the hull is on its way to the graving dock for assembly at Terminal Island, Calif., 28 miles away. Note size of man on top of hull. NY EUR CAN. Credit (ACME) 6/16/46"