Transcribed from attached press release: HUGHES TOOL COMPANY Cornerstone of the industrial empire of Howard Hughes is the Hughes Tool Company of Houston, Texas, which last year produced more than half a million rock bits for drilling the kind of deep wells now producing 90 per cent of the world's petroleum. In the company's mechanical testing section (above) engineers test the products under conditions simulating actual drilling. Howard Hughes' father's invention of the rock bit is believed to be one of the most important industrial developments of the century; without such a tool we might still be living in a horse and buggy era."

A view of Howard Hughes's Sikorsky S-43 plane crash in Lake Mead.

A view of Howard Hughes's Sikorsky S-43 plane crash in Lake Mead.

A view of Howard Hughes's Sikorsky S-43 plane crash in Lake Mead.

Howard Hughes at the controls of the Flying Boat, November 1, 1947, prior to its first taxi tests in the Los Angeles Harbor.

Men working inside of the HK-1, Hughes Flying Boat on Terminal Island in the Los Angeles Harbor. Transcribed from note on back of photo: "Inside the Boat: Shown in a view looking toward the tail of the Hughes Flying Boat, the man is dwarfed by the giant interior of the airplane."

Transcribed from attached press release: "Howard Hughes, right, noted aircraft designer and industrialist is shown for the first time on the flight deck of the famed Hughes flying boat, which he designed and built. It is the largest airplane in the world. The plane is now nearing completion on Terminal Island, in Los Angeles-Long Bay Harbor, May 12, 1947." Los Angeles Harbor is now known as Long Beach Harbor, California.