Description given with photo: "Float Hughes Flying Boat, San Pedro, Calif.: Water pours into Howard Hughes' mammoth drydock as the millionaire plane builder prepares to float his giant plywood flying boat on November 1st. The nose of the 200-ton craft can be seen at right. In upper right are three of the four right wind engines. Credit Line (ACME) 11/04/47."
A crowd of people stand in front of a stage supporting Howard Hughes and others in Chicago. The Lockheed 14 aircraft that Hughes landed moments earlier can be seen in the background.
The street view of a parade held for Howard Hughes in Chicago. Hughes can be seen in the first black car in line, sitting center between two other men.
The black and white view of the Lockheed 14 aircraft at the Floyd Bennett Airport in New York. Typed on a piece of paper attached to the image: "Readying Hughes' plane for Paris flight. New York City-- Mechanics hastened to put Howard Hughes' Lockheed 14 monoplane in shape for a flight from Floyd Bennett Airport here, to Paris. Motor trouble forced postponement and helpers were working under injunction to have the ship ready for a takeoff, July 9, "at the earliest possible moment." Photo shows: the plane being pulled out of the hangar by a truck. Credit Line (ACME) 7/9/38."
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
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Collection Number: PH-00373 Collection Name: Howard Hughes Public Relations Photograph Collection Box/Folder: N/A
A wide view of a banquet held for Howard Hughes in the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, California. Here, Howard Hughes can be seen via the pointing arrow as he gives a speech.