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Photograph of men inspecting drill bits at the Hughes Tool Co., Houston, Texas, circa 1950s
Date
1950 to 1959
Archival Collection
Description
Men inspecting drill bits at the Hughes Tool Company in Houston.
Image
Photograph of a man working on rock bit drilling pieces at the Hughes Tool Co., Houston, Texas, circa 1950s
Date
1950 to 1959
Archival Collection
Description
A man working on Hughes rock bit drilling pieces at the Hughes Tool Company in Houston.
Image
Photograph of a man working at the Hughs Tool co., Houston, Texas, circa 1950s
Date
1950 to 1959
Archival Collection
Description
A man working at the Hughes Tool Company in Houston.
Image
Photograph of Ira C. Eaker giving out an award, circa 1940s-1950s
Date
1940 to 1959
Archival Collection
Description
General Ira C. Eaker, the Vice President of Hughes Tool Company and Hughes Aircraft, giving an unidentified man an award.
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Photograph of a man working at the Hughes Tool Co., Houston, Texas, circa 1950s
Date
1950 to 1959
Archival Collection
Description
Transcribed from attached press release: "HUGHES ROCK BIT TEST In a block-long laboratory at Houston, Texas, the Hughes Tool Company can simulate oil drilling conditions anywhere in the world. Here a Hughes bit is tested on a hard formation. Howard Hughes' father invented the rock bit in 1908 and the resulting business became the cornerstone on which Howard Hughes built his fabulous industrial empire in motion pictures, air transportation, aeronautical research and design, aircraft manufacture, electronics, armament and brewing."
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Photograph of the interior of Hughes Tool Co., Houston, Texas, circa 1950s
Date
1950 to 1959
Archival Collection
Description
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."
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Photograph of a man working on rock bit drilling pieces at the Hughes Tool Co., Houston, Texas, circa 1950s
Date
1950 to 1959
Archival Collection
Description
Transcribed from attached press release: "HUGHES ROCK BIT PRODUCTION more than 500,000 rock bits produced last year by the Hughes Tool Company, Houston, Texas, for drilling the kind of deep wells which now produce 90 per cent of the world's petroleum. The rock bit was invented by Howard Hughes' father and the resulting business became the cornerstone on which Howard Hughes built his industrial empire. The machinist above is performing an operation on the cones which make up the rotating end of the Hughes rock bit." Transcribed from photo sleeve: "The Kearney and Trecker 4 spindle machine at the Hughes Tool Company in Houston, Texas. Ca. 1950s."
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Photograph of a drill bit at the Hughes Tool Co., Houston, Texas, circa 1950s
Date
1950 to 1959
Archival Collection
Description
Transcribed from attached press release: "LITTLE BIT Only an inch and a quarter in diameter, this "microbit" enables engineers at the Hughes Tool Company, Houston, Texas, to estimate the performance of full-size bits for the oil drilling industry. The company operates the largest testing laboratory of its kind anywhere in the world and produces thousands of rock bits necessary to drill deeper and deeper as the world's shallow oil wells have become exhausted. Howard Hughes terms the Hughes Tool company the "keystone" of his industrial empire."
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Photograph of the Hughes Tool Co. Drilling Laboratory, Houston, Texas, circa 1950s
Date
1950 to 1959
Archival Collection
Description
Transcribed from attached press release: "DRILLING LABORATORY The fundamental purpose of all Hughes rock bit research is to improve bit performance. In attaining this improvement it is necessary to balance design with the application of correct metallurgical materials and manufacturing methods. The preliminary proving ground is the Drilling laboratory housed in the main Laboratory building. Its field-size drilling rig, with 118 ft. derrick, was especially designed to test rock bits in a manner simulating oilfield drilling conditions."
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Photograph of the second XF-11 prototype, April 3, 1947
Date
1947-04-03
Archival Collection
Description
The second XF-11 prototype, a reconnaissance plane the Howard Hughes built and designed in conjunction with Air Material Command engineers.
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