The people associated with Howard Hughes series dates from 1947-1976 and is composed entirely of reference files of newspaper clippings that document Hughes employees, business associates, competitors, and relatives, as well as politicians and government officials that were of interest to Hughes.

Materials contain photographs of the Hughes XF-11 prototype military reconnaissance aircraft from 1946 to 1947. The photographs depict Howard Hughes piloting the two XF-11 prototypes that were built: during the test flight in July 1946, Hughes crashed the first XF-11 in Beverly Hills, California; in April 1947, Hughes successfully flew the second prototype at high speeds and at high altitudes. However, the United States Air Force abandoned the controversial project, and in August of 1947, Hughes was called to testify before the Truman Committee in the U.S. Senate about the failures of the program.