Howard Hughes (foreground) and S. P. Brown (bending over) examining the new Hughes rock bit head at the Hughes Tool Company plant.

Howard Hughes (in white shirt) supervises construction of the Hughes D-2 at the Hughes Aircraft Company. in Culver City, California. The D-2 was the prototype of the XF-11.

The black and white view of police men awaiting the arrival of the Lockheed 14 aircraft at Floyd Bennett Airport in New York. Typed onto a piece of paper attached onto the image: "Police in readiness for arrival of Hughes' plane, Floyd Bennett Airport, N.Y. -- Police lined up in front of a plane at Floyd Bennett Airport, as last-minute preparations were made for the arrival of Howard Hughes and his companions, who were winging over North Central America on the last leg of their epochal Round-The-World flight. By noon a crowd of 6,000 persons had assembled and countless others choked all roads leading to the field as the fliers drew nearer to their goal. Credit Line (ACME) 7/14/38."

Description printed on photograph's accompanying strip of paper: "Hughes catches up with cables in Moscow. Moscow---Howard Hughes, sorting a packet of congratulatory cables on his arrival in Moscow. He was just beginning to sprout stubble with which he returned to New York, after his record-smashing round-the-world dash. 7/25/38"

A view of Howard Hughes after being interviewed about his controversial XF-11 photo reconnaissance plane by Republican of Washington, Senator Harry Cain in Culver City, California. Here Hughes' mustache has been digitally removed from the photo.