Transcribed from press release attached to back of photo: "PENETRATES EARTH 16,000 FEET A surface approaching the hardness of the diamond is applied by a new atomic-hydrogen welding process to the teeth of a rock bit drill at the Hughes Tool Company plant in Houston, Texas, owned by Howard Hughes, noted aircraft designer-flyer. The first Hughes rock bit revolutionized oil drilling practices in this nation several decades ago, making possible recovery of oil beneath hard rock formations at great depths. Most recent models have penetrated the earth below 16,000 feet. Hughes drills are used in 50 foreign countries. NOTE: The atomic-hydrogen process differs from other arc-welding processes in that the arc is formed between two electrodes, rather than one electrode and the work." The patent on the atomic-hydrogen process was awarded October 29, 1929.
Transcribed from press release attached to back of photo: "NEW PHOTO PLANE TEST-FLOWN CULVER CITY, California, July 7 -- Howard Hughes, who designed and built the new FX-11 reconnaissance plane in conjunction with Air Materiel Command engineers, sits in the pilot's bubble-glass canopy preparing for the first test flight. One of the world's fastest long-range photo planes, the XF-11 can attain a speed of more than 400 miles per hour, Army officials said. It is powered by two 3000-horsepower radial engines with eight-bladed contra-rotating propellers. Outstanding features include a full-span flap, unique eight-camera layout, and exceptionally fast take-off." Transcribed from photo sleeve: "Howard Hughes sits in the cockpit of the XF-11, a reconnaissance plane that Hughes built and designed in conjunction with Air Materiel Command engineers. Hughes is preparing for his first test flight in Culver City, California July 7, 1947.
The black and white view of the Lockheed 14 aircraft taking off on a part of Howard Hughes' Around the World flight. Description printed on photograph's accompanying sheet of paper: "Howard Hughes take-off at 9:36 p.m. after 1 hr., 18 min. Fairbanks, Alaska."
The Howard Hughes Professional and Aeronautical Photographs contain black-and-white photographs of businessman and entrepreneur Howard Hughes and his companies from 1916 to 1997. The photographs primarily depict Hughes alongside his aircraft, including the XF-11 prototype reconnaissance plane and the HK-1 Hercules, better known as the "Spruce Goose" or "Flying Boat." The photographs also cover the companies owned by Hughes, including Hughes Tool Company, Hughes Aircraft Company, Hughes Electronics Corporation, and RKO Pictures.