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
This collection is comprised of publicity photographs of Howard Hughes and his aircrafts, from approximately the 1940s to the 1950s, that were compiled by David Rea, former pilot for Hughes Aircraft Company. This collection also includes clippings and technical drawings of Hughes aircrafts.
Oral history interview with Leo Dunbar, Harry Hall, Harold Wadman, Carl Merrill, and Mary Ann Merrill conducted by Dennis McBride on June 24, 1986 for the Boulder City Library Oral History Project. The interviewees discuss their early lives and families, moving to Nevada, and starting work on the Hoover Dam. They recall memories of living in Boulder City, Nevada during the Great Depression and beyond, and share information about the construction of the dam and the city as well as personal stories about their lives in Southern Nevada.
From the Nye County, Nevada Photograph Collection (PH-00221) -- Series IV. Pahrump, Nevada -- Subseries IV.A. Hughes Family. Barn in the background is said to have been constructed prior to 1900 from timber sawed in Saw Mill Canyon in the Spring Mountains. It contained a number of stalls and mangers in which stagecoach horses were quartered. The barn was torn down when Walt Williams moved to the Pahrump Ranch, and a shop was constructed on the site.