Howard Hughes: What was his contribution(s) to WWII?
- Thread starter gjs238
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oldcrowcv63
Tech Sergeant
My understanding is that Hughes produced other company's aircraft, like the Brewster and Goodyear with the Corsair and GM's Eastern A/C with the FM-1 and TBM... But wikipedia doesn't say what aircraft Hughes produced.
meatloaf109
1st Lieutenant
Beyond being a snappy dresser and occupying his own time with the "Hercules" a.k.a. the "Spruce Goose", his company did work on radar systems.
CobberKane
Banned
- 706
- Apr 4, 2012
I remember one myth that the Mitsubishi Zero was a copy of the Hughs Racer he used to set a world speed record. Nonsense of course, and probably a symptom of the West's refusal to accept that the Japanese could have come up with something so advanced on their own, but occasionally you still hear it.
He wasted a lot of money of doomed aircraft projects like the D-2 long range high speed aircraft and its military derivative, the XA-37 attack bomber and the XF-11 reconnaissance aeroplane, which didn't fly until after the war's end. Not to forget the aforementioned HK-1/HFB-1 flying boat. His company at Culver City, Cali made flexible ammo feed chutes for aircraft, I believe they might have been the first of their kind.
Actually, did any Hughes aircraft make it into production, in his life time???
Balljoint
Senior Airman
The ammo chutes were invented by one of his engineers by the name of Lewis. Same guy from the movie about Hughes that worked on his steam car.
wuzak
Captain
So did other aero companies of the period.
Howard Hughes was summonsed to a congressional hearing over his wasting of public monies. Was anybody else?
Shortround6
Major General
His contribution to morale was tremendous. He produced the Movie "The Outlaw" staring Jane Russel. 
Messy1
Master Sergeant
If you look at the effects is companies had on the space, weapons, and aeronautical programs after WW2, right into the present day with Satellite communications, his company's involvement in all these programs and more is really incredible. He even has companies involved on the medical field.
razor1uk
Staff Sergeant
I'd imagine he and his companies did quite alot more than initially thought/known of, but like Hienkel, was perhaps semi sidelined on somethings due to not playing the political game his government wanted, specially with him being a largely self made man... wasn't right wing enough for the establisment by perchance.
I think i some areas like others, his works were allowed to pursue certain projects as far as they could go, but then when your developing something undone/not-done before, others will only lambast you for delaying progress as you struggle through many uncountable problems and feck ups.
A miligned man by perchance... he did a lot, but some think maybe not enough - a known failiure is still a failiure, but hopefully stops someone else repeating it ad nausiem...
I think i some areas like others, his works were allowed to pursue certain projects as far as they could go, but then when your developing something undone/not-done before, others will only lambast you for delaying progress as you struggle through many uncountable problems and feck ups.
A miligned man by perchance... he did a lot, but some think maybe not enough - a known failiure is still a failiure, but hopefully stops someone else repeating it ad nausiem...
vikingBerserker
Lieutenant General
I think when it came to aircraft, he was more successful with helicopters, of course that was post WW2.
Wasn't he having little or nothing to do with the direction of the company after they switches to helicopters?
FLYBOYJ
"THE GREAT GAZOO"
Folks - some "not so true" statements there. First off, Hughes didn't "waste" any US government money, the government does that on its own when they buy a product that they don't need or doesn't meet its design intent. In the case of the H-4, the only thing Hughes had to do was get the thing in the air and he did so in 1947. I believe many contracts awarded during WW2 were "cost plus" where the government agreed to accept schedule slips and cost over runs to a point.
Read about some of the politics of the X-37A...
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDkTkpoyfL0
Compare some of the CEOs of major corporations to this guy. He had balls of steel.
I think the only thing we could fault this man for is being a perfectionist and trying to give his "customer" the most advanced and innovative product money could buy at that time.
As far as Hughes' wartime company outside of what was mentioned here…
"During the Second World War, Hughes Aircraft grew from a four-person operation into an 80,000-employee giant. Hughes created Hughes Electronics as a division of Hughes Aircraft, and the new division became the single largest supplier of weapons systems to the U.S. Air Force and Navy. In early 1948, Hughes Aircraft hired two very promising engineers—Simon Ramo and Dean Wooldridge—who had a concept for a cutting edge electronic weapons control system. This system consisted of a type of radar and computer package that helped pilots locate and destroy enemy planes at any time in any weather. Hughes Aircraft subsequently became hugely profitable in the early 1950s."
Hughes Aircraft
Sorry folks, this man did a lot more to help the war effort than what's being portrayed here. We tend to think of people like Hughes as the perpetuators of the so-called "Military Industrial Complex," but what history really reveals is the "MIC" isn't run by people like Hughes or fictional "Tony Stark" (Iron Man), but it's the military procurement system itself, run by thousands of civil servants who build empires, collect an easy paycheck and make decisions that they are not qualified or have the authority to make that really allows tax dollars to be flushed down the toilet.
(Stepping off the soap box)
Probably not much as far as engineering goes, but very much in charge till the mid to late 60's.
Read about his pricing of the OH-6 to the Army, it sounds classic Howard Hughes.
