Many innovations and inventions marked national efforts across the globe before, during , and after WW II. Many came from the Axis Powers(Germany, Japan, Italy), while more came from the Allies: America, United Kingdom, France, and many more. Aviation was one area where research and development produced outstanding advances in aeronautics and flight in general.
In one area in particular, the focus on troop transports was the driving force. Henry Kaiser, the indomitable ship builder decided a large transport could solve the problem of moving large numbers of troops across great distances quickly. He teamed up with Howard Hughes, the renowned aviator, inventor, race car driver, to design and build such a plane. Due to metal shortages, the prototype was built of various light weight wood frames and members.
Henry Kaiser, used to getting things done in a hurry, lost confidence in Hughes whose management style differed greatly with his. It was a government contract and then the war ended. But Hughes continued to ensure that he produced a flying prototype to satisfy the agreement. On November 2, 1947, the plane, with Hughes at the controls, lifted off the water(it was an amphibian) in Long Beach harbor and flew to a height of 70' and covered about 1 mile, more or less. It never flew again. It sat in a warehouse, decaying slowly but surely, until sold to a museum of historical aircraft.
It was taken apart very carefully, put on several ships and taken to Portland, Oregon. From there it was put on barges and taken up the Willamette River, to a location convenient to the Evergreen Aviation Museum where it was reassembled and restored to its original glory. Now, well maintained, it is a unique piece available to museum goers and students of history. The Mayor spent a day at the museum and toured the interior of the aircraft and had a photo taken in the cockpit that Howard Hughes sat in in 1947 for the first and last time.
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