Howard Hughes nearly died in crash after government ordered 98 XF-11s
By Miriam Adler ·
Howard Hughes was critically injured in a 1946 crash born from secret prototypes and hubris, ending a government bet on 98 planes the Air Force eventually scrapped.
On July 7, 1946, a prototype aircraft designed by Howard Hughes plummeted into Beverly Hills. According to an FAS Intelligence Resource Program page on the XR-11/XF-11, the crash was the result of a mechanical failure during the first flight of the XF-11. The record describes a terrifying sequence: the "starboard aft propeller had slammed into reverse," which triggered an "uncontrollable yaw" that sent Hughes spiraling toward the ground.
It is a familiar script in the annals of military procurement—the intersection of a millionaire's ego, secret hangars, and the reckless pursuit of a technical edge. The XF-11 was not born from a collaborative military need but from a collision of interests between the son of a president and a man who viewed secrecy as a luxury.
"uncontrollable yaw"
The catastrophe of 1946 was the culmination of a design process that had been modified by committee and hubris. Hughes had originally developed a secret project known as the D-2 in a hangar on Harpers Dry Lake, near Muroc. The D-2 was officially listed as a bomber, though the record notes it was "unsuited for the role." Reconnaissance was a far better fit, but the D-2’s life was short. The only existing prototype was destroyed when lightning struck its hangar.
Despite the loss of the physical aircraft, the design persisted because it caught the eye of the military establishment. However, the transition from the D-2 to the XF-11 involved a fundamental clash over materials. Hughes had used "Duramold"—a resin-impregnated plywood—to build the D-2. The engineers at Wright Field were "highly skeptical" of plywood for military use and insisted the new aircraft be built of metal. They also demanded the installation of the massive Pratt & Whitney R4360 "corncob" power plants.
These demands transformed the aircraft into something "larger and heavier," though it retained the silhouette of Hughes's original vision. The resulting machine was an experiment in contradictions: a fragile legacy of a plywood prototype forced into a heavy, metal frame, pushed by engines that proved, in the first prototype, to be potentially lethal.
Document imagery from irp.fas.org From the files: irp.fas.org
Col. Elliot Roosevelt
The path to the XF-11 was paved by Col. Elliot Roosevelt. Having flown a tour in Africa using F-4 and F-5 modifications of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, Roosevelt concluded that modifying existing planes for photo reconnaissance always resulted in a "compromise." He believed aircraft should be designed specifically for their mission requirements.
Roosevelt brought these ideas to Wright Field, where he found advocates already seeking funding for a dedicated photographic aircraft. When Roosevelt heard rumors of Hughes's secret D-2, he sought access. Despite the "tight security" surrounding the project, Roosevelt was permitted to see the aircraft. He was so impressed that he recommended its production to the procurement branch of Wright Field.
This recommendation set the stage for a massive government commitment. Agreements were reached for two experimental XF-11s and an order for 98 production aircraft. This was not a cautious rollout; it was a wholesale bet on a design that had only made two flights before its original prototype was incinerated by a bolt of lightning.
Duramold and Metal
Hughes survived the 1946 crash, though he was critically injured. From a hospital bed, he ordered a redesign of the second prototype, stripping away the contra-rotating propellers in favor of a single propeller installation. When he flew the second prototype on April 5, 1947, the flight proceeded "without a hitch."
The FAS record describes the resulting aircraft as "remarkably stable" at high speeds, with excellent lateral control and a clean, low-drag design. Its long, straight wing bore a resemblance to the Lockheed U-2, which would not be designed for another decade. But stability at high speeds could not save the program from the reality of military economics.
While the XF-11 was being tested at Eglin Field, Florida, the Air Force decided it was no longer necessary. The program was canceled. The military opted instead for the Boeing RB-50s, which were deemed "much more economical" for long-range photo-reconnaissance.
The XF-11 remains a case study in the waste of the early Cold War era: a prototype that nearly killed its creator, a production order for 98 planes that never materialized, and a design that was eventually scrapped in 1949. While other archives, such as the US National Archives' Management Study Case Files and International Narcotics Control Policy Files, may hold further context on the administrative fallout of the Hughes era, the FAS record leaves us with the image of a sophisticated, stable aircraft that was simply too expensive to exist. The Air Force found its answer in the RB-50, leaving the XF-11 as a footnote of metal and plywood.