AVIATION: Up in the Air

When Shipbuilder Henry J. Kaiser stormed into Washington 16 months ago with plans to build 5,000 giant cargo planes in shipyards, most U.S. planemakers hooted down: 1) Mr. Kaiser, 2) the very idea. Some of them, Washington rumor said, put their best hatchet men to work to kill it. But stubborn Mr. Kaiser somehow salvaged a small Government contract from the battle. Turned down everywhere in the industry, he promptly went to work with lanky Howard Robard Hughes, movie maker, oilman, round-the-world flyer and aeronautical engineer. They planned to turn out three...

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