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Six Failures. Textron has not changed course without running aground on a few shoals. It has had six failures among its acquired companies, blames them on its overeagerness to use up a $42 million tax-loss carry-over from its old textile operations. The worst failure was that of the S.S. Leilani, a converted troop transport that Textron bought in 1956. Before Textron finally scuttled her, she lost $6,000,000 cruising to Hawaii. Sailor Thompson and Textron President G. William Miller, 40, both keep a model of the Leilani in their desks. Whenever any Textron executive suggests acquisitions that sound farfetched, they quickly pull it out to silence him.