Howard Aircraft
Benny Howard won the Bendix and Thompson trophies in one year with a homebuilt racer, turned it into a line of fast cabin monoplanes, and saw the Navy buy them by the hundred.
Howard Aircraft: the company and the aircraft that made its name
Mister Mulligan
Designer Ben Howard built Mister Mulligan, the DGA-6, in 1934 with Gordon Israel. It was designed to fly the cross-country Bendix race non-stop and at high altitude, which nobody had done before. In 1935 it won both the Bendix and Thompson trophies, and Howard turned his fame into a company, formed on 1 January 1937 at Chicago Municipal Airport. Loaded with 300 gallons of fuel and oxygen for two, it could fly for seven hours at 22,000 ft.
Fast cabin monoplanes
Howard’s DGA cabin monoplanes were simple, roomy and fast, inspired by the Monocoupe on a larger scale. The Wasp Junior-powered DGA-11 could reach about 200 mph and cost around 16,500 dollars in 1938, a favourite in Hollywood circles. Production from 1936 to 1939 was only about 30 aircraft. In 1939 came the five-seat DGA-15, and Ben Howard left to become a test pilot for Douglas. A slower, cheaper DGA-12 used a 300 hp Jacobs engine.
The Ensign Eliminator
War changed everything. The US Navy bought hundreds of modified DGA-15s as GH and NH ambulances, transports and instrument trainers; they were roomy and powerful but so unforgiving to land that pilots called them the Ensign Eliminator. Howard also built the DGA-18 trainer. Production ended in 1944, and the shareholders bought an electric-motor maker, Howard Industries. Many Navy Howards were sold to private owners after the war, and some were still flying in 2012.
Howard Aircraft in numbers
La empresa
- En breve
- Fundada en 1937
- Founded by racer Ben Howard
- Chicago Municipal Airport, plus DuPage plant in WWII
- Ceased production 1944
Producción
- Más conocido por
- Howard DGA-15
- DGA-6 Mister Mulligan racer
- DGA-15: 520 built, mostly for the US Navy
- DGA-18 trainer
Hoy
- Ahora
- Closed 1944
- Proceeds bought what became Howard Industries
Los números
- Aircraft built 1936–1939
- about 30
- DGA-15 built
- 520
- DGA-11 price
- about 16,500 dollars1938
Every notable Howard Aircraft aircraft
| Aeronave | Role | Primer vuelo | Construido | Estado | Nota |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Howard DGA-4 | Racer | 1932 | 2 | Jubilado | |
| Howard DGA-6 Mister Mulligan | Cabin racer | 1934 | 1 | Jubilado | Won the Bendix and Thompson trophies in 1935 |
| Howard DGA-8 | Cabin monoplane | 1936 | 18 | Jubilado | |
| Howard DGA-11 | Cabin monoplane | 4 | Jubilado | Wasp Junior engine, about 200 mph | |
| Howard DGA-15 | Cabin monoplane, Navy utility | 520 | Jubilado | GH-1, GH-2, GH-3 and NH-1 for the US Navy | |
| Howard DGA-18 | Entrenador básico | 1941 | alrededor de 60 | Jubilado | Two-seat open-cockpit trainer |
Where Howard Aircraft built, who led it, what it achieved
Fábricas
- Chicago works · Chicago Municipal Airport, 5301 W. 65th Street — Main factory
- DuPage plant · DuPage Airport, west of Chicago — Opened in WWII
Gente
- Ben Howard · founder, designer, racing pilot — Left in 1939 to test fly for Douglas
- Gordon Israel · engineer — Co-designed Mister Mulligan; later at Grumman
Récords y primicias
- Mister Mulligan won both the Bendix and Thompson trophies, 1935
- Mister Mulligan was the only aircraft designed specifically to win the Bendix Trophy
Howard Aircraft, year by year
DGA-4 racer flies
Mister Mulligan built in Kansas City
Mister Mulligan wins the Bendix and Thompson trophies
DGA-8 cabin monoplane flies
Howard Aircraft Corporation formed
DGA-15 introduced; Ben Howard leaves for Douglas
DGA-18 trainer flies
Production ends
Everything people ask about Howard Aircraft
What was Mister Mulligan?
Where was Howard Aircraft based?
Why was the Howard GH called the Ensign Eliminator?
When did Howard Aircraft close?
Around Howard Aircraft
Todos los datos, verificados
Verificado el 3 de octubre de 2026.