Ben Howard Howard DGA-6 Mr. Mulligan
MODEL BY:
N/A
Model Scale:
1/40
MODEL ADDED:
11/27/1965
historical significance
First Albuquerque Visit: 1936
Additional Information:
Benjamin Odell Howard (February 4, 1904 – December 4, 1970) was an American aviator and aeronautical engineer, whose aircraft won both the Bendix Trophy and the Thompson Trophy in 1935.
Ben Howard most famous aircraft was his sixth design, the Howard DGA-6, nicknamed “Mister Mulligan” number NR273Y.
The Howard DGA-6 was a pioneer racing plane and the only airplane ever designed for the specific purpose of winning the Bendix Trophy. The plane was designed and developed by Ben Howard and Gordon Israel, who later became an engineer for the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation. Mister Mulligan was designed to fly the entire length of the race nonstop and at high altitude. Neither had ever been done before. Mister Mulligan won the trophy, and thus changed the way in which long distance airplanes were designed.
Unfortunately, the DGA-6’s days on the national air race scene were limited. On Sept. 4, 1936, Howard and his wife Maxine were injured when Mister Mulligan lost a propeller blade and crash-landed near Crownpoint (between Gallup and Grants), New Mexico during the latter stages of the 1936 Bendix’s New York to Los Angeles race. Howard recovered from the serious injuries resulting from the crash, but lost a leg in the accident and Mister Mulligan was completely destroyed.
The crash set off the second massive air search in New Mexico’s aviation history. The search provided valuable training for local pilots in search and rescue procedures. The Howards were stranded at the crash site for a long period of time before being discovered.
Thirty-four years after the accident a racing enthusiast, Bob Reichardt, tracked down Mister Mulligan’s crash site and was surprised to find most of the parts were still in usable condition, as a result of the dry mountain climate. With the salvaged parts as patterns, Reichardt was able to recreate a new Mister Mulligan but was killed in 1977 while performing a timed run over the Tonopah, Nevada dry lake.
There are several replicas of the Mr. Mulligan that are still flying around the U.S. today.
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