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STAR, Washington, D.C.
ECEMBER 17, 1948.

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DAYTON OHIO-AIR FORCE'S NEW 'FLYING TARGET'-Into the air goes the OQ-19A, the Air Force's new pilotless flying target, at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. It is launched from a ramp and attains a peak speed of 220 miles an hour. The 300-pound "clay pigeon" is used as a target for aircraft, antiaircraft and flexible gunnery practice. The craft, twice as large and twice as fast as any other similar equipment devised by the Air Force, can be put through dive, loops, barrel rolls, wingovers and steep banks. It will fly for 60 minutes without refueling.
-AP Wirephoto.

Kitty Hawk (Continued from First Page.)
citizens everywhere. It will quicken in all hearts an appreciation of the achievements of American inventive genius.

Thrill of 1903 Recalled.
"Men not yea advanced in years remember the thrill which the country experienced when news was flashed to the world that the intrepid brothers had made four flights in their biplane at Kitty Hawk on December 17, 1903. Neither the famous brothers nor heir contemporaries of 45 years ago could have realized the importance of this pioneer flight in the subsequent development of aviation and the complete transformation to be wrought in human affairs through mastery of the air.

"I feel that the entire Nation will rejoice because the historic craft is home again. I can think of no acquisition to the treasures of the National Museum, administered by the Smithsonian Institution, which would exemplify more eloquently the purpose of its founder in providing here in the National Capital 'an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men.'" 

The message was addressed to Dr. Alexander Wetmore, secretary of the Smithsonian, who opened the ceremony at 10 o'clock this morning.

Britain Builds Exact Model.
The story of the historic aircraft's reception in England was related to the audience by Sir Oliver Franks, British Ambassador, who explained that more than 10,000,000 of his countrymen had inspected the airplane while it was on exhibit at a London museum.

"We in England have built an exact scale model of the airplane so that Britons of the future may see this remarkable example of the audacity of man," he said.

Speaking extemporaneously, Sir Oliver declared the Kitty Hawk represented the beginning and Col. Charles A. Lindbergh's flight to Paris in the Spirit of St. Louis the end of a period in which man had realized his long-cherished dream for conquest of the air.

The ceremony was held in the North Hall of the National Museum's Arts and Industries Building. Guests and officials were grouped beneath the "Kitty Hawk" which was suspended from wires some 15 feet above the floor next to the main entrance, and the "Spirit of St. Louis,."

The "Kitty Hawk" will be on display to the general public in the United States for the first time. The plane has been assigned a permanent place of honor as the "most treasured object in aviation history," just in front of the "Spirit of St. Louis," for years one of the Smithsonian's most popular exhibits.

Plane in Good Shape.
The trim condition of the "Kitty Hawk" bore evidence of the care given the relic by the English, after Orville Wright sent it to London in 1928.

The plane was returned to the United States recently, when it was learned, after Orville Wright's death last January, that the inventor had left a request that it be given to the Smithsonian. Several years previously, officials of the institution had acknowledged publicly that a previous secretary had made a mistake when he gave prior credit to the Langley flying machine.

The Wrights had defended their basic patents successfully in many suits at home and abroad, and the surviving brother felt the former Smithsonian official had been unfair.

One of the first women flyers in America, known to millions in the early days as Ruth Law, was among those in attendance at the acceptance. She is now Mrs. Charles H. Oliver, and came here from her home on the West Coast to pay tribute to the men who built the first airplane.

Other guests were members of "Early Birds," composed of men and women who were among the first to fly in the United States. Among them are a few who received their instruction from the Wright brothers.

Label for "Kitty Hawk."
Smithsonian officials announced the once-controversial "Kitty Hawk" will be labeled as follows: THE ORIGINAL WRIGHT BROTHERS' AEROPLANE 

The world's first power-driven Heavier-Than-Air Machine in which man made free, controlled, and sustained flight

Invented and built by Wilbur and Orville Wright, flown by them at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, December 17, 1903

By original scientific research the Wright Brothers discovered the principles of human flight. As inventors, builders, and flyers they further developed the aeroplane, taught man to fly, and opened the era of aviation.

Deposited by the Estate of Orville Wright
Another ceremony was being held today at Kitty Hawk, where military and civilian dignitaries assembled to honor the Wright brothers.

These ceremonies called for placing a wreath at the Wright Memorial by four Coast Guardsmen who assisted the Wrights in their first flight and the unveiling of a painting entitled "The First Flight."

About 200 Navy carrier and Marine shore-based planes were scheduled for an air salute over the monument during the day's ceremonies. A ring of helicopters and blimps were to form a memorial wreath above the monument.

Assistant Secretary of the Navy Mark E. Andrews was listed as the principal speaker at a luncheon following the ceremonies.