94 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1955 



War I ace and executive officer, Lt. Col. H. H. Hartney, whose service 

 extended from the beginning of the war in 1914 to victory in 1918, is 

 told in a new display assembled with the cooperation of his widow. 

 This exhibit shows the types of aircraft flown and encountered during 

 that period, and enables the Museum visitor to appreciate more fully 

 the limited training received by those early fighting pilots, their 

 heroism, and the difficulties they had to overcome. Another famous 

 World War I aviator was Capt. Vernon Castle who was a member 

 of the Eoyal Flying Corps in 1916. He served with distinction as a 

 combat pilot but after the entrj'- of America into the war was assigned 

 to the instruction of cadet fliers at Benbrook Field in Texas. He lost 

 his life, February 15, 1918, but avoided injuring his student and two 

 fliers in another airplane. The story of his heroism is revealed in an 

 exhibit prepared with the assistance of Mrs. O. D. Cook, of Portland, 

 Oreg., and his widow, Irene Castle Enzinger. The biographical ex- 

 hibit of Wiley Post, which supplements the display of liis famous air- 

 plane Winnie Mae, has been improved with a map showing the routes 

 of his two world flights, the radio from that aii^^lane, and the super- 

 charger from his engine. The exhibit memorializing Amelia Earhart 

 has been improved by the substitution of a bronze portrait for the 

 former plaster cast. The portrait was sculptured by Grace Wells 

 Parkinson and provided by the Amelia Earhart Post #678 of the 

 American Legion. Underwood & Underwood, photographers, have 

 provided a selection of historic pictures for this exhibit. 



The accessions received this year, listed in the final section of this 

 report, have each required care in their preparation for exhibition or 

 storage. Improved labels have been composed and printed for many 

 exhibits but a great deal remains to be done to improve the presentation 

 and labeling of existing displays. 



STORAGE 



Two projects continued into this fiscal year, namely, transfer to 

 the Suitland, Md., storage facility of aircraft material stored at Park 

 Ridge, 111., and reduction of the amount of space devoted to storage 

 in Smithsonian buildings in Washington, D. C. 



At the close of the previous fiscal year, there remained at the Park 

 Ridge storage facility 58 full-sized aircraft, 147 engines, some pro- 

 pellers and instruments, and all the equipment and supplies in the 

 office and shop. These occupied over 25,000 square feet of outdoor 

 space and nearly 65,000 square feet indoors. The outdoor area was 

 reduced to half its size by eliminating access aisles and fire lanes, and 

 superimposing boxes wherever possible. The indoor space was re- 

 duced to an absolute minimum of about 60,000 square feet. 



