Arctic(?) Mail Kite
Updated April 2013
Back in 2006, Bob of
("Charmayne and Bob") sent me a
photo of an interesting white kite they had seen at the World Kite Museum in
Long Beach, Washington, USA.
Bob has recently sent me this newer photo with text accompanying the exhibit explaining it's supposed origin and purpose.
Their display sign reads as follows:
Paul Garber created this modified three-cell Conyne kite to be used aboard sea vessels to support a messenger container. An airplane flying by trailing a grapnel would snatch the line of the container, thereby securing it. The containers were used to carry maps, reports and other documents to and from war headquarters.
Here's what Bob has to say about the kite and his attempts to research it further:
The information we have comes from the kite museum in Long Beach Washington. They have a pair of the kites, it looks like they used to belong to a now deceased kite maker from Seattle as one of the kites has his name and address on it. I'm told his plans were given to Drachen when he passed away several years ago. Another possible source might be Meg Albers. I believe she and Margo Brown did things with Paul Garber in his later years.The history on this kite seems quite vague, it's like another one we worked on. While looking for a kite for the Fano Classics for antenna lifter we saw a kite at this same museum with a makers mark of J R Edmunds Wray Colorado, According to the relatives of JR the kites were made in the late 40s for the Navy. So after several measurement trips (the museum is 3 hours one way from our home) we built the kite took it to Fano only to see a German friend of ours flying the same kite, his however was made by Seyfang Labs. The kites are absolutely identical in every way???
Webmaster's update
In April 2013 I dug through my copies of documents from the Paul Garber collection that I used to create the bulk of this website. I was able to find three references to a "Kite-Elevated Mail Transfer System" that I had overlooked before. The most interesting is this graphic Garber prepared to describe the process:
The other two references were in a summary of his many projects for the Navy. I reproduce the relevant paragraphs below:
20 November 1945
Subj: Special Projects Unit - duties of Head, termination
status of.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Project Device Contractor Description, Disposition,
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - etc.- - - - - - -
<snip>
22. 5-AK-1 Kite-Elevated Naval Air- After work in which Unit Head
Mail Transfer craft had been engaged was proven
System Factory, practical, the supervision
Phila.,Pa. of production and further
use was assumed by office of
Equipment & Materials.
Majority of experimental
equipment left at NATC,
Patuxent River, Md. Some
parts obtained for use in
5-AK-3.
<snip>
24. 5-AK-3 Kite-Elevated Incompleted Development of equipment
Mail Transfer Project and method completed to
Suspension point believed practical.
Successfully elevated three
times from boat. Grapnel
(contracted for by Research
Sec.) has not yet effected
contract; believed necessary
to modify grapnel before it
is practical. Complete set
of suspension equipment avail-
able for use at any time.
Suggest that this set be
assigned to custody of Unit
Head, to be maintained avail-
able for further use, and
that he also be permitted to
have made in SDD shop a
grapnel embodying his latest
ideas. If construction and
test warrant further con-
sideration this grapnel or
its successor type, be recog-
nized under project 5-AK-4.
