Paul E. Garber with Target Kite

Paul E. Garber holds the Mark I target kite he designed for ship-borne anti-aircraft practice when he was a Navy commander. Just after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Garber began working with the Navy to create aircraft models and train recruits on aircraft identification. He left the Smithsonian for five years to serve in the Naval Reserves, during which time he created his innovative target kites for Navy gunnery training. They proved so effective, 300,000 were built by the end of the war. His kites are credited with saving an American carrier from enemy attack. During a target kite training exercise, Japanese Zeros attacked and because gunnery trainees were in position and ready, they quickly downed the enemy planes.

Featured in National Air and Space Museum: An Autobiography