MITCHEL FIELD, N.Y., Feb. 11, 1939- The newest and fastest thing in fighting aircraft, Lockheed XP-38 the Army's twin-engined pursuit plane which took a year and a half to build, crashed today as it roared to a landing after a secret, record breaking speed flight across the continent. With Lieut. Ben S. Kelsey at the all-metal single-seater's controls, the "mystery" plane's tricycle undercarriage struck the top of a tree and crashed into a sand trap on a golf course adjacent to the Army airport. Kelsey was badly shaken but not seriously hurt.

He was treated for a slight cut over the left eye and a scratch on one hand at the post hospital and then taken to post headquarters where he told officers "I'm okay." The plane, which had reached speeds of almost 400 miles per hour in preliminary tests, left March Field, Cal., where its existence was divulged for the first time today., at 9:12 a.m., eastern standard time, and flew over Mitchel Field at 4:55 p.m., having stopped at Amarillo, Tex., and Dayton, O., for fuel. The elapsed time was 7 hours and 43 minutes, but the flying time, subtracting 21 minutes spent at Amarillo and 20 minutes at Dayton, was 7 hours and 2 minutes.