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Unread 03-18-2008, 02:41 AM
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Default Balloons at War

From this month's Shrapnel Newsletter:

Mastery of the air has always been a desire for the military, although it was not until balloons became practical that the desire could be realized.
The first manned balloon flights took place late in the 18th century, and their potential for military use was noted from the beginning. For many military planners their potential use was mostly for a scouting role, allowing observers an unparalleled way to view enemy troop movements and locations, along with the ability to communicate signals over vast distances. Benjamin Franklin, well known statesman and inventor, even envisioned a rather unique application for balloons.

Of balloons he argued, "Five thousand balloons, capable of raising two men each, could not cost more than Five Ships of the Line; and where is the Prince who can afford so to cover his Country with Troops for its Defense, as that Ten Thousand Men descending from the Clouds might not in many places do an infinite deal of mischief before a Force could be brought together to repel them?"

That's right. Good ol' Ben Franklin was actually proposing an airborne army!

In 1794 the first military balloon, the French L'Entreprenant, went into service. It carried two crew, one to handle the balloon itself and one to scout and relay information to the ground via flags or written reports (sent down by being attached to a weight running down a cable).

The French were so impressed with the possibilities of ballooning that they then commissioned the world's first air force, the Aerostatic Corps of the Artillery Service, which was used as a reconnaissance force by the French army. At the battle of Fleurus thanks to the balloon corps directing the actions below the army found itself victorious. This prompted the French to build an even greater number of balloons, although this only lasted until 1799. Napoleon wanted to make use of a highly maneuverable land force, and balloons-which had to be tethered-did not fit into his vision.

Balloons would not return to military service in force until the American Civil War, and even then they were not as welcome as they were originally by the French. The early Civil War balloons were plagued by issues, primarily due to the fact they weren't designed from the get go to be military balloons. That, and the fact the brass didn't see the need for balloons.

This changed slightly when Thaddeus Lowe of the Union fell into the good graces of Lincoln, who appointed him as official balloonist of the Army of the Potomac. During this stint Lowe made a number of breakthroughs in the field of military ballooning. He was able to install a telegraph on a balloon, and using the telegraph directed artillery fire onto Confederate positions at Falls Church. He even constructed the first aircraft carrier, converting a coal barge to carry seven balloons.

Union balloons also played a part at the battles of Four Oaks and Gaine's Hill, forcing the Confederates to waste a great deal of energy in attempting to avoid observation. Even with all the successes the Union had with balloons by 1863 the program was essentially abandoned, victim of a command staff that did not appreciate balloons. When General Cyrus Comstock was put in charge of the balloon force he annoyed Lowe so much with his contempt for ballooning that Lowe resigned, and soon thereafter the entire balloon force fell apart.

The Confederates during the same period experimented with balloons, but never to the extent the Union had. The balloon gap ceased after the Union gave up on balloons, as the Confederates then decided they had no need in attempting to match the Union's aerial forces.

Balloons came back into favor with the French during the Franco-Prussian war, with balloons playing a pivotal role in helping the besieged city of Paris. Balloons were also used by the British in the Boer war.
By the early 20th century balloons were turning to zeppelins, capable of a wide variety of tasks that the balloons of the 18th and 19th century could not accomplish. Still, without the early military balloons and their successes it is doubtful the zeppelin would have followed.
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