History of military ballooning
s and kites were the first inventions used in aerial warfare and their primary role was reconnaissance. Balloons provided a reliable and stable means of elevating an observer high over the battlefield to obtain a birds-eye view of troop positions and movements. An early instrument of aerial intelligence collection, they were also useful for creating accurate battlefield maps, an important ingredient for battlefield success. Incendiary balloons also have a long history. The incendiary balloons carry hot air or something that can catch fire to destroy enemy territory. They could also hold small bombs for combat. The history of military ballooning dates back to the late 18th century, when the Montgolfier brothers, Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Étienne, first demonstrated the potential of hot-air balloons for military use. The first recorded military use of balloons was during the French Revolutionary Wars, when the French military used balloons to gather intelligence on the movements of the enemy. Balloons were also used during the American Civil War, where they were used for reconnaissance and communication. Balloons had a decline after several incidents in the interwar period.
In the late 19th century, military ballooning began to evolve, as advances in technology allowed for the development of more sophisticated balloons and equipment. Balloons were equipped with cameras, telegraphs, and other instruments that allowed for more detailed and accurate reconnaissance and observation.
During World War I, military ballooning reached its peak of development, as balloons were used extensively for reconnaissance and observation by both the Central powers and the Entente. Balloons were used to spot enemy movements, direct artillery fire, and provide early warning of enemy attacks. They were also used for transporting goods, messages, and people across the battlefield.
After World War I, the use of military balloons declined, as aircraft and other technological innovations made them less relevant. However, balloons were still used for some specialized purposes, such as for meteorological observations and for training pilots. During the Cold War, the United States sent hundreds of high-altitude balloons over Eastern Bloc countries to gather intelligence on their nuclear capabilities, before replacing them with its newer spy planes.
Today, military ballooning is not widely used, as other technologies such as drones and satellite have taken over its main roles.
Kongming lantern
s were used as military signalling. The lantern was invented in the late Han dynasty, when Han dynasty chancellor Zhuge Liang was surrounded by Wei dynasty General Sima Yi at Pinlo, Sichuan. Zhuge Liang used paper-made "lanterns," or hot air balloons, to signal the rescue forces. The Kongming lantern became a common military signal in China. The Mongolian army studied Kongming lanterns from China and used them in the Battle of Legnica during the Mongol invasion of Poland. This is the first time ballooning was known in the western world. Flying the Kongming lantern is now a civilian festival of memorizing chancellor Zhuge Liang in the Lantern Festival.Early Western balloons
Early French balloons
The first successfully flown balloons were made in France by the Montgolfier brothers in 1782–1783. They were rigid-style spheres made of cotton or silk stretched over a simple light wood frame resembling a large egg. These rigid balloons were held up over a fire so that the smoke billowed well into the cavity of the sphere. It was thought that the smoke made the balloons rise, but actually it was the hot air of the smoke that caused the elevating. The first decisive use of a balloon for aerial warfare was performed by the French Aerostatic Corps using the aerostat l’Entreprenant at the Battle of Fleurus in 1794. The following year, during the Siege of Mainz an observation balloon was employed again. However, the French military use of the balloon did not continue uninterrupted, as in 1799 Napoleon disbanded the French balloon corps.In 1804, Napoleon considered invading England by landing troops transported by balloons. He consulted his 'Aeronaut of Official Festivals', Sophie Blanchard, about whether invading England by balloon was viable. She told him that the invasion would likely not succeed due to the unpredictable winds in the English Channel.
In 1854, French aeronaut Eugène Godard performed several manned balloon demonstrations at the wedding of Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I. The Emperor was so impressed that he drafted an agreement with Godard stating that, in the event of a war, he would build balloons, organize balloonists companies, and perform observation ascents for the Austrian military. However, in 1859, the French went to war against the Austrians, and Godard's observation balloons were used instead by French forces, contributing to a victory for Napoleon III over Franz Joseph. Godard's aerial reconnaissance balloons were again employed by the French in 1870 during the Franco-Prussian War and the Siege of Paris.
During the 1900 Boxer Rebellion in China, the French forces did bring a balloon with them, although there is no record of it ever having been deployed.
Austrian use at Venice in 1849
The first aggressive use of balloons in warfare took place in 1849. Austrian imperial forces besieging Venice attempted to float some 200 paper hot air balloons each carrying a bomb that was to be dropped from the balloon with a time fuse over the besieged city. The balloons were launched mainly from land; however, some were also launched from the side-wheel steamer SMS Vulcano that acted as a balloon carrier. The Austrians used smaller pilot balloons to determine the correct fuse settings. At least one bomb fell in the city; however, due to the wind changing after launch, most of the balloons missed their target, and some drifted back over Austrian lines and the launching ship Vulcano.Balloons in the American Civil War
With the outbreak of the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln did consider the possibility of an air-war mechanism. This had some of the top balloonists in the country vying for position as chief aeronaut of a would-be aeronautics division. The scientific community as well showed great support in influencing Washington to consider the use of balloons. Eventually, it was Prof. Thaddeus S. C. Lowe who would be awarded the title Chief Aeronaut of the Union Army Balloon Corps.The first major-scale use of balloons in the military occurred during the Civil War with the Union Army Balloon Corps established and organized by Prof. Thaddeus S. C. Lowe. Originally, the balloons were inflated with coal gas from municipal services and then walked out to the battlefield, an arduous and inefficient operation as the balloons had to be returned to the city every four days for re-inflation. Eventually, hydrogen gas generators, a compact system of tanks and copper plumbing, were constructed that combined iron filings and sulfuric acid to produce hydrogen. The generators were easily transported with the uninflated balloons to the field on a standard buckboard. However, this method shortened the life of the balloons, because traces of the sulfuric acid often entered the balloons along with the hydrogen. In all, Lowe built seven balloons that were fit for military service.
The first application thought useful for balloons was map-making from aerial vantage points, thus Lowe's first assignment was with the Corps of Topographical Engineers. General Irvin McDowell, commander of the Army of the Potomac, realized their value in aerial reconnaissance and had Lowe, who at the time was using his personal balloon, the Enterprise, called up to the First Battle of Bull Run. Lowe also worked as a Forward Artillery Observer by directing artillery fire via flag signals. This enabled gunners on the ground to fire accurately at targets they could not see, a military first.
Lowe's first military balloon, the Eagle, was ready by 1 October 1861. It was called into service immediately to be towed to Lewinsville, Virginia, without any gas generator, which took longer to build. The trip began after inflation in Washington, D.C. and turned into a 12 mile , 12-hour excursion that was upended by a gale-force wind, which ripped the aerostat from its netting and sent it sailing to the coast. Balloon activities were suspended until all balloons and gas generators were completed.
With his ability to inflate balloons from remote stations, Lowe, his new balloon the Washington and two gas generators were loaded onto a converted coal barge the George Washington Parke Custis. As he was towed down the Potomac, Lowe was able to ascend and observe the battlefield as it moved inward on the heavily forested peninsula. This would be the military's first claim of an aircraft carrier.
The Union Army Balloon Corps enjoyed more success in the battles of the Peninsula Campaign than the Army of the Potomac it sought to support. The general military attitude toward the use of balloons deteriorated, and by August 1863 the Balloon Corps was disbanded.
The Confederate Army also made use of balloons, but they were gravely hampered by supplies due to the embargoes. They were forced to fashion their balloons from colored silk dress-making material, and their use was limited by the infrequent supply of gas in Richmond, Virginia. The first balloon "pilot" in the Confederate "air force" was Edward Porter Alexander. By the summer of 1863, all balloon reconnaissance during the Civil War had ceased.
First balloon assignments
The first assignment for tethered military balloons was given to the Union Army's Corps of Topographical Engineers for mapmaking, and observation of enemy troops as early as 1850. Up until that point, maps were made from ground level perspectives and their innate inaccuracy led to many a battlefield failure. The aerial perspective ostensibly improved mapmaking, especially when combined with the use of photography.General Irvin McDowell, commander of the Army of the Potomac, called on the balloon to perform aerial observations of enemy encampments and movements in the First Battle of Bull Run. With Lowe's techniques proven to the top commanders, he was eventually tasked to build seven balloons and a series of hydrogen gas generators to inflate them in the battlefield. Even though Thaddeus Lowe was Chief Aeronaut, his bitter rival John La Mountain is credited with having made the first aerial observations of intelligence value while stationed independently at Fortress Monroe.
The balloon, under flight direction of Prof. Lowe, was also used to direct artillery fire from an unseen location onto a Confederate encampment. The balloon, Eagle, was ascended with tether and telegraph from Fort Corcoran north of Falls Church, Virginia. An artillery battery was located at the easterly Camp Advance. With a series of predetermined flag signals, Lowe directed fire onto the Rebel encampment until the shots were landing on target. This first-used concept was the predecessor to the Forward Artillery Observer and revolutionized the use of artillery even to modern day.
Prof. Lowe was once approached by the young Graf Ferdinand von Zeppelin in 1863, who was at the time acting as a then-civilian observer for the Union Army, about possibly serving as an aerial observer with Lowe, but this was forbidden by Union military authorities during the Civil War years, due to von Zeppelin's then-civilian status. The future rigid airship pioneer was instead directed to the camp of John Steiner, a German aeronaut already in the United States, to get his first flight experience in a balloon, which von Zeppelin was able to do at a slightly later time while he still was in the US.