History of military ballooning
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Balloons were the first mechanisms used in air warfare. Their role was strictly recognized for reconnaissance purposes. They provided humans with the first available method of elevating themselves well over the battlefield to obtain the proverbial "birds-eye view." They became the first instrument of definitive intelligence collection, and were also particularly useful in the preparation of accurate battlefield maps, before which time this rudimentary craft had led to many a battle field failure.
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[edit] Montgolfier balloons
The first successfully flown balloons were made in France by the Montgolfier brothers, around 1793. 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. There was a slight practical use of these “hot smoke” balloons as an air-war mechanism due their short flight duration. The cooling of the smoke, made them incapable of sustained flight, much more than the twenty or so minutes they were good for. Nevertheless, the first use of a balloon for aerial observation was performed by the aerostat ‘’l’Entreprenant’’ (The Enterprising One) at the Battle of Fleurus in 1794.
[edit] American ballooning
American ballooning began in the early half of the 19th century using light coke gas for inflation. This gas, if inflated into a relatively well-sealed silk envelope, could sustain flight nearly indefinitely. Balloons were mainly used as amusement rides, so initially the military had no use for them at all.
[edit] 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.
[edit] First Balloon Assignments
The first assignment for military balloons was given to the Union Army's Topographical Engineers for mapmaking. Up until that point map were made from ground level perspectives and their innate inaccuracy led to many a battlefield failure. The aerial perspective ostensibly improved mapmaking especially with the use of photography.
General Irvin McDowell, commander of the Army of the Potomac called on the balloon to perform aerial observation of enemy encampments and movements in the First Battle of Bull Run. With Lowe’s techniques proven to the top commanders, he was tasked to build, eventually, 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 LaMountain 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 (FAO) and revolutionized the use of artillery even to modern day.
[edit] The first aircraft carrier
Balloons and generators were loaded onto the ‘’George Washington Parke Custis’’, a converted coal barge. The balloons were towed down the Potomac River and were able to ascend and make observations of the battle front as it moved toward Richmond. This is the first ever recorded observation from an aerial station by water, essentially the first-ever aircraft carrier.
Lowe went on to make observations at Fair Oaks, Sharpsburg, Vicksburg and Fredericksburg before political ambush both from within the military and in Congress forced him to resign in April of 1863 at which point he returned to the private sector. The Balloon Corps all but ceased to exist by August of 1863.
[edit] Confederate Ballooning
The Confederates tried their hand at ballooning as well, more only to counter the balloons of the Federals. One type of balloon was a Montgolfier style of a rigid, cotton, “hot smoke” balloon. The attempts worked, but their handling techniques were poor at best and the balloon was easily lost and captured by the North.
Another style is referred to as the “silk dress balloon,” aerostat envelopes made of multicolored dress making silk (not actually silk dresses) which, when gas was available, were used effectively over Richmond. Again, these were easily lost, destroyed or captured, and the lack of supply made it impossible to replace them. They were relieved when the Union Army had discontinued the use of balloons.
[edit] Another 30 years
The use of manned air-war mechanisms would not be seen for nearly 30 years after the Civil War when the airship (a dirigible, blimp, or zeppelin) would come into existence with their motorized propulsion and mechanical means of steering. It should be noted that up to this point, the idea of dropping ordinance on the enemy was not seriously considered, although there were mechanical drawings made up depicting bomb dropping devices that could be floated aloft by balloons. These depictions were paper theory at best designed by mechanical wizzes with no idea about aviation, in particular, balloons, and all that it takes to successfully lauch gas-filled aerostats.
There weren't really any practical types of grenades or bombs to use during the Civil War. Weight was a great factor in determining the size of balloons to be used and the amount of gas they needed to ascend. Carrying heavy ordinances and ungainly mechanisms in balloons would have been out of the question. (And if Prof. Lowe thought that he would have to drop bombs on enemy positions, he would have never offered his services.) With the newer, larger and more manageable aerostats, and smaller munitions, the use of bombs would make aerial warfare much more appealing in later days.
[edit] See also
- Balloon (aircraft)
- Fire balloon - History of balloon bombs launched by Japan against the United States in World War II.
- Operation Outward- British World War II programme to attack Germany by means of free-flying balloons.
- Barrage balloon
- Union Army Balloon Corps
- Aerial warfare - Section under American Civil War
- Thaddeus S. C. Lowe - A related article
