Caquot Type R Observation Balloon
Balloons are actually the oldest aerial weapon in existence. Only a decade after the French Montgolfier brothers successfully began testing hot air balloons in 1782, they were used in the French Revolutionary Wars as observation devices, to better see enemy movements. Though 1794 was the first time balloons were ever used in combat, during the American Revolution Benjamin Franklin had proposed using them to carry infantry across the English Channel, and somehow rig them to fire cannon--an early version of paratrooper assault and the gunship concept.
Military ballooning in the United States began with Thaddeus Lowe and his successful use of balloons to keep track of Confederate troop movements during the Seven Days campaign of 1862. The Confederates regarded balloons to be enough of a threat that they fired artillery at Lowe's balloon and instituted blackouts to keep Lowe from counting campfires at night. The British would learn from the American experience and use balloons during the Boer Wars.
By World War I, balloons were even more important, despite the development of rigid, powered dirigibles and aircraft. Artillery had developed to the point that it could now strike targets over the horizon, and balloons were needed to correct and guide fire; with the development of the wireless radio, balloons could quickly adjust artillery strikes. As such, balloons became important targets for the enemy, and both the Allies and the Central Powers were careful to surround their balloons with antiaircraft guns and occasionally fighter patrols. "Balloon-busting" became a hallmark of several Allied aces, but it was not as easy as it looked. Because of the increasing lethality of fighter aircraft, observation balloons fell out of favor before World War II, though they were still occasionally used in low-threat areas.
Just after the outbreak of World War I, French engineer Albert Caquot--who before the war was best known for designing bridges and the immense Christ of Corcovado statue in Brazil--designed a new, more aerodynamic balloon type. He noticed that the prewar French balloons could not be used in high winds, so he rearranged the internal gas bags to give his design better stability. When the Caquot Type R was first tested in 1914, it was found to be stable in winds in excess of 50 mph. Its crew of two would usually be flown at 4000 feet; they had extensive maps and an onboard radio. If the crew got into trouble, they could bail out--balloon crews were the first airmen to be issued parachutes.
The Type R was hugely successful, and thousands were built by all the Allied nations. Nearly all that survived the war were dismantled after the war, but the British put the Caquot back in production during World War II; these were rarely if ever used for their intended purpose, but made for good training devices, and formed the basis for unmanned barrage balloons used to bring down unwary, low-flying aircraft.
Once more, nearly all Type Rs were destroyed at the end of World War II, but the British Air Ministry saved a single example, which was used for training until 1960. Surprisingly, it was not broken up, but placed in storage and forgotten. In 1975, an Anglo-American search team found this Type R, and it was presented as a gift to the National Museum of the USAF. Goodyear Aerospace restored it, and it was placed on display in 1979--the only known example of an original Caquot balloon left in the world. Most balloons were painted drab colors to camouflage them against the ground, and this one carries an early US Army Air Service roundel.
Caquot Type R Observation Balloon
Balloons are actually the oldest aerial weapon in existence. Only a decade after the French Montgolfier brothers successfully began testing hot air balloons in 1782, they were used in the French Revolutionary Wars as observation devices, to better see enemy movements. Though 1794 was the first time balloons were ever used in combat, during the American Revolution Benjamin Franklin had proposed using them to carry infantry across the English Channel, and somehow rig them to fire cannon--an early version of paratrooper assault and the gunship concept.
Military ballooning in the United States began with Thaddeus Lowe and his successful use of balloons to keep track of Confederate troop movements during the Seven Days campaign of 1862. The Confederates regarded balloons to be enough of a threat that they fired artillery at Lowe's balloon and instituted blackouts to keep Lowe from counting campfires at night. The British would learn from the American experience and use balloons during the Boer Wars.
By World War I, balloons were even more important, despite the development of rigid, powered dirigibles and aircraft. Artillery had developed to the point that it could now strike targets over the horizon, and balloons were needed to correct and guide fire; with the development of the wireless radio, balloons could quickly adjust artillery strikes. As such, balloons became important targets for the enemy, and both the Allies and the Central Powers were careful to surround their balloons with antiaircraft guns and occasionally fighter patrols. "Balloon-busting" became a hallmark of several Allied aces, but it was not as easy as it looked. Because of the increasing lethality of fighter aircraft, observation balloons fell out of favor before World War II, though they were still occasionally used in low-threat areas.
Just after the outbreak of World War I, French engineer Albert Caquot--who before the war was best known for designing bridges and the immense Christ of Corcovado statue in Brazil--designed a new, more aerodynamic balloon type. He noticed that the prewar French balloons could not be used in high winds, so he rearranged the internal gas bags to give his design better stability. When the Caquot Type R was first tested in 1914, it was found to be stable in winds in excess of 50 mph. Its crew of two would usually be flown at 4000 feet; they had extensive maps and an onboard radio. If the crew got into trouble, they could bail out--balloon crews were the first airmen to be issued parachutes.
The Type R was hugely successful, and thousands were built by all the Allied nations. Nearly all that survived the war were dismantled after the war, but the British put the Caquot back in production during World War II; these were rarely if ever used for their intended purpose, but made for good training devices, and formed the basis for unmanned barrage balloons used to bring down unwary, low-flying aircraft.
Once more, nearly all Type Rs were destroyed at the end of World War II, but the British Air Ministry saved a single example, which was used for training until 1960. Surprisingly, it was not broken up, but placed in storage and forgotten. In 1975, an Anglo-American search team found this Type R, and it was presented as a gift to the National Museum of the USAF. Goodyear Aerospace restored it, and it was placed on display in 1979--the only known example of an original Caquot balloon left in the world. Most balloons were painted drab colors to camouflage them against the ground, and this one carries an early US Army Air Service roundel.