BALLOONS IN WAR.

Northland Age, Volume 2, Issue 46, 19 June 1906, Page 2

BALLOONS IN WAR.

Writing in “Harper's Magazine,”

General W. A. Greely traces the use, and discusses the various uses of. balloons in war time. The first time it was proposed to use tho war balloon was in 1782, when France and Spain were unsuccessfully besieging Gibraltar, and Joseph Montgolfier sought to help tho besieging party by a novel method. ITe said, “I..possess a superhuman means of introducing our soldiers into this impregnable fortress'. They nmjj, eitt'or through the air by a gas production by the combustion of a little straw. By making a bag large enough, it will be possible to enter into Gibraltar an entire army, which, borne by the wind, will enter right above the heads of the enemy.” The siege of Gibraltar was raised, however, before this ambitious plan could be tried. In 1794, however, a balloon was actually used by the French in taking observations of the Austrian army at Maubonge. For many years not much use was made of it, but during the Civil War in America the Federal Army proved its value to be very great in finding out the positions and movements of an opposing army. Jn fact, so great was its effects on the Confederates that they, too, resolved to have a balloon. The necessary silk was obtained by gathering together all the silk gowns in the South, from which a huge patchwork balloon was mad 6. During the siege of Paris communication was kept up with the outside world by means of balloons ano, carrier pigeons, as many as 70 balloons being manufactured for the purpose. All civilized nations now possess a balloon corps as part of the regular army, and continual experiments are being tried to add to its value* Up to the present, captive balloons alone have been used for observation purposes, but there is no doubt that when steerable balloons of the airship type are perfected they will be adopted by the various armies.

An officer, with an attendant member of the Aeronant Corps taking observations is attached to the ground by a cable, and is in communication with the staff below by means of wires, which can be used either for telephonic or telegraphic messages. The balloon is inflated on the field by pure hydrogen, compressed by two hundred or more atmospheres in steel tubes, and the balloon can be put in the air in 15 minutes.