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British observation balloon from 1908, typical of pre-WWI observation balloons. An observation balloon is a type of balloon that is employed as an aerial platform for gathering intelligence and spotting artillery. The use of observation balloons began during the French Revolutionary Wars, reaching their zenith during World War I, and they ...
In July 1918 it has nearly 200 balloons and special balloon 24 units. Until the end of war, French Army forme 76 units equipped with Caquot balloons, being used for artillery adjustment and general observation of the battlefield. After one of the British Caquot balloons fell into the hands of the Germans around 1917, a German copy signed the Ae ...
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. [2] In 1804, Napoleon considered invading England by landing troops transported by balloons.
The French Army at one point had 76 companies operating Caquot balloons. [3] The first aircraft on aircraft rocket attack was made on 22 May 1916 when a group of eight French aces including Charles Nungesser made a dawn attack while flying Nieuport 16s armed with eight Le Prieur rockets each, that shot down six balloons. [7]
French Emperor Napoleon III employed a corps of observation balloons, led by Eugène Godard, for aerial reconnaissance over battlefields both in Franco-Austrian war of 1859, and in 1870 during the Franco-Prussian War and the Siege of Paris. The Union Army Balloon Intrepid being inflated from the gas generators for the Battle of Fair Oaks
The corps transporting the balloon to Fleurus. In May 1794, the new corps joined Jourdan's troops at Maubeuge, bringing one balloon: L'Entreprenant. They began by constructing a furnace, then extracting hydrogen. [3] The first military use of the balloon was on 2 June, when it was used for reconnaissance during an enemy bombardment. [2]
: Close-up view of an American major in the basket of an observation balloon flying near front lines. At the school, the company received French Caquot (U.S. Type R) observation balloons. It was trained on the equipment by members of the French Army, and, on 23 January, the first trial ascents with an observer in the basket were made.
The Army created a rudimentary landing field at Benning in 1919 with the initial mission of determining if data obtained by balloon observation would benefit the infantry. The airfield consisted of two small hangars that housed the balloon unit. In 1922, the Army made the facility a permanent Army post renaming the camp Fort Benning.