"Why did observation balloons "die out"?" Topic

Often wondered this. Seeing over the hill seems such an advantage. Boney might have seen Blucher en route from Wavre earlier. Who knows, if Grouchy had also had a balloon, might they have communicated? Something like shift your butt and get here pronto (en francais, naturellement).

But in all seriousness, the technology seemed well established 20 years earlier. Hardly a major investment in treasure or train. All seemed terribly impressed in Revolutionary wars…what happened once Boney was running the show? They made a big comeback for ACW etc after all……why did something so apparently useful fall out of favour?

Not many sieges? Basically, they have to be carted around, set up, messages sent out etc – by then the battle had moved on or had ended. Obviously, when theoriginals were destroyed in Egypt it mustn't have been considered worth reforming the unit.

The ballons are suppessed in 1899 by Napoleon due to the time needed to inflate them : ten hours, and the requirement of a factory on the ground to produce the hydrogen.
There were :
- Two "Compagnies d'Aérostiers" of 26 men each.
- Six balloons : "l'Aigle", "l'entreprenant", "le Martial", "l'Hercule", "le Castor" and "le Pollux". Some of them were :
"Ballon de place" with 3 to 4 crews and a 1000m² cover.
"Ballon de siège" with 2 to 3 crews and a 750m² cover.
"Ballon normal" with 1 to 2 crews and a 540m² cover.

Plus there is the issue of communication

Seeing the enemy from one site then requires you to be able to tell the troops what to do – not so easy in pre-radio eras (even hard with radios!)

The ballons are suppessed in 1899 by Napoleon due to the time needed to inflate them : ten hours, and the requirement of a factory on the ground to produce the hydrogen.

He meant 1799.

Also consider that they saw additional use during the American Civil War and were largely determined to have the same core problem: the amount of info you *might* get compared to the prep required for each look did not equal out.

Cheers,

The Bandit

Just guessing here, did the fact that launching one meant the enemy KNEW where at least part of your force was have anything to do with it, using a balloon could easily give away more intel then it gained.

People in Biplanes kept shooting them down!

I had no idea it took 10 hours to inflate them, but, thinking about it, no cylinders as we understand them back then. Hydrogen made on the spot……and exposing your own position…and how to communicate……and the red baron going for you with twin Spandau…….I guess might be lack of volunteers as well??????

Thanks folks. Happy now!

I have read that the ACW balloons sometimes had a telegraph key onboard, allowing the operator to send detailed messages directly to HQ elsewhere. True? Was such an arrangement also used in the 1870 Franco-Prussian War?

Maxims, Lewis guns, Incendiary bullets, Fliegerabwehrkanone and Aero-engines.

Get yourself to the Imperial War museum and have a look at the "basket" designed to be lowered from an airship, through the cloud to observe the trenches below, communication was apparently by wire through the cable supporting the basket, possibly used in case the poor chap in the basket needed to be dragged back upwards to the mother ship.

rabbit

I have some memory of reading that during the ACW the Union use of them declined or stopped around the time of Chancellorsville.

I'll confess my ignorance. I thought balloons in those days were hot air efforts, so easy to ascend. If I had known they used hydrogen, I think I might have worked out why they faded into obscurity!

Thanks folks…..often wondered why.

The Japanese used them in the Philippines and at Singapore in WW2. I think the Germans used them at Leningrad, too. Maybe it was the coming of the Jet Age that finally did them in. :P

Great example of one used by the Austro Hungarian Army around 1800 is on display in the Vienna Army museum – so it wasn't just the French using them…

The Austrian balloon was a capture French balloon from the battle of Wurzburg 1796. Was found in storage within the fortress of Wurzburg after the battle and sent to Vienna as a war prize. What the Austrians thought of it hasn't been written down. I have no knowledge of any actual Austrian use of balloons till the WWI period.

As for a reason, apart for the capability to generate hydrogen in the field from a brick oven setup in 1799, the ability to march the balloon around the battlefield was limited. Took a platoon of soldiers using tow ropes and marching behind the front lines with the hydrogen filled balloon floating above. Any wind…. and the balloon was towing the infantry platoon about instead.

Wikipedia link which has period plates of the balloon being towed about by platoon of infantry: link

For communication the method was written message attached to a metal ring (with ribbon), sliding down attached rope to ground, from the balloon basket. There was no method to send a message "up to the balloon" so one way communication or observations.

WR

Side note: I used my French balloonists in games…. including a historical Battle of Wurzburg scenario once.

My French balloon miniature: link

Very interesting, this is another one of those Napoleonic questions I've idly wondered about in the past!

Fascinating, and a lovely model by Rabbit, to boot.

Nic Eureka Miniatures

Surely on a windy day they could have strapped a "volunteer" onto a big kite…

There are good accounts, how it worked in one of the volumes of

Coutanceau : La Campagne de 1794

Even Bonaparte had a balloon corps with him in Egypt.

In my view the balloons were an asset especially for sieges and most likly for morale as well – demonstrating to show off a weapon which the other side didn't have.

And yes – great model by TMPwargamerabbit

Thanks to all who commented on my 25mm balloon. Not perfect but certainly does the job.

As for picking the windy day kite volunteer…. I can see the sergeant's face receiving that choice assignment… "hey you… be a good conscript and just hold still as we tie this kite to your back."

WR

Yes, Bonaparte had two balloons with him in Egypt.

They were still on board ship at the time of the Battle of the Nile (also known as the Battle of Aboukir Bay).
I think they were on board the Orient when she went down.

Bonaparte had his balloon corps build a new balloon from locally procured items. It was used for festivals and such things.

The latest attempts to bring them back just recently died from technical and cost issues.

link

link

Rick

Destruction of habitat? Small breeding stock forcing declining viability of embryos?

Spontoon,
Viable populations for balloons in the wild is approximately 500 individuals. There are still captive breeding programs in zoo's, however.

Deadhead,
Balloons did not really suit Napoleon's attacking method of making war. By the time the balloon was inflated it would have most likely been in the wrong location and would have to be taken down again.
So it wouldn't have been much use in the Waterloo campaign.
The only places I can see an observation balloon being particularly useful would be at Dresden or Leipzig in 1813, as these were battles fought over multiple days and Napoleon was actually fighting a "stationary" defensive battle in a major supply city, for once. Very rare for Napoleon to do that.

So glad I asked though……..

I had no idea how impractical they were!