Technological advances correspond to a lot of monies spent on projects becoming out-of-date by the time of final completion or very soon after. Excellent cases abound in the field of defense spending. Take the example of the US Army Balloon Service for illustrative purpose.
MILITARY BALLOONING BEGINNINGS
Balloons first showed up on the military scene during the wars following the French Revolution. Serving in a reconnaissance role, the French used balloons at various times during the 19th century – 1859 against Austria, 1870 against Germany.
AMERICAN CIVIL WAR
The theme spread to other countries. Both Federal and Confederates used balloons to keep an eye on their foes and to make accurate maps of possible battlefields. Dr. Thaddeus S. C. Lowe was by the time of the Civil War a well-known balloon builder and meteorologist. He offered his services and balloons to Abraham Lincoln who used his position to overrule the Federal commanding general Winfield Scott. Lowe and his balloons – first used at First Manassas 21 July 1861 – served with the Army of the Potomac during the Peninsula Campaign during the spring of 1862 before going on to Antietam and Fredericksburg.
Pay problems and Congressional questions led to Lowe’s resignation in May 1863 and balloons were set aside for the war’s duration. Lowe went on to make a fortune developing refrigeration and ice making machines. Two of his assistants went south to Brazil with a couple of his balloons to form the Brazilian Balloon Corps during the War of the Triple Alliance.
EUROPEAN DEVELOPMENTS
Other European powers began using balloons during the latter half of the 19th century with the British forming a School of Ballooning in 1888. The school would reframe itself as the Royal Balloon Factory and finally as the Royal Aircraft Factory just before World War One.
Germany was led by Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin and August von Parseval. Both men designed motorized semi-rigid airships – Zeppelins and Parsevals – but Parseval and his partner, Rudolf Hans Bartsch von Sigsfeld also developed the Drachenbalon, a sausage-shaped balloon for observation purposes in 1896.
Spherical balloons gained retirement in favor of the Drachenbalon and the French Caquot balloons, both flyable to a certain extent. Albert Caquot, a famous French engineer even before the war, added three air-filled lobes to the tail of his sausage-shaped balloon. He also mover the inner air balloonette (Which acted as ballast for the gas compartment) from the rear to the underside of the nose with an air scoop to better stabilize the balloon in wind conditions. France manufactured balloons for all of the Entente powers during the war including the United States.
INTO THE GREAT WAR
Money for military balloons always ended up competing with airships and later, heavier-than-air powered aircraft. While the airship could fly as an observation craft, they also served as an offensive weapon for the German side, especially. Balloons came more onto the scene as the war entrenched with mobility lost. They served as observation posts for both sides, able to direct artillery fire more accurately and at increased ranges.
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WATER
The US was as unprepared in balloon use as it was in all other preparations for war. Balloon Service came back on an experimental basis early in the 20th century. One actually in use in Cuba during the Santiago campaign of the Spanish-American War. That balloon suffered from the humidity and improper storage. The commanding general, William Shafter, did not allow the gas generator for the balloon to be disembarked from the supply ships limiting the number of flights to one or two ascents.
31 June 1898 saw Major Joseph Maxfield lift up above the Cuban jungle to observe the Spanish defenses on San Juan Hill. Along for the ride was Lieutenant Colonel George Derby, General Shafter’s chief engineering officer. Derby ordered Maxwell to move the balloon closer to the front which turned out to be not the thing to do. The balloon marked the position of American troops and gave a great target for the Spanish to shoot at. The balloon repeatedly hit became not repairable – there was no more gas available, anyway.
Even though some valuable information was gained during the flight, many of the soldiers below were not enthusiastic. First Lieutenant John J. Pershing serving as quartermaster for the 10th Cavalry, one of the units catching fire beneath the balloon. Not impressed by the balloon observations, Pershing related, the only information the balloonists gave was “that the Spanish were firing upon us – information which at that particular time was entirely superfluous.”
SIGNAL CORPS ORPHAN
Balloon Service in the military sense fell into the bailiwick of the Signal Corps. This branch consisted of only ten officers and fifty enlisted men before the war in 1898. During the war, the corps blossomed to 60 officers and 1,300 men, with the main role being communication support. The numbers shrunk again after the war, though not as bad as prewar – 46 officers and 810 men by 1903 and up to 1,212 men a year later. Fort Myer became the hub of the Signal Corps Balloon Service with a balloon house added in 1901. However, additional funding to operate a balloon – such building a gas generator plant – were not provided making operations difficult.
NEW COMPETITION FOR SCARCE RESOURCES
The Balloon Service eventually went to new facilities built at Fort Omaha after the Signal Corps school closed at Fort Myer in 1905. 1903 saw the Wright brothers first flight in air by a heavier-than-aircraft. It was not until late in 1907 before the Army became convinced of the need to purchase an aircraft to experiment with.
1908 saw flight trials of both an airplane and a small dirigible at Fort Myer. A dirigible was purchased and used at Fort Omaha until becoming unserviceable, being sold off in 1912. Orville Wright made several flights in September 1908 before a propeller broke in flight causing a crash. Riding along with him was First Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge who died – Orville spent six weeks in the fort’s hospital.
Despite the setback, the Wright’s came back to demonstrate the viability of the airplane which the Army subsequently bought. Money was a problem with little made available by Congress for either airplanes or balloons. The US aviation spending placed the country fourteenth out of twenty-six nations in the five-year run up to the beginning of World War One – Germany was first.
FORT OMAHA
The Balloon Plant at Fort Omaha was added in 1909 (The fort’s main purpose was to school non-commissioned officers in the communications realm of the Signal Corps – telegraphy, telephony, electricity, radio and maintenance). There were a couple of spherical balloons and one leaky German Drachen purchased for – but never used – the Spanish-American War. Signal Corps officers from Fort Leavenworth came up to Omaha every May to learn balloon handling and make flights.
A large hangar at Omaha was sized to hold the airship. After the airship was sold off, the hangar became home for the Balloon Service. The main problem with Fort Omaha as a training ground for balloonists is location. Washington was responsible for the choice of the site. However, the location proved lacking. The parade ground surrounded by trees along with winds and bad weather ripping across the Great Plains.
From 1910 until 1913, the air was shared with aviators. Then in 1913, with the airplane gaining more traction, funding for the Balloon Service at Omaha was halted. The equipment was shunted off south to Fort Leavenworth. It was not until November 1916, Fort Omaha was named the site of the Signal Corps’ Balloon School – mainly because of the large hangar already in place – with men to be trained not arriving until spring.
The school during its short life trained 16,000 men in balloon skills with over 1,000 becoming expert pilots or observers. Four weeks of ground school, followed by eight flights – one solo and one night flight – became the training regimen for the officers.
Housing was a problem here and at other balloon camps to follow. Tent cities went up on the edge of the parade ground. The Army realized the area at the fort was constrained so a 119-acre ground one mile to the north was leased which became Florence Field. After the war, the field was sold off and became one of Omaha’s largest subdivisions.
INTO THE BREECH
The Signal Corps was able to fight off attempts at taking aviation out of their purview. Reconnaissance was seen as the main function for all aerial ventures. As such, that was seen to lie in the realm of communications, though even the Signal Corps was unsure of how to use the Balloon Service in the air.
War with Germany finally came in April 1917. The warring countries in Europe had been at it for three years by then. Balloon use for artillery spotting, especially, well developed by that time. The French Cagout balloon became copied by the Germans and used by the British, superior to the Drachen. Like the Signal Corps’ preparation for the use of airplanes, the Balloon Service was totally unready for the road ahead.
Following the British view balloonists needed to be able to control balloons that got loose, free ballooning was a major focus at first. Only later, after input from the front before free ballooning became de-emphasized. Prevailing winds in France went east. If a balloon got loose, then observers needed to get down as soon as possible. Or simply jump with their parachute. Trained observers were more valuable by then than balloons. With the free ballooning requirement scrapped, the training period for balloon observers was sped up significantly.
NEED EXCEEDS CAPACITY
Three months after the first balloonist classes began in Nebraska, General Pershing wired Washington, “Kite balloon situation on French Front very serious. Fifty companies urgently needed.” The request was impossible, of course, being that the Balloon Service had just begun. Lack of an organization and instructors created a huge problem. In addition, not only observers needed training, but enlisted staff to help on telephones; repair balloons; plus, man the balloon ropes and winches. The lack of training equipment hampered efforts further.
Increased numbers of cadets and scarcity of balloons to train on sent some cadets to St Louis for free balloon training. “Major” Albert Lambert, in charge there, would move on to the main Army training base in San Antonio training balloon pilots for $1000 per student.
Lambert was an early aviation advocate from a wealthy St. Louis family – Listerine was the source of wealth. He became a balloon pilot after witnessing the first international balloon race in 1906. In 1909, after taking a flight with Orville Wright, he went on to gain an airplane license, as well. In 1910, he organized a ten-day aviation meet in St. Louis where former President Theodore Roosevelt went up for a quick adventure in the skies.
After the war, Lambert was the initial financial backer for a local St. Louis barnstorming pilot, Charles Lindbergh. The St. Louis International Airport is officially named St. Louis-Lambert in his honor. He did, afterall, provide the grounds and runways to the city for the airport in 1928. In addition, he served on the board selecting the grounds for what is today Scott Air Force Base in Belleville, Illinois. Scott Field became the center of the Army’s lighter-than-air studies after 1919.
gOING OVER THERE
The First Balloon Squadron consisting of one lone company went off to Fort Sill (Home of the Army’s artillery school) near the end of September 1917 to start up a new balloon school. A Second Balloon Squadron – four companies, this time – was raised also in September for service overseas. They shipped out at the end of November. They eventually reached France just after Christmas.
It was not until the end of October before the first Cagout Type R balloon reached the school. This, the balloon used exclusively in France by the AEF. Attached to the balloon was a four-wheel drive truck with solid tires and an 85-horsepower engine. American production of cloth for the balloons reached to ten balloons by the end of the war – a 3,000% increase in 19 months.
The Cagout R consisted of two chambers. The forward chamber was the balloonette – air chamber. In the rear was the gas chamber. The two chambers were separated by a diaphragm of rubberized cloth. Gas inflated into the rear and air filled the front through a scoop. The balloonette helped overcome gas expansion problems at height and gas leaks on the ground. October also saw the arrival of the first French parachutes – earlier American versions had been unsuccessful.
FRENCH DEVELOPMENTS
In France, the Signal Corps lost predominance. Pershing decided to develop an Air Service separate from the Corps. Schools developed to further train balloonists and aviators in France before the men went to the front – aviator schools at Issoudun and Clermont-Ferrand while balloonists went to de Souge and Coëtquidan. Other sections of the service spread about France – Tours, Paris and Chaumont. Not until late spring 1918, before plans began solidifying regarding actual numbers of aviators, balloonists, and equipment needed became drawn up.
MORE SCHOOLS
In late 1917, other balloon schools arose in addition to Fort Omaha. One new school began in the friendlier airs of San Antonio at Camp John Wise (Wise a balloonist of the pre-Civil War era). Here, as at most of the other balloon training schools, many men were trained though most of the companies would not reach France in time to see action.
Another balloon school became established on the West Coast in the town of Arcadia just east of Los Angeles. This field eventually officially named Ross Field in honor of the only Balloonist killed, Lieutenant Cleo Ross who died 26 September 1918. His balloon shot down by a German fighter. He parachuted but the burning balloon fell onto his chute.
BALLOON ROLES OVER THERE
Balloons served important roles as observation platforms. Troops noted that when balloons went up artillery bombardments were sure to follow. The term “balloon is going up” signified significant military actions were impending. The balloons were very effective serving as artillery spotters to adjust artillery fire. Defended by anti-aircraft guns and machine gun nests, balloons were difficult targets for fighter planes, though some pilots accepted the challenge. Each balloon required 180 enlisted and seven officers.
Photography became another field the Signal Corps pulled into its mission. What better platforms to take pictures from than the air? Photos gave a good idea of where an enemy was and doing. The pictures also could give evidence about success or failure of artillery missions. Cameras became developed for aerial service during the war for use in balloons and planes. The mobility and range of the plane made that platform into the preferred observation tool. Artillery spotting remained the main function of the balloon, for now.
MEDALISTS
Cleo Ross was one of several balloonists awarded – posthumously, in his case – the Distinguished Service Cross. Ross was also the only balloonist to die in the air. DSC for a balloonist almost always came from multiple jumps. Balloons were normally well protected with machine guns and anti-aircraft guns on the ground. Incendiary bullets normally the only ammunition which could get the gas bags to ignite. Once they went up, they would burn up in a matter of five to ten seconds. Ground crews would move quickly to maneuver the burning balloon – the maneuver was known as the ‘spider’ – away from the basket so the men inside could jump.
1st Lieutenant James McDevitt was forced to jump from three different balloons on the same day – he would jump one other occasion. He won the DSC for his multiple jumps. His story was retold in the 1930’s in Battle Stories, a comic book, in which McDevitt was proclaimed “Ace of the Jumpers”.
Harlou P. Neibling, 3rd Balloon Company, started out as an observer. He gained his aeronaut license sometime later. He won his DSC for two episodes in which his balloon was shot down. The first was at Brouville, France 2 September 1918. Incendiary bullets from two German planes were spraying the balloon. Neibling took out a pistol and shot at one of the planes, also taking a picture of the plane with his camera. He took two more pictures after the balloon burst and he was parachuting. As soon as another balloon could be inflated, he was back in the air. Then 26 September near Fort du Marre, his balloon was attacked again. Hanging from the basket with one arm, Neibling shot his pistol at the one of the attacking planes. He jumped only when the balloon went up in flames. Again, he was up as soon as another balloon was ready. Neibling got a cover story in another comic book called Wings.
1st Lieutenant Lloyd G. Bowers serving with the 5th Balloon Company had one balloon he was in shot down and another surviving two other air attacks by multiple attackers while he continued his observation mission. He was awarded a DSC and went on to co-write The Balloon Section of the American Expeditionary Forces, the official history of America’s Balloon Service in the war.
In all, fifteen balloonists were awarded the DSC – only one was an enlisted man, Sergeant Harold Nicholls who substituted for officer-observer on several occasions – jumping three times and having his balloon burnt twice.
1st Lieutenant Glenn Phelps, another DSC winner, held the record for jumping five times from his basket, three times his balloon burning above him. Four others – all earning the DSC – had four jumps, including James McDevitt. Another five men jumped three times, though only three gained a DSC. One of those men was 1st Lieutenant William J. R. Taylor. Two of his jumps were made on the same day – 24 September. His balloon was shot down on both 3 October and 10 October. Two other dates saw multiple fighter planes attacking him though he held his ground. When he was shot down on 3 October, jumping, he landed atop an Army mule corral. Jumping atop one of the mules, he got a version of rodeo riding until the mule handlers could intervene. After the war. Taylor became licensed as an airship pilot at the Navy school in Pensacola, Florida.
ITS OVER, OVER THERE
As with much of the American war effort, the Balloon Service was just beginning to hit its peak as the war ended. Schools were producing trained men and factories producing cloth for balloons. As quickly as some of the schools began, they closed. Planes took over the artillery spotting role of the balloons after the war, helped by further developments with radio communications.
One balloon school remained, a new enterprise at Scott Airfield in Illinois. Both airships and balloons were located here. The airship program ended by the 1930’s, expensive, slow and dangerous. The Balloon Service devolved into barrage balloons for World War 2 for the most part. Barrage balloons were unmanned balloons set up to cause havoc with incoming planes via their steel cables holding them in place.
Balloons still have a small role in the US Air Force, but World War 1 was the definite highpoint for their frontline service. Technology involving improved photography, satellites and high-altitude aircraft have taken much – but not all – of the function of the balloon away from the battlefield. Balloons became another expensive defense measure overtaken by technology.