Hot Air Balloons In War

Words: 508

Pages: 3

Open Document

Hot Air Balloons in War
It’s hard to believe that the hot air balloons we use for enjoyment today were once used in war. Some were used to relay messages to troops while others served as a vantage point to spy on enemy camps. The question is: how did the balloon evolve from a war machine to the harmless toy that it is today?

The first “balloons” were more resemblant of floating lanterns. Known as “Kongming Lanterns, they were constructed with wire, paper, and used fire to float. Zhuge Liang was the first to use them as a signaling device in China during 3rd Century BC. When in danger, the lanterns were released into the sky to alert that the army had been surrounded by enemies and needed backup. Their use eventually shifted over to festivals where people would write wishes and prayers on the lamps before releasing them into the heavens.

Fast forward to 17th century France, where Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier were the first to employ the use of an untethered balloon with passengers. Their balloons were made of silk and paper, allowing for a heavier load to be carried. The first experiment with live cargo involved …show more content…
With his seven balloon fleet, Lowe was able to do a number of things to help the Union army. Map making was an obvious asset. The vantage point provided was sometimes 50 square miles in diameter, if not more. This allowed ballooners to see the location of enemy camps. The Union army could then blindly fire in a provided direction and hit the enemy. Another advantage the balloon fleet had was that the Confederates didn’t have the artillery range to shoot them down. This extra layer of security meant the balloon operators didn’t have to worry as much when flying in enemy territory. It would be expected for the South to make a fleet of their own, but they lacked both the materials and the people to operate

Dark Humor Of Politics Essay

the Civil War, and the unsuccessful use of the “bloody shirt” to garner Republican votes is mocked.2 In this cartoon, Joseph B. Foraker and John Sherman are seen attempting to get a hot air balloon made of shirt remnants and displaying the words “bloody shirt” and the initials J.G.B. off the ground. The shirt-balloon is attached to a pot with the words “sectional hatred” engraved on it, and John Sherman is using a bellows with the words “stump speeches” on it to try to get enough hot air into the…

Words 1050 - Pages 5

How Did Civil War Use Weapons

David The Civil War: Weapons and how soldiers used them (RD) The civil war was the bloodiest and the most deadly war ever fought by the United States. The most interesting part of the Civil War was the weapons soldiers used on the battlefield. There were many types of guns in the CW, but guns are not the only thing that soldiers used. They used unique military equipment that was kept and improved. We can see the improved CW weapons in our military today. One of the new weapons used was the repeating…

Words 846 - Pages 4

New Inventions During The Civil War

After the Civil War, the United State’s advanced technologically and industrially. With both sides seeking their own inventions during the war and then coming together post war, many advances were made during this time period. During the war, both sides seeked more efficient ways of fighting, leading to advances and new inventions on the battlefield. These new inventions on the battlefield were not limited to weaponry; transportation, communication and photography innovations were also sought after…

Words 509 - Pages 3

Dwight D. Eisenhower: A Brief Biography

They believed that it was a Spanish plane wagging war against Abilene, but it was actually hot air balloons carrying Spanish soldiers. In his adult years, Eisenhower was accepted into a military academy, and graduated in 1915.…

Words 528 - Pages 3

Weapons In The Civil War Essay

Civil War Weaponry The American Civil War was an epic battle between the northern and southern states that occurred from 1861 until 1865. The economy of the southern states was based on “agriculture and slave labor” (“Irreconcilable Differences”). The economy of the northern states, on the other hand, was based on “industrial manufacturing” (“Irreconcilable Differences”). This separation of economies led to a divide between the two regions both socially and politically. Thus, differences in policies…

Words 975 - Pages 4

What Is The Juxtaposition In All Quiet On The Western Front

said, “Old men declare war. But it is youth that must fight and die.” All Quiet on the Western Front was written by Erich Maria Remarque in 1929 in the wake of World War I. This book has been called the “greatest war novel of all time” for its striking renditions of youth and the despair and sorrow of war. The characters of his novel show the realities and tragedies of war. In All Quiet on the Western Front, Remarque uses his themes and characters to show the reality of war and the fragility of youth…

Words 1158 - Pages 5

Why The United States Failure To Collapse The Berlin Wall

There was a separation of eastern Germany and western Germany. After the war Germany was partitioned into 4 military occupation zones controlled by America, France, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union. On the 23rd of May 1949 westerns sectors merged to create the federal republic of Germany and on 7 October the Soviet zone became the German Democratic Republic. Berlin the political economic and cultural heartbeat of Germany was similarly subdivided despite lying deep inside the Soviet zone. Joseph…

Words 818 - Pages 4

Dr. A. Wegner Essay

1950s, when numerous discoveries such as palaeomagnetism provided strong support for continental drift, and thereby a substantial basis for today's model of Plate tectonics.[1][2] Wegener was involved in several expeditions to Greenland to study polar air circulation before the existence of the jet stream was accepted. Expedition participants made many meteorological observations and achieved the first-ever overwintering on the inland Greenland ice sheet as well as the first-ever boring of ice cores…

Words 2528 - Pages 11

Essay Snow: Hot Air Balloon and Aviation Industry

century saw the creation of the Aeronautical Society of Great Britain, the American Rocketry Society, and the Institute of Aeronautical Sciences, all of which made aeronautics a more serious scientific discipline. Otto Lilienthal a comrade of the US Air Force came up with cambered airfoils in 1891. He used the gliders to examine aerodynamic forces. On December 17, 1903 the Wright brothers accomplished the very first powered sustained flight. The flight took place at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. In 1957…

Words 1756 - Pages 8

National Parks Project Essay

They were out fishing when a tropical storm came through and stranded them at Fort Jefferson for two and a half weeks. Fort Jefferson is an old army base used in the late 1800s. Its remote located help southern troops get supplies during the civil war. Originally, the plan was for Fort Jefferson to be two layers. But as time passed, the first layer started to sink so the builders left it as one layer. Once you are done touring the fort, you can go snorkeling in the crystal blue waters that surround…

Words 783 - Pages 4