A barrage balloon is a large balloon used as a defense against aircraft. The balloon is attached to the ground with metal cables, which are intended to ensnare the aircraft's propellers and otherwise cause damage to it on collision. Some versions carried small explosive charges that would be pulled up against the aircraft to ensure its destruction. Barrage balloons were only regularly employed against low-flying aircraft, the weight of a longer cable making them impractical for higher altitudes.

World War II

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In 1938 the British Balloon Command was established to protect cities and key targets such as industrial areas, ports and harbours. They were intended to serve as a defense against the dive bomber, flying at heights up to 5,000 feet, forcing the aircraft to fly higher and into the range of concentrated anti-aircraft fire. By the middle of 1940 there were 1,400 balloons, a third of them over the London area, where they proved largely useless against the German high-level bombers that flew right over them. Construction continued however, and in 1944 there were almost 3,000 such balloons. They proved to be particularly effective against the V-1 flying bomb, which tended to fly at 2,000 feet or lower, and claimed about 100 V-1s destroyed.

Many bombers were equipped with devices to cut these cables. It was the British that employed the most barrage balloons, so correspondingly it was the Germans that developed the most capable cable cutters. Their systems consisted of small C-shaped devices attached to the leading edge of the wing, when a cable entered it after sliding down the wing it would trigger a small explosive charge that drove a blade through the cable. British bombers were also equipped with such devices, but the Germans tended not to use barrage balloons. Some barrage balloons worked by allowing the part of their cable that was hit by a plane's wing to detach, after which parachutes at each end would open, breaking the plane's wing.

Efficacy

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The balloons were sometimes more trouble than they were worth, however. In 1942 Canadian and American forces began joint operations to protect the sensitive locks and shipping channel at Sault Ste. Marie along their common border among the Great Lakes. During severe storms in August and October of 1942, some barrage balloons came loose and the trailing cables shorted out power lines, causing massive disruptions to mining and manufacturing. In particular, the metals production so important to the war effort was disrupted. Canadian military historical records indicate that "The October incident, the most serious, caused an estimated loss of 400 tons of steel and 10 tons of ferro-alloys."

Following these incidents new procedures were put in place, which included stowing the balloons during the winter months, regular deployment exercises and a standby team on alert to deploy the balloons in the case of an attack.

See also

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• World War II
• Anti-aircraft warfare

External links

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• Barrage Balloon Reunion Club (UK)
• Joint Canada/US operations to protect the Sault Ste. Marie Locks PDF document

Balloons (aircraft) | Anti-aircraft weapons

Sperreballong | Balon zaporowy | Balão barragem | Sperrballon