Barrage Balloons, by Dr. Andrew Vavreck
One of the images often associated with World War II as it affected England is that of barrage balloons. In 1938 the Royal Air Force Balloon Command was formed to protect targets in the kingdom, including major cities. The first balloons, 66 feet long and 30 feet high, were tethered with steel cables, were filled with hydrogen (each holding about 20,000 cubic feet of the gas), and were held at an altitude of about 5,000 feet. By 1940 there were 1,400 balloons, a third of them over London.
The main purpose was to force German aircraft to fly high. Coming in low would increase their accuracy and antiaircraft guns couldn’t traverse fast enough to target them. In addition, there was always a chance a careless pilot would encounter one of the cables. There was also a mental effect on the pilots, who had to always be on guard, and an effect on surveillance, as the balloons masked out details on the ground from observers in the air. Another effect of the balloons was on lifting the morale of the populace. Each balloon was mounted to a wagon, and a winch could raise or lower it. Being essentially stationary, large, and filled with a highly flammable gas, the balloons were easy targets for enemy aircraft. But there were drawbacks. During the six years while they were deployed in England, the balloons brought down about 100 aircraft, but three-quarters of them were Allied planes. They were also a hazard to people on the ground. Several children were killed by a falling balloon, and a couple of firemen were killed when a downed balloon exploded.
Fast forward to today when there are proposals to bring them back in Ukraine. With the many man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS) in use, Russian aircraft and drones try to operate at low altitudes. Sometimes the operator of the MANPADS discovers the threat visually. By the time they’re ready to fire their missile, the low-flying aircraft are long gone. China has also taken an interest in a technology that stretches back to World War I, when similar balloons protected London and other areas, possibly noting the applicability in Ukraine. An exercise last year with the People’s Liberation Army explored how barrage balloons could protect major cities and infrastructure from threats such as cruise missiles. The balloons were very effective in WWII against German flying bombs like the V1, bringing down 278 over the course of the war.