Balloon buster

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Template:Short description

File:Angriff auf feindlichen Fesselballon 1918.jpg
Observation balloon being shot down by a German biplane

Balloon busters were military pilots known for destroying enemy observation balloons. These pilots were noted for their fearlessness, as balloons were stationary targets able to receive heavy defenses, from the ground and the air.Template:Sfnp Seventy-seven flying aces in World War I were each credited with destroying five or more balloons, and thus were balloon aces.

The crucial role of observation balloons

File:ObservationBalloonPozieresJuly1916.jpeg
British balloon of the German Parseval-Siegsfeld type, 1916, typical of observation balloons in the first half of World War I
File:Nieuport 11 armed with Le Prieur rockets and an overwing Lewis gun.jpg
A Nieuport 11 armed with Le Prieur rockets and an overwing Lewis gun

An observation balloon was both a vulnerable and a valuable target: the balloon was moored in a stationary position and was lifted by flammable hydrogen gas, whose use was necessitated by the scarcity of helium reserves among European powers. The artillery observer, suspended in the wicker basket beneath, typically had a wireless transmitter, binoculars and/or a long-range camera. His job was to observe actions on the front-line and behind it, to spot enemy troop movements or unusual activity of any sort, and to call down artillery fire onto any worthwhile targets.

Balloon observers were consequently targets of great importance to both sides, especially before any sort of infantry action or offensive, so individual pilots, flights or whole squadrons were frequently ordered to attack balloons, to destroy them or at least disrupt their observation activities.Template:Sfnp Pilots on both sides tried to attack from a height that could enable them to fire without getting too close to the hydrogen and pull away fast. They were also cautioned not to go below Script error: No such module "convert". in order to avoid machine gun and AA fire.

Due to their importance, balloons were usually given heavy defenses in the form of machine gun positions on the ground, anti-aircraft artillery, and standing fighter patrols stationed overhead. Other defenses included surrounding the main balloon with barrage balloons; stringing cables in the air in the vicinity of the balloons; equipping observers with machine guns; and flying balloons booby-trapped with explosives that could be remotely detonated from the ground. These measures made balloons very dangerous targets to approach.Template:Sfnp

Although balloons were occasionally shot down by small-arms fire, generally it was difficult to shoot down a balloon with solid bullets, particularly at the distances and altitude involved. Ordinary bullets would pass relatively harmlessly through the hydrogen gas bag, merely holing the fabric. Hits on the wicker car could however kill the observer.Template:Sfnp

One method employed was the solid-fuel Le Prieur rocket invented by Frenchman Lt. Yves Le Prieur and first used in April 1916. Rockets were attached to each outboard strut of a biplane fighter aircraft and fired through steel tubes using an electrical trigger. The rockets' inaccuracy was such that pilots had to fly very close to their target before firing.Template:Sfnp

It was not until special Pomeroy incendiary bullets and Buckingham flat-nosed incendiary bullets became available on the Western Front in 1917 that any consistent degree of success was achieved. Le Prieur rockets were withdrawn from service in 1918 once incendiary bullets had become available.Template:Sfnp

Balloon busting aces

Template:Expand list

File:AdM Roi decore coppens 2 klein.jpg
The leading balloon buster, Willy Coppens, is personally decorated by his monarch, King Albert I.
Name Nationality Balloon victories Aircraft victories Total Reference
Willy Coppens Belgian 35 2 37 [1]
Léon Bourjade French 27 1 28 [2]
Michel Coiffard French 24 10 34 [3]
Maurice Boyau French 21 14 35 [4]
Friedrich Ritter von Röth German 20 8 28 [5]
Jacques Ehrlich French 18 1 19 [6]
Heinrich Gontermann German 18 21 39 [7]
Andrew Beauchamp-Proctor South African 16 38 54 [8]
Frank Luke American 14 4 18 [9]
Karl Schlegel German 14 8 22 [10]
Oskar Hennrich German 13 7 20 [11]
Marcel Haegelen French 12 11 23 [12]
Marius Ambrogi French 11 3 14 [13]
Friedrich Friedrichs German 11 10 21 [14]
Henry Woollett British 11 24 35 [15]
Tom F. Hazell British 10 33 43 [16]
Fritz Höhn German 10 11 21 [17]
Max Näther German 10 16 26 [18]
Erich Thomas German 10 0 10 [19]
William George Barker Canadian 9 50 59 [20]
Louis Bennett Jr. American 9 3 12 [21]
Théophile Henri Condemine French 9 0 9 [22]
Hans von Freden German 9 11 20 [23]
Sidney Highwood British 9 7 16 [24]
Erich Löwenhardt German 9 45 54 [25]
Jean Andre Pezon French 9 1 10 [26]
Armand Pinsard French 9 18 27 [27]
Erich Thomas German 9 1 10 [19]
Paul Barbreau French 8 0 8 [28]
Josef Jacobs German 8 40 48 [29]
Max Kuhn German 8 4 12 [30]
Charles J. V. Macé French 8 4 12 [31]
Ernest Maunoury French 8 3 11 [32]
Friedrich T. Noltenius German 8 13 21 [33]
Fritz Pütter German 8 17 25 [34]
Otto Schmidt German 8 12 20 [35]
Maurice Bizot French 7 3 10 [36]
Oskar Freiherr von Boenigk German 7 19 26 [37]
Julius Buckler German 7 29 36 [38]
Siegfried Büttner German 7 6 13 [39]
Harry King Goode British 7 8 15 [40]
Harold B. Hudson Canadian 7 6 13 [41]
Hans Nülle German 7 4 11 [42]
Charles Nungesser French 7 36 43 [43]
Hans Martin Pippart German 7 15 22 [44]
Paul Santelli French 7 0 7 [45]
Eugen Bönsch Austro-Hungarian 6 10 16 [46]
Hans Klein[47] German 6 16 22
Antoine Laplasse French 6 2 8 [48]
Donald Roderick MacLaren Canadian 6 48 54 [49]
Georg Meyer German 6 18 24 [50]
Marcel Bloch French 5 0 5 [51]
Heinrich Bongartz German 5 28 33 [52]
Fernand Bonneton French 5 4 9 [53]
Godwin Brumowski Austro-Hungarian 5 30 35 [54]
William Charles Campbell British 5 18 23 [55]
Pierre Cardon French 5 0 5 [56]
Sydney Carlin British 5 5 10 [57]
Arthur Cobby Australian 5 24 29 [58]
Martin Dehmisch German 5 5 10 [59]
Pierre Ducornet French 5 2 7 [60]
Wilhelm Frickart German 5 7 12 [61]
Louis Prosper Gros French 5 4 9 [62]
Francis Guerrier French 5 0 5 [63]
Heinrich Haase[64] German 5 1 6
Lansing Holden[65] American 5 2 7
Adrien L. J. Leps[66] French 5 7 12
Richard Burnard Munday[67] British 5 4 9
Marcel Nogues[68] French 5 8 13
Eddie Rickenbacker[69] American 5 21 26
George R. Riley[70] British 5 8 13
Gilbert Sardier[71] French 5 10 15
William Ernest Shields[72] Canadian 5 19 24
Walter Southey[73] South African 5 15 20
Paul Y. R. Waddington[74] French 5 7 12
Joseph Wehner[75] American 5 1 6
Hans Weiss[76] German 5 11 16

Aces with four balloon victories

Name Origin Balloon victories Aircraft victories Total
Heinrich Arntzen German 4 7 11Template:Sfnp
Otto Brauneck German 4 6 10Template:Sfnp
Harvey Weir Cook American 4 3 7Template:Sfnp
Gustave Daladier French 4 8 12Template:Sfnp
Benno Fiala Ritter von Fernbrugg Austro-Hungarian 4[note 1] 24 28Template:Sfnp
Elwyn King Australian 4 22 26Template:Sfnp
Wilhelm Kühne German 4 3 7Template:Sfnp
Georges Lachmann French 4 5 9Template:Sfnp
Auguste Lahoulle French 4 6 10Template:Sfnp
Edgar McCloughry Australian 4 17 21Template:Sfnp
Paul Petit French 4 3 7Template:Sfnp
Maurice Rousselle French 4 1 5Template:Sfnp
Karl Schattauer German 4 5 9Template:Sfnp
Leonard Taplin Australian 4 8 12Template:Sfnp
Edgar Taylor American 4 1 5Template:Sfnp
Guy Wareing English 4 5 9Template:Sfnp

Aces with three balloon victories

Name Origin Balloon victories Aircraft victories Total
Giovanni Ancillotto Italian 3 8 11Template:Sfnp
Yves F. Barbaza French 3 2 5Template:Sfnp
Hans Böhning German 3 14 17Template:Sfnp
Karl Bohny German 3 5 8Template:Sfnp
Walter von Bülow-Bothkamp German 3 25 28Template:Sfnp
Hamilton Coolidge American 3 5 8Template:Sfnp
Pierre Delage French 3 4 7Template:Sfnp
Rudolf von Eschwege German 3 17 20Template:Sfnp
Henri Hay De Slade French 3 16 19Template:Sfnp
Francis W. Gillet American 3 17 20Template:Sfnp
Max Gossner German 3 5 8Template:Sfnp
Justus Grassmann German 3 7 10Template:Sfnp
Robert Hall South African 3 2 5Template:Sfnp
Ludwig Hanstein German 3 13 16Template:Sfnp
William Frederick James Harvey English 3 23 26Template:Sfnp
Albert Haussmann German 3 12 15Template:Sfnp
Heinrich Henkel German 3 5 8Template:Sfnp
Adolf Heyrowsky Austro-Hungarian 3[note 1] 9 12Template:Sfnp
Camille Lagesse Canadian 3 17 20Template:Sfnp
Friedrich Manschott German 3 9 12Template:Sfnp
George McElroy Irish 3 44 47Template:Sfnp
Maurice Newnham English 3 15 18Template:Sfnp
John Steele Ralston Scottish 3 9 12Template:Sfnp
Paul Rothe German 3 2 5Template:Sfnp
Franz Rudorfer German 3 8 11Template:Sfnp
Cecil Thompson South African 3 3 6Template:Sfnp
Remington Vernam American 3 3 6Template:Sfnp
Hans Waldhausen German 3 3 6Template:Sfnp
Herbert Gilles Watson New Zealander 3 11 14Template:Sfnp

Aces with two balloon victories

Name Origin Balloon
victories 		Aircraft
victories 		Total
Edgar O. Amm South African 2 5 7Template:Sfnp
Maurice Arnoux French 2 3 5Template:Sfnp
Horace Barton South African 2 17 19Template:Sfnp
John Courade Bateman English 2 5 7Template:Sfnp
Douglas John Bell South African 2 17 19Template:Sfnp
Armond J. Berthelot French 2 9 11Template:Sfnp
Billy Bishop Canadian 2 70 72Template:Sfnp
Konrad Brendle German 2 7 9Template:Sfnp
Jean Casale French 2 11 13Template:Sfnp
William Gordon Claxton Canadian 2 35 37Template:Sfnp
Edwin Cole English 2 6 8Template:Sfnp
James Connelly American 2 5 7Template:Sfnp
Charles Cudemore English 2 13 15Template:Sfnp
Gilbert de Guingand French 2 6 8Template:Sfnp
Armand de Turenne French 2 13 15Template:Sfnp
Pierre Dufaur de Gavardie French 2 4 6Template:Sfnp
Eduard Ritter von Dostler German 2 24 26Template:Sfnp
Otto Fitzner German 2 7 9Template:Sfnp
Willi Gabriel German 2 9 11Template:Sfnp
Karl Gallwitz German 2 8 10Template:Sfnp
George Gates English 2 7 9Template:Sfnp
Frederick Stanley Gordon New Zealander 2 7 9Template:Sfnp
Franz Gräser Austro-Hungarian 2 16 18Template:Sfnp
Fernand Guyou French 2 10 12Template:Sfnp
Erich Hahn German 2 4 6Template:Sfnp
Georges Halberger French 2 3 5Template:Sfnp
Lloyd Hamilton American 2 8 10Template:Sfnp
Thomas Sinclair Harrison South African 2 20 22Template:Sfnp
Robert Heibert German 2 11 13Template:Sfnp
Albert Hets German 2 4 6Template:Sfnp
Ernest Charles Hoy Canadian 2 11 13Template:Sfnp
Frederick Hunt English 2 7 9Template:Sfnp
Albert Leslie Jones English 2 5 7Template:Sfnp
Erich Just German 2 4 6Template:Sfnp
Arthur Korff German 2 6 8Template:Sfnp
James Latta English 2 3 5Template:Sfnp
Pierre Leroy de Boiseaumarie French 2 3 5Template:Sfnp
Frederick Luff American 2 3 5Template:Sfnp
John Mackereth English 2 5 7Template:Sfnp
Malcolm Plaw MacLeod Canadian 2 5 7Template:Sfnp
Rudolf Matthaei German 2 8 10Template:Sfnp
Maurice Mealing English 2 12 14Template:Sfnp
Zenos Miller American 2 3 5Template:Sfnp
Hans Karl Müller German 2 7 9Template:Sfnp
Edmund Nathanael German 2 13 15Template:Sfnp
Otto Parschau German 2 6 8Template:Sfnp
Andre Petit-Delchet French 2 3 5Template:Sfnp
Croye Pithey South African 2 8 10Template:Sfnp
Arthur Rahn German 2 4 6Template:Sfnp
Hervey Rhodes English 2 8 10Template:Sfnp
Cyril Ridley English 2 9 11Template:Sfnp
Charles G. Ross South African 2 18 20Template:Sfnp
Hugh Saunders South African 2 13 15Template:Sfnp
Gustav Schneidewind German 2 5 7Template:Sfnp
Wilhelm Schwartz German 2 6 8Template:Sfnp
Kurt Schönfelder German 2 11 13Template:Sfnp
Sumner Sewall American 2 5 7Template:Sfnp
Langley Smith Canadian 2 6 8Template:Sfnp
Werner Steinhauser German 2 8 10Template:Sfnp
Francis S. Symondson English 2 11 13Template:Sfnp
Mathieu Tenant de la Tour French 2 7 9Template:Sfnp
Renatus Theiller German 2 10 12Template:Sfnp
Bernhard Ultsch German 2 10 12Template:Sfnp
Gilbert J. Uteau French 2 3 5Template:Sfnp
Clive W. Warman American 2 10 12Template:Sfnp
Paul Wenzl German 2 8 10Template:Sfnp

In literature

On the afternoon of September 14, 1918, while the Doughboys of the 33rd U.S. Infantry Division were stationed at Fromereville near Verdun, American war poet Lt. John Allan Wyeth was taking a shower with a group of bickering Doughboys when he heard the cry, "Air Raid!" Like every other bather, Wyeth ran, naked and covered with soap, into the village square. There, he watched as a Fokker D VII, flown by Unteroffizier Hans Heinrich Marwede from Jasta 67's aerodrome at Marville, attacked and set on fire three French observation balloons.[77] Lieut. Wyeth later described Marwede's victory in his sonnet Fromereville: War in Heaven.[78]

William Sanders' novel The Wild Blue and the Gray was set in a World War I squadron that flew several balloon-busting missions.

In Wilbur Smith's The Burning Shore the lead character carries out balloon-busting missions during World War I.

DC Comics published a character known as Steve Savage, the Balloon Buster in All-American Men of War title in 1965.

See also

Notes

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  1. ↑ a b Includes the Italian airship M4.

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References

Citations

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  1. ↑ Franks et al. 1997, pp. 98–99.
  2. ↑ Franks, Bailey 1992, pp. 122–123.
  3. ↑ Franks, Bailey 1992, pp. 133–134.
  4. ↑ Franks, Bailey 1992, pp. 124–125.
  5. ↑ Franks et al. 1993, pp. 192–193.
  6. ↑ Franks, Bailey 1992, pp. 157–158.
  7. ↑ Franks et al. 1993, p. 116.
  8. ↑ Shores et al. 1990, pp. 68–69.
  9. ↑ Franks, Bailey 1992, pp. 58–59.
  10. ↑ Franks et al. 1993, p. 199.
  11. ↑ Franks et al. 1993, p. 128.
  12. ↑ Franks, Bailey 1992, pp. 172–173.
  13. ↑ Franks, Bailey 1992, pp. 112–113.
  14. ↑ Franks et al. 1993, p. 110.
  15. ↑ Shores et al. 1990, pp. 389–390.
  16. ↑ Shores et al. 1990, p. 190.
  17. ↑ Franks et al. 1993, pp. 130–131.
  18. ↑ Franks et al. 1993, pp. 172–173.
  19. ↑ a b Franks et al. 1993, p. 216.
  20. ↑ Shores et al. 1990, pp. 62–64.
  21. ↑ Franks, Bailey 1992, p. 23.
  22. ↑ Franks, Bailey 1992, p. 135.
  23. ↑ Franks et al. 1993, p. 109.
  24. ↑ Shores et al. 1990, p. 194.
  25. ↑ Franks et al. 1993, pp. 158–160.
  26. ↑ Franks, Bailey 1992, pp. 205–206.
  27. ↑ Franks, Bailey 1992, pp. 206–207
  28. ↑ Franks, Bailey 1992, p. 116.
  29. ↑ Franks et al. 1993, pp. 135–136.
  30. ↑ Franks et al. 1993, p. 151.
  31. ↑ Franks, Bailey 1992, pp. 187–188.
  32. ↑ Franks, Bailey 1992, pp. 193–194.
  33. ↑ Franks et al. 1993, pp. 174–175.
  34. ↑ Franks et al. 1993, p. 183.
  35. ↑ Franks et al. 1993, pp. 202–203.
  36. ↑ Franks, Bailey 1992, pp. 119–120.
  37. ↑ Franks et al. 1993, p. 77.
  38. ↑ Franks et al. 1993, pp. 87–88.
  39. ↑ Franks et al. 1993, pp. 91–92.
  40. ↑ Shores et al. 1990, pp. 171–172.
  41. ↑ Shores et al. 1990, p. 203.
  42. ↑ Franks et al. 1993, p. 175.
  43. ↑ Franks, Bailey 1992, pp. 198–199.
  44. ↑ Franks et al. 1993, p. 180.
  45. ↑ Franks, Bailey 1992, pp. 216–217.
  46. ↑ Franks et al. 1997, pp. 174–175.
  47. ↑ Franks et al. 1993, pp. 145–146.
  48. ↑ Franks, Bailey 1992, p. 182.
  49. ↑ Shores et al. 1990, pp. 249–250.
  50. ↑ Franks et al. 1993, pp. 166–167.
  51. ↑ Franks, Bailey 1992, p. 120.
  52. ↑ Franks et al. 1993, pp. 81–82.
  53. ↑ Franks, Bailey 1992, p. 121.
  54. ↑ Franks et al. 1997, pp. 175–176.
  55. ↑ Shores et al. 1990, pp. 96–97.
  56. ↑ Franks, Bailey 1992, p. 128.
  57. ↑ Shores et al. 1990, p. 98.
  58. ↑ Shores et al. 1990, pp. 110.
  59. ↑ Franks et al. 1993, p. 97.
  60. ↑ Franks, Bailey 1992, p. 156.
  61. ↑ Franks et al. 1993, pp. 109–110.
  62. ↑ Franks, Bailey 1992, pp. 166–167.
  63. ↑ Franks, Bailey 1992, p. 168.
  64. ↑ Franks et al. 1993, p. 121.
  65. ↑ Franks, Bailey 1992, pp. 44–45.
  66. ↑ Franks, Bailey 1992, pp. 184–185.
  67. ↑ Shores et al. 1990, p. 287.
  68. ↑ Franks, Bailey 1992, p. 197.
  69. ↑ Franks, Bailey 1992, pp. 67–68.
  70. ↑ Shores et al. 1990, pp. 321–322.
  71. ↑ Franks, Bailey 1992, p. 217.
  72. ↑ Shores et al. 1990, p. 336.
  73. ↑ Shores et al. 1990, pp. 346–347.
  74. ↑ Franks, Bailey 1992, pp. 225–226.
  75. ↑ Franks, Bailey 1992, p. 80.
  76. ↑ Franks et al. 1993, pp. 227–228.
  77. ↑ Omanson (2019) Before the Clangor of the Gun, pages 7–13.
  78. ↑ Wyeth (2008), This Man's Army: A War in Fifty-Odd Sonnets, page 49.

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General and cited references

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