New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-05-29
TO DROP SHELLS FROM A BALLOON
AN FRoNArrTs E-GGFsTION FOR DESTROY
No TIL, Spa Nrsu FLEET

| AN FRONAr-Ta gv-GGFSTION FOR DESTROY
ING TIE SPANISH FLEET.
Tt Is perfectly feasible" said NJ Antony Vericls
"A we'll known French haiioonist yesterday. TO do
stroy the Spanish feet from balloon. with
proper conditions would Undertake II myself with
,u expectation OF ruccesstul result and no danger
20 ~. balloon or myself 7, on, Ar u Admiral
Cervera Ia really IN thu herhor al Santiago de-
| cuba and II would 10 ee.y 20 send UP balloon
from tho deck ~ a vessel 20 ascertain the fact
could mike an ascension With free balloon from
tho v~fsel y the wind in tho proper direction
and drop -hclls upon the decks OF the ships OF the
] squadron and alnk every ~ them. The eN-
| uerimeufs which have been made on the Continent
ot Europe with balloons for military and naval pur-
| poses show that 1t Is comparatively easy 10 DO
! TITS"
Tn. statement that II ives feasible TO put rapid
~. run even OF small canhre IN tho basket OF a
hailoon and FIRE IT ridcuied yesterday by the
authorities upon haliooning on" Or them said that
n pas ,eas DO 20 drop shelis with deadly affect
from a balloon hu, even this was dangerous 70 mo
arouau, as the casting overheard u heavy shell
would cause a balloon 20 rise with extraordinary
rapiiitv and only by allowing gas 20 escape could
u he brought down again. The desirable balloons
use guide ropes and they are 90 well balanced that
a weight ~ fcw ounces thrown out Will cause the
balloon t. rise The balloon used by AndIes on
his North Po.e expedition had nine ropes. and they
caught In rocks SO that some q them had TO Doe
severed which Is thought TO have endangered The
| balloon
There ARE four schools for instruction IN
n.ronaufics in France and the graduates from them
aro employed IN the army VI. Maurice MaNe'.
who came 10 this country last week with two
balloons FOR the Government Tor military uses. is
! director I'm one OF those schools in Paris. He
hro.igh, tho balloons IN his trunks AZ personal
haggage as war balloons are contrabani Of war
md il was feared that they would not be allowed
on hoard a vessel as freight. They were shipped 70
Fnrand and came thence 10 this country. one
~ the purposes Of SIR Mallet. besides putting tho
balloon. he sold the Government IN shape FOR use
in military naval operations, Is 70 arrange ior
captive balloon in this city This Is something
New York has never had as permanent exhibition.
although Chicago and san Francisco have had them
nj different times Most OF tho time since ISIS there
has been captive balloon in Paris. which will
carry six persons NJ TO height OF fifteen hundred
feet The Of the trip in II Is s. and the pleas
ure trip Is taken by many persons in the course OF
a year
l, was asoertained Yesterday that recently ex
perimcnts have been actually conducted with
balloon at SANDY Hook although the reports that
such experiments to be made were persisently
denied hy Army authorities. The balloon has been
inflated and sent mp At night, with a powerful
searchlght on g. 20 that the horizon for wide
distance could ne swept by the OF glasses.
and any susp cious- looking vessel could he dscov-
cred There are not loss than half dozen balloons
owned b., the Government. and large corps OF
Signal Service men IL being trained for the work OF
making use OF them in the military operations In
the present war.
Il believe the balloon is to he great factor In
military operations In the future" said an expert
mronAut yesterday. The success which attended
the use OF balloons IN the siege of Paris. when a
score we're sent out with news from the city and
not one fell into the hands OF the enemy showed
how useful they could be- and since that time thero
has been much attention paid to the subject In both
France and Germany. Experiments show that II Is
almost impossible to hit balloon distance Of
Two miles, even II the airship Is not more than a
ousrter OF a mile high. II requires special training
10 shoot al them and especial artillery II you
nave a rife that carries horizontally thousand
vIrds and shoot directly In the air II will not
carry more than two hundred yards, owing 10 the
attraction OF gravitation Small bullets ana even
cannon balls do little damage TO balloon, as
the silk Will close to retain the air The only
v,ay I, do much harm H. 10 fire shrapnel and tear
the covering OF the balloon 70 pieces. But the
haloonsts can make their observations do all the
damage in their power. and he far away before
guns can be trained on them From far beyond
mo range OF ordinary field pieces observations can
he accurately and easily made which are 'of In
estirnablc value for the work OF an army.
is feasible to make similar use OF balloons
IN shipboard for acquiring valuable information
of the enemy's resources and TO determine the oca
ton Of fleets. Experiments have been made upon
Fr"nch battle-ships in the harbors OF Brest and
poulogne and there will be corps Of trained
nrnnaIts attached each feet. The men for the
service are secured from the same schools OF in
strnction that the men for ike work in the army
ne oht aimed Nom The work OF balloon obserVa-
ton will become part OF the regular Signal Service
corps ,-. ,h.r. 4. -,os, aa,,,..A,. o,..,