The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-10-22
THE BALLOON IN THE ARMY
\ Study of the Experiments Made
at Fort Myer.

/ Plans to Maintain a school There
for the Training of Corps al
/ AerOnnutS-History of Airships in
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Observations
/ There appears to be 4 general impress
/ sion that the United States is far behind
/ the other leading nations Of the world i'm
/ the work Of its army in military balloon
ing. but such q statement should not be
| made without qualification as regards the
/ work Of the past few years and if the ex-
{ tensive plans Tor aprOnautical work in the
future are carried out an unfav0rabIe
| comparison or the American balloon
equipment with that Of any other military
establishments VIII he utterly out Of the
question The United States Signal Corps
has maintained BALBOA section since the
summer Of lS]2 bat its operations have
been seriously curtailed by lack II funds
There is every prospect. however. that the
next Congress win authorize an -Npendi-
ture sufficient for the thorough develop
ment Of this most important Of reconnOi-
tring systems. The performances of the
British balloon trains in South Africa
have convinced the entire world of the
value of the scouts in the skies
Prior 20 the SpaniSh-American war the
signal corps maintained for number OF
years a school Of instruction at Fort
Riley. Kan, and later added schools at
Fort Logan. Cal. the Preside. Cal. and
San Antonio, Tex. at which more or less
experimenting with war balloons was
done. Now all these have been merged i'm
the Signal Corps post at Fort Myer. Va
and il is here that the tests Of aeronaUti-
cal devices for use in warfare are TO be-
T. i'm frrf -
being gathered at Fort Myer and one Of
the first structures projected was COM
mOdious balloon house with accommoda-
tons for balloon operations and train
drills
Balloons are now employed in the ar
mics of Austria Belgium. Denmark. Eng
land. France. Germany. Holland. Italy.
Japan. Portugal. Roumania. Russia
Spain. Switzerland. and the United States.
At the battle Of Fleurus. a little over a
century ago, "a young Frenchman named
Coutelle first employed RI balloon in war
fare and turned the tide Of battle in favor
OF his felIOw-soldiers by reason Of his sue
cessful reconnaissance Of the enemys DO
siJion. A score Of years later the Rus
slams originated the idea or dropping ex-
Diosives from "a balloon In the United
States during the civil war balloons prov
Confederates utilizing one made from the
silk dresses donated by the loyal women
of the South.
The most modern era Of the war balloon
began with the siege Of Paris. during
which the French employed over sixty
balloons. which carried several million
letters and dispatches. In the Bcchuana-
land expedition the British forces carried
balloons into the heart of Africa. They
were likewise used by the French in Ton
kin. the English in the SOudau. the ItaI-
idns In AbyssInia. and Uncle Sans fight
ers An Cuba OF late years the intrOduc-
ton OF compressed gas has practically
FtNolu'ipulzed the methods of balloon ma
nipulatlOn for the reason that il has been
possible TO dlsplaCe the heavy genera tors
with light wagons and by tapping sev-
erai gas wagons simultaneously il is now
possible 10 accomplish in a few minutes
me lHNauOn Of balloon which formerly
required three hours.
The difficulty Of making accurate pre-
llctlonS as 10 the future OF this most
picture sqUe phase OF modern warfare is
FINANCED by the fact that every principal
nation Is working independently on the
FtCDicfu or adding 10 the efficiency Of mil
ltaTy balloons, and keeping very quiet
70 gardI2g the discoveries which are made
Indeed, IN the case Of no other class of
war utensils. not excepting submarine
torpedo boats. are the secrets Of CouStruc-
ton 50 --alously. gu2 uded.
The balloons which the British are en-
p.OylnE are made from the intestfuas Of
buliOckS- The intestiues Of not less than
1900 oxen are required 70 make an or
binary balloon. and one of these modern
airships costs over $500. For holding tho
naliYQu capUN'- when IL Is up I'm the air
IS "A hemp or wire hawser which also
serves rs a line Of communication be
tween the observation party in the car
Of the balloon and hose ON th.. r-rafTrT5
below written messages and reports he
ing placed by The bailOOuists in leather
, ..as% PROV iaed with metal ring attach
M'hJs, which, when released. slide down
tho line The British balloons are So
tough and strong that they viii retain "a
charge Of gas for weeks al a time in any
climate, and when "A balloon Is struck by
bullets and shrdDueI The rents close au-
ioinaJCIlly aud the Leakage is very slight
Inc French, who are enthusiasts on
Ullllary bauuouiDE. and who must De
looked 90 for many of the innov.ftfons
OF me future. seem 10 prefer vanished
SIX balloons. The German military au-
lh'Iltits nave been especially secret with
REGARD 70 the result OF their discoveries
IN the science Of aeTnautics- IL is known
however tnat majority Of the Ger
mans believe that the ultimate solution
OF the balloon problem viii be found i'm
inc employment Of the novel. cylindrical
SNAPPED kite balloon, which was invented
a rev years ago by two Bavariau Ofi-
GERS. ana with which the Germans have
already made extensive experiments
The long underestimate Of this new
new balloon acts Ike the face Of q kit.
anu ah ~ 'i1lltlrt lLlaN Ilt kite balloon
entirely does away with the danger of
violent disturbances 10 which the 0rdi-
nary spherical captive balloon is subject
ed when a gale Of wind springs up By
means OF their improved balloon the Ger
mans have virtually overcome the old
difficulty that made il impossible for a
captive balloon 10 ascend in any but the
CaImeSt weather. The kaiser'S soldiers
can use their balloons eight days out OF
ten, and they promise that ere the cen
fury Is much older they Will De able 10
mount 10 the skies in any disturbance
short Of an actual hurricane.
Great advancement has been made in
the heights TO which military ballOouists
ascend a few years ago the greatest
height of ascension was only about 500
yards. whereas within the past few
months military balloons have aSccuded
10 height OF about "A mile Long dis
lance photography holds wonderful
promise for balloon reconnaissance At
present IL is practicable to take accurate
photographs only at distances under IS
30 feet. but with the further develop
ment OF tvlepEOtoEraphy-p hotogra phiug
with the aid Of a telescOpe-it is expect (
"a that the usefulness Of the camera viii |
be emendouSIy enhanced
MAsQEURADED AS A MAN.