Transcriber’s Note
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3
BALLOON OBSERVATION
and INSTRUCTIONS
on the subject of
WORK IN THE BASKET
❦
Issued by the
Division of Military Aeronautics
U.S. Army
¶ A free translation of the French booklet“Instructions au sujet du Travail en Nacelle,”and an added discourse on Balloon Observations
WASHINGTON
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
AUGUST, 1918
PART I.
BALLOON OBSERVATION.
INTRODUCTORY NOTE.
In this pamphlet will be laid down the general principlesand also the limitations which govern observationfrom balloons. Balloon observation includesmore than actual artillery observation. (See “Employmentof Balloons.”)
The details of cooperation between balloons andartillery are issued from time to time by the GeneralStaff in the form of pamphlets. Whatever the systemordered at the time, there are certain principles whichdo not change.
In artillery observation it can not be emphasized toostrongly that success depends both on—
1. The efficiency of the balloon observers, includingan intimate knowledge of the ground within view.
2. An intimate knowledge by artillery commandersof the possibilities and limitations of balloon observation.
The limitations of balloon observation are—
1. Distance from the target.
2. Height of observer.
3. Visibility.
Distance from the target is inevitable, but can belessened by advanced positions and winch tracks.4During active operation it has sometimes been possibleto approach balloons within 4,500 meters (4,921yards) of the line.
The low height of the balloon compared with anaeroplane is a drawback, as it brings a question ofdead ground and exaggerated perspective.
Visibility is the determining factor of the balloon’susefulness. In very high winds, very misty or cloudyweather, observation is impossible, and owing to itsstationary nature the balloon can not, by any specialeffort on the part of its observers, overcome unfavorableconditions in the same way as is possible in thecase of aeroplane observation.
On the other hand, a