The Union Army balloon Washington aboard the George Washington Parke Custis, towed by the tug Coeur de Leon.

The Russian captive balloon carrier Russ in 1904.

Swedish captive ballon carrier in 1907

A Balloon carrier, or Balloon tender was a ship equipped with a balloon (usually captive, and usually used for observations). During the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century these ships were built to have the furthest possible view of the surrounding waters. After several experiments, the type became formalized in the early 1900s, but was soon to be superseded by the developments of seaplane carriers and regular aircraft carriers at the beginning of World War I.

[edit] Early history

The first known usage of balloons from a ship goes back to July 12, 1849, when the Austrian Navy ship Vulcano launched a manned hot air balloon in order to drop bombs on Venice, although the attempt failed due to contrary winds.^[1]

Later, during the American Civil War, about the time of the Peninsula Campaign, gas-filled balloons were being used to perform reconnaissance on Confederate positions, the battles turned inland into the heavily forested areas of the Peninsula where balloons could not travel. A coal barge, the George Washington Parke Custis, was cleared of all deck rigging to accommodate the gas generators and apparatus of balloons. From the GWP Prof. Thaddeus S. C. Lowe, Chief Aeronaut of the Union Army Balloon Corps, made his first ascents over the Potomac River and telegraphed claims of the success of the first aerial venture ever made from a water-borne vessel. Other barges were converted to assist with the other military balloons transported about the eastern waterways. None of these Civil War crafts ever sailed on the high seas.

[edit] Types

Balloons launched from ships led to the formal development of balloon carriers, or balloon tenders, during World War I, by the navies of Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, and Sweden.

About 10 such "balloon tenders" were built, their main objective were being aerial observation posts. These ships were either decommissioned or converted to seaplane tenders after the War.

[edit] References

1. ^ Reference