Incendiary balloon

An incendiary balloon (or balloon bomb) is a balloon inflated with a lighter-than-air gas such as hot air, hydrogen, or helium, that has a bomb, incendiary device, or Molotov cocktail attached. The balloon is carried by the prevailing winds to the target area, where it falls or releases its payload. In 1792, Joseph-Michel Montgolfier proposed using balloons to drop bombs on British forces and ships in Toulon. In 1807, Denmark attempted to construct a hand-propelled dirigible that would bomb British ships blockading Copenhagen from the air. In 1846 a British board rejected as impractical a bombing design by Samuel Alfred Warner. Attempts by Henry Tracey Coxwell to interest the British government a few years later were rejected as well. In 1847, John Wise proposed the use of balloon bombs in the Mexican–American War. The first aggressive use of balloons in warfare took place in 1849 during the First Italian War of Independence. Austrian imperial forces besieging Venice attempted to float some 200 paper hot air balloons, each carrying a bomb that was to be dropped from the balloon with a time fuse over the besieged city. The balloons were launched mainly from land; however, some were also launched from the side-wheel steamer SMS Vulcano that acted as a balloon carrier. The Austrians used smaller pilot balloons to determine the correct fuse settings. At least one bomb fell in the city; however, due to the wind changing after launch, most of the balloons missed their target, and some drifted back over Austrian lines and the launching ship Vulcano. Operation Outward During World War II, the British Operation Outward launched some 99,142 balloons at Germany, 53,543 of which were carrying incendiaries, the other 45,599 carrying trailing wires to damage high voltage lines. Fu-Go balloon bomb In 1944–1945, during World War II, Japan launched some 9,300 Fu-Go balloon bombs at North America. The diameter balloons were inflated with hydrogen and typically carried one bomb, or one bomb along with four bombs.