During World War II, a variety of weapons were utilized by both the Axis and Allied powers. Operation Outward was the name of a British program that attacked Nazi Germany through the use of hydrogen gas balloons. Japan also used free floating hydrogen gas balloons to attack the continental United States and Canada near the end of the war. The Japanese fire balloons only totaled around 9,300, while the British Operation Outward released 99,142 balloons during its run. The British balloons were simple hydrogen balloons and cheap to produce. They had to travel a much shorter distance than their Japanese counterparts and flew at a much lower altitude. The balloons carried either a trailing steel wire that would damage power lines upon impact, or socks filled with flammable material to set fires to forests and farmland. Of the balloons released, 53,343 carried incendiaries, while 45,599 carried the steel wires. The idea to release these balloons across the English Channel into Nazi controlled territories was initially inspired by the use of barrage balloons. Barrage balloons were stationary balloons used in England to protect against enemy aerial attacks. The balloons of Operation Outward were made of latex rubber and about 2.4 meters or 7.9 feet in diameter when inflated. When let loose, a slow burning fuse was lit, set at the estimated time to arrive in Nazi controlled territory. The first balloon launches took place in March 1942 and within days, reports were coming in of forest fires near Berlin. German fighters began attempts to shoot down the balloons and the harassment value against German air defenses justified the program alone. The balloons of Operation Outward were launched primarily by members of the Women's Royal Naval Service. One of the program's greatest successes came when in July 1942 a wire-carrying balloon struck a high voltage power line near Leipzig, causing a failure in the circuit breaker at a power station. This set a fire that destroyed the station. By August 1942 over 1,000 balloons were being launched per day. A few of the devices blew back into allied territories causing minor damage in Sweden and the United Kingdom. Once Allied troops made their invasion at Normandy in June 1944, the balloon releases declined and the last of the balloons were launched a few months later in September. Map of Europe - Morgan Hauser/Creative Commons

• published: 14 May 2014
• views: 4