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The
Balloon Barrage 1936 to 1938
In
November 1936 Sir Thomas Inskip, the Minister for Co-ordination of Defence
reported to the House of Commons on the re-arming progress of the Nation. The
report of the Arms Commission on armament manufacture was being considered but
was somewhat complicated and needed further time. Defence and not aggression
were the main aims. Despite the increase in air power the Royal Navy was still
the first line of defence. The Fleet Air Arm was vital but meant more
co-operation between the Air Force and the Navy. No aircraft could take over the
role of a battleship. The threat from submarine torpedoes and from mines was
something the Royal Navy felt it now had under control. New gun making factories
were to be built in Nottingham. The
workforce to manufacture armaments was being rapidly increased and had risen
from 30,000 to 50,000 in the last year. There was no shortage of military
recruits. There would be a force for overseas defence and the Territorials would
be formed into two sections to defend the North and the South of the country. He
mentioned the 80 Air Squadrons including 16 Auxiliary Air Squadrons. He then
either by mistake or design mentioned the provision of an expensive “balloon
barrage for London” and referred to other things that were “ingenious and
intensive” but did not go into detail.
In
November 1936 Lord Swinton speaking about the progress being made in air defence
and stated that as regards the balloon barrage for London, “orders have been
placed and delivery will begin at the end of this year”. In January 1937 Sir
Thomas Inskip stated that adequate provisions for the air defence of London,
including the proposed balloon barrage had been made by the Government.
The
question of the balloon barrage for London was raised in the House of Commons on
10th February 1937. Sir Hugh Seely wanted to know from the Under
Secretary for Air if a balloon barrage was going to be used for the air defence
of London and Mr Montague wanted to know if it was to be a permanent setup or
would it need declaration
of war before it was used. Questions were asked to determine the exact type of
balloon that was to be used. One M.P. wanted to know if it was the same as the
French Ariel balloon, avoiding a direct answer the Under Secretary replied that
it was not the Ariel type but one that was determined by the Air Staff to be
most suitable. Hugh Seely asked if it would fly at 8,000 feet. The
Under-Secretary responses were suitably bland to not give any secrets away. On
22nd March 1937, Sir Murray Sueter asked the Minister if the balloon barrage was
to be expanded to “other great cities”. In June 1937 Mr Harcourt Johnstone
wrote an article about the air peril that south-east England faced and what he
felt needed to be done about it. He felt that there needed to be updated
anti-aircraft batteries and balloon barrages in very major town.
In
August 1937 the Western Morning News ran an article based on a book by a German
named Heinz Liepmann entitled “Death from the Skies" which had been
translated from the German. This went into detail about the risk of gas and
bacteriological warfare by bombs dropped from the skies. Liepman gave a frank
opinion on the "balloon barrage" which it was proposed to place over
London. " This seems to me a wild-cat scheme. Would not the enemy aircraft
have their bombers led by machine-gunners, who would make short work of the
captive balloons, so that the huge steel net would fall upon the heads of those
it was designed to protect. " Apart from this, the bombers could drop their
bombs on to the net, tearing it and destroying it as if it were no thicker than
paper. Even if this net should catch a few of the enemy aircraft, and these,
consequently, crashed, the gas bombs, after all, would be delivered at the
appointed place."
Liepman
was basing his forecast on the balloon aprons of the Great War and had no idea
of the British plan to replace perimeter siting of balloon strung together
around a target with scattered field siting of individual balloons. Even so his
ideas reinforced the need in the mind of the public and government on the need
for gas masks. However, he was certainly correct about the potential for an
enemy to use machine guns to puncture balloons in an effort to clear the skies
of threats to German bombers.
By September 1937 much research had taken place into the design, function and practicality of a balloon barrage with British military and scientists venturing over to France to see the French balloon barrage in operation. In September 1937 the public could see ten balloons flying over Cardington.
A
torrential storm broke out and three balloons were struck by lightning and came
down in flames on the airfield. This brought much scorn and acted as a wakeup
call to the scientists advising the Air Ministry on balloon technology.
Lightning strikes were always going to be an issue.
In March 1938 Sir Thomas Inskip was talking of the future of the Air Force. As regards the balloon barrage he explained that there were ten London squadrons and four Depots for storage and administration were planned. In terms of manpower it was to be manned by volunteers in the Auxiliary Air Force. No balloon barrages were planned for areas other than London until the London barrage had been evaluated. The government announced that recruiting for the balloon barrage would begin in May 1938. All the balloon winches and 80% of the balloons had been delivered. An information bureau was set up outside the Mansion House and Draper’s Hall in early April 1938 for those who might want to join a London Territorial unit. On one day alone 2,000 people were dealt with and of that number 800 were interested in the new balloon barrage. In the newspapers pictures of the new barrage balloons were on view along with request for more men to join up. It was publicised that on Empire Air Day the public would be able to see the barrage on display. Empire Air day was held on 28th May 1938 on the wettest day of the year. There were 4,000 attendees at Cardington and one or two German spies in all certainty, hoping to be able to report on the level of air defence that Britain was producing! It is interesting and surprising to see the newspapers report in detail on the size, and capacity of the LZ balloon. It was reported that twenty balloons were in regular use for training and that the Cardington store contained between 800 and 900 spare balloons. It also explained that the winch vehicle was a 30 h.p. six-wheel Fordson tractor on which is mounted a Wild winch run by a 20 h.p. Ford V8 engine. The Brockhouse trailer was described along with the 36 red steel pressure cylinders. The units weighed 10 tons and moved at 30 m.p.h. They were crewed by 12 men and an N.C.O.
On
Tuesday 31st May 1938 the first 12 balloons were let up over London.
By day they were to be flown at 4,500 feet and by night at 1,000 feet
illuminated by a searchlight. It was planned to keep them aloft for a week. The
weather was seasonally good, and no major issues arose.
On 5th ,6th and 7th August 1938 the largest ever air exercises to test the defensive capability of England were begun. At 10 o’clock on 5th August 1938 some 2,000 men lay in wait across England attempting to detect 1,500 airmen. They were all volunteers and were taking part in the largest test of defences ever. An imaginary attacking force known as Eastland was to attack 24 English counties with 900 aeroplanes worth £15 million pounds. The weather on the 7th August was appalling and the exercise was terminated at 2.15 p.m. It was claimed that a balloon barrage was predicted to have caused losses to at least 25% of the enemy but quite how this figure was established is unknown. I suspect they were clutching at figures in the air!.
On
1st September 1938 the King made a proclamation for calling up the
Air Force Reserve and embodying the Auxiliary Air Force. “Whereas by the
Reserve Forces Act,1882, as applied to the Air Force Reserve and to the officers
and men thereof by the Air Force Reserve Order,
1924, it is, amongst other
things, enacted that in case of imminent national danger or of great emergency
it shall be lawful for Us by Proclamation, the occasion being declared in
Council and notified by the Proclamation if Parliament be not then sitting, to
order that the Air Force Reserve shall be called out on permanent service; and
by any such Proclamation to order a Secretary of State from time to time to give
and, when given, to revoke or vary such directions as may seem necessary or
proper for calling out the said force or all or any of the men belonging
thereto.”
On
6th September 1938 Sir
Kingsley Wood, Minister
for Air took up an opportunity to see the balloon barrage for the defence of
London at Kidbrooke R.A.F. Depot. He was able to see a revelation of the
defensive measures which were being taken against possible air attack by enemy
bombers. He paid a visit to the aerodrome to inspect the work of No. 1 Balloon
Centre, covering the south-east London area, during the afternoon he made a
speech of encouragement to the officers and men.
He
told the gathered throng that the building and equipment programme for the
balloon barrage of London was making good progress, and he hoped that in a short
while eight balloon squadrons would be in training. He appealed for 5,000
recruits. Clad in an aircraftman's blue Service overalls and rubber shoes, the
Air Minister crawled on his hands and knees into the gas bag of a kite balloon.
The balloon was inflated, the neck tied up, and he remained inside the gas bag
for several minutes examining the fabric for pin holes. He watched a
demonstration of a balloon being brought from its hangar, fitted to a winch
lorry, and let up. Sir Kingsley was met by Air-Commodore J. B. Bowen, commanding
the centre, and Sir Donald Banks, Permanent Under-Secretary for Air. At No. 901
Squadron he saw auxiliary airmen under instruction in knots, splices, and fabric
work. At No. 902 Squadron he saw mechanical transport sheds, where the airmen
were under winch instruction, and at No. 903 Squadron he saw men under
instruction in inflation of the L.Z. balloon, with which the centre is equipped.
Walking to the flying-ground, he saw a balloon " walked" from a
hangar, transferred to a winch, and paid out to its maximum height. This duty
was performed by men No. 901 Squadron, men of No. 903 Squadron being responsible
for the altitude test.
The
balloon centre at Kidbrooke in May 1938 was 1,500 men under strength. Similarly,
some 3,500 men are required to complete Nos. 904 and 905 Squadrons at Hook and
Surbiton, Surrey, Nos. 908, 909, and 910 Squadrons at Chigwell, Essex, and Nos.
906 and 907 Squadrons at Stanmore, Middlesex.
Eight balloons were flying at a low altitude over the aerodrome when Sir
Kingsley Wood arrived. Owing to official secrecy the method of making the
balloons lethal was not revealed. The press of the day seemed to be of the
opinion that the eight balloons on display would be linked to each other and a
net of wires would be hanging down which was the original balloon barrage idea
used in the Great War. Sir Kingsley said that the balloon barrage will play an
important part by forcing enemy aircraft to a height at which they can be
effectively attacked by fighters and guns," "In time of emergency the
balloons would be disposed of round London and flown at various points in the
Metropolis. The balloon barrage squadrons need some 5.000 recruits, and 1.500 of
them are required at Kidbrooke." Regular N.C.O.’s and airmen of the R.A.F.
had special training in order to act as instructors to the new balloon
squadrons.
The
London barrage was initially disorganised, to say the least, and within the air
force it was often referred to as “nobody’s child” as it seemed that no
one in the Air Ministry wanted to or knew how to get it made into a proper
functioning unit. The problem was that there were “too many cooks” involved
in the running of balloon command:
The
Balloon Development Establishment for recruit training at Cardington had been
under direct administration the Air Ministry.
The
two balloon centres, at Kidbrooke. and Chigwell, were then grouped under No. 30
Balloon Barrage Group, which was administered in turn by the R.A.F. Fighter
Command.
The
ten balloon squadrons were units of the Auxiliary Air Force.
None
of these organisations seemed to have total responsibility or total control over
the balloon barrage and it was indeed an organisation that had been more or less
made up as it went along and a hotch-potch had evolved. Sir Kingsley Wood told
Parliament that the balloon defence system would be extended to 12 provincial
centres. To meet this expansion and to unify its administration, the Air
Ministry announced the creation of a separate Balloon Command and the
appointment of Air Vice-Marshal Owen Tudor Boyd an Air Force officer commanding
all balloon organisations.
Boyd
was to bring in uniformity to officers in the ten balloon squadrons in London
not only in numbers but in relative ranks. Their disparity was illustrated with
the three County of London squadrons stationed Kidbrooke, each with seven
officers but in varying ranks.
No.
901 Squadron had a squadron leader, a flight lieutenant and five flying
officers.
No.
902 had a squadron leader, flight lieutenant, four flying officers, and an
acting pilot officer.
No.
903 had a squadron leader, two flight lieutenants, two flying officers and two
acting pilot officers.
On 6th October 1938 Londoners saw the balloon barrage over London and the balloons were left flying until 6 p.m. as a peace-time exercise. From Tower Hill some twenty balloons could be seen flying over the city.
The
Daily Mirror front page read:
” LONDON AIR DEATH WEB WILL SPAN SKY TODAY”.
Balloon over Welington Arch 1938
These
headlines along with the ability to see these silver sentinels floating over
London reassured many Londoners about the ability of these devices to reduce air
attack on the city. They were flown
from
Hyde Park Corner, Regent’s Park, the Tower of London, Grosvenor Square, Temple
lawn and Canning Town recreation ground.
On
the morning of 9th October, a daylight rehearsal of the balloon
defence took place. There were between forty and fifty balloons in the city but
on the day of the exercise only a small number of balloons were let up as an
exercise. Things went wrong, three balloons broke away and caused chaos due to
their trailing cables. The balloons broke away from Albert Docks, Belvedere and
Clapham Common. The Belvedere balloon managed to break windows and pull slates
off roofs and finally to trail the cable over the electric railway line and
caused a major power outage. This caused considerable train delays. Another
balloon broke free from the winch at London Road, Southwark and finally became
entangled in a nearby factory roof. The police made a safety cordon around the
factory until men from the barrage balloon squadron arrived to recover it. The
balloon from Clapham common was rescued by an army lorry that was able to tie
the balloon cable to the lorry bed and tow the inflated balloon back to the
Common. At 4 p.m. all balloons were grounded. The chaos was out down to loss of
light from cloud cover and unexpected high winds along with lack of experience
by the crews in handling balloons in built up areas. Up that point it was stated
that the men of the Auxiliary Air Force manning the London balloons had only
chalked up a total of six hours flying experience in the city of London. Later
in the evening a fifth balloon broke away and was later reported to be drifting
near Esberg in Denmark!
The
balloon crews learnt that having learnt to fly barrage balloons on the wide-open
airfield at Cardington was much easier than central London. The Air
Ministry stated that the exercise had been very useful, and they thought it
would be simple to rectify the cause of the accidents that resulted in balloons
breaking loose.
There
was much interest in an announcement by Sir Kingsley Wood, Secretary for Air
announce that a balloon barrage was to be provided for Birmingham with Balloon Centres
to be set up at Bristol, Manchester, Liverpool, Hull, Newcastle, Plymouth,
Southampton, Glasgow and Cardiff. A new £1,000,000 factory for
at Gloucester and would employ 3,000 people. It was revealed that part of
the local Golf Club course would need to be sacrificed to make way for the new
factory. With hindsight it is
surprising that the government never considered that it might not be prudent to
reveal the exact location of this new factory to the world. It may just be that
they were signalling to potential enemies that they were preparing the defend
the country by whatever means necessary.
The
London balloon defence exercise came in for much criticism from the public and
by the Air Correspondent of the Daily Telegraph and Morning Post. The
description “fiasco” was to be found in most of the newspapers causing much
embarrassment to those in the London squadrons. Much public concern was
expressed over what height the balloons would be flown at, but the government
was remaining somewhat tight-lipped about that.
On
the 11th November 1938 Squadron Leader E. Davis of the Hook Balloon
Barrage scheme in Surrey reported that one Squadron had 360 recruits out of the
524 required with a waiting list of 82 and the other had 200 recruits with a
very large waiting list. Those intending to join the Balloon Barrage scheme were
advised to not delay as the various Squadrons would soon be completed in
numbers. The
initial age limit was set at 25 years of age but had been put up to 32 years of
age because it was felt the young people should be working in other useful
areas.
With Christmas 1938 not far away, it was interesting to see adverts appearing for military toys including, searchlights that ran on batteries, a miniature rubber barrage balloon and a matching balloon barrage lorry. The barrage balloon had truly arrived and was to remain a classic symbol of air defence well into 1945.
Peter
Garwood December 2020