Aircraft of the Aces Balloon Busting Aces of WWI Osprey Books

Tethered balloons have been used for aerial observation since the French Revolution, but in World War 1 they reached their zenith as a means of providing a stationary observation platform above the battlefield. Although their hydrogen contents made them vulnerable, they could be quickly pulled down with mechanical winches, and were well protected by a cordon of anti-aircraft guns and nearby fighter aircraft. It took a special breed of daredevil to take on such odds deep in enemy lines in order to destroy a balloon, but the spectacle of a burning gasbag which assured confirmation instilled an obsession with going after them that other pilots called balloon fever. Balloon specialists such as Willy Coppens, Pierre Bourjade, Michel Coiffard, Maurice Boyau, Jacques Ehrlich, Anthony W Beauchamp-Proctor, Fritz Rth and Frank Luke were viewed by their comrades with a mixture of awe and antipathy. Nevertheless, they played a significant role whenever a local operation required depriving the enemy of his eye in the sky, and it was of some relief for other airmen to know that there was a balloon specialist in the squadron willing to volunteer for the job. The story of the balloon busters from both sides in WW 1 is told through a mix of first-hand accounts and expert analysis, which compares tactics, theatres of operation, aircraft types and the overall odds for success.