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Delving into the past, one story at a time — exploring historical people, places, and events that shaped our world.

World War I Caquot kite balloon in flight, showing stabilizing lobes and tether lines used for aerial reconnaissance and artillery observation.

Balloons Of War Part V Twilight Over The Trenches

High above the mud, wire, and shattered earth of the Western Front, tethered observation balloons swayed in the wind. To soldiers below, these elongated hydrogen-filled shapes—often likened to sausages—were a

Balloons of War, Part IV: Africa’s Skies and the Colonial Eye

When the balloon first rose over Africa, it was not over a battlefield, but as a spectacle. In 1798, during Napoleon Bonaparte’s Egyptian campaign, a hydrogen balloon was brought to

Balloons Of War, Part III: How Britain Turned Ballooning into Military Doctrine

By the mid-nineteenth century, military ballooning had already proven its value in war. France had used balloons during the Revolutionary Wars. The United States tested aerial observation amid the chaos

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