Balloon carrier
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Balloon carriers, or Balloon tenders were a type of ships equipped with balloon (usually captive, and usually used for observations), during the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Their development resulted from the inherent need for ships to have as broad as possible a vision of the surrounding waters, and the opportunity provided by the expansion of lighter than air technology. After several experiments, the type became formalized in the early 1900s, but was soon to be superseded by the developments of seaplane carriers and regular aircraft carriers at the beginning of World War I.
[edit] Early history
The first known usage of balloons from a ships goes back to July 12, 1849, when the Austrian Navy ship Vulcano launched a manned hot air balloon in order to drop bombs on Venice, although the attempt failed due to contrary winds.[1]
Later, during the American Civil War, about the time of the Peninsula Campaign, gas-filled balloons were being used to perform reconnaissance on Confederate positions, the battles turned inland into the heavily forested areas of the Peninsula where balloons could not travel. A coal barge, the George Washington Parke Custis, was cleared of all deck rigging to accommodate the gas generators and apparatus of balloons. From the GWP Prof. Thaddeus S. C. Lowe, Chief Aeronaut of the Union Army Balloon Corps, made his first ascents over the Potomac River and telegraphed claims of the success of the first aerial venture ever made from a water-borne vessel. Other barges were converted to assist with the other military balloons transported about the eastern waterways. It is only fair to point out in deference to modern aircraft carriers that none of these Civil War crafts had ever taken to the high seas.
[edit] The balloon carrier type
Balloons launched from ships led to the formal development of balloon carriers, or balloon tenders, during World War I, by the navies of Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, and Sweden.
About ten such "balloon tenders" were built, their main objective being aerial observation posts. These ships were either decommissioned or converted to seaplane tenders after the war.
