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One of the most iconic images of the D-Day invasion was taken shortly after the initial invasion itself. The image shows several LSTs (Landing Ships, Tanks) landed along the French coast, dozens of military vehicles moving away from them, and thousands of pounds of supplies and equipment being unloaded to support the continuation of the invasion. Over most of the ships, silvery, oval-shaped balloons float into the distance. These balloons, known as barrage balloons, may seem out of place in a large military invasion. But they were vital to the operation, and in the first wave of the invasion they were brought ashore by the brave men of the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion, the only unit composed entirely of African American soldiers to attack the beach that day. They provided ships and soldiers below with critical protection from attack by enemy aircraft and continued to provide insight into the US military's use of balloon technology.
Anti Aircraft Balloons
Barrage balloons protect dozens of ships on the beaches of Normandy as they offload men, materials and ammunition needed to expand beachheads. NARA 342-FH-3A17185-71287AC
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The US military was not always interested in the barrage balloon for military operations, and the development of the program took several decades. The development of barrage balloons began during World War I and was implemented by many European countries during the war. Britain invested in them as a defense against German bombing of London and other cities, while France used them to protect strategically important areas such as railways and aqueducts from air raids. Barrage balloons functioned as both passive and active means of air defense.
Obstacle balloons floating over an area prevented enemy aircraft from flying close enough to target the area directly from the air with bombs or fire. If enemy aircraft were determined to attack, the balloons forced them to fly at higher altitudes (fly over the balloons), making them more vulnerable to higher caliber anti-aircraft fire. The balloons themselves could destroy enemy aircraft, especially at night: the cables anchoring the balloons to the ground were difficult to see and posed a threat to any aircraft flying overhead. An aircraft caught in the cable could be slowed to a stop or a wing could break off.
After the end of World War I, the US military decided that it was important to focus on air defense research. In 1923, the United States Army decided to find out which anti-aircraft defense would be the most effective to develop. The Army Air Service argued that defense balloons would be a cheap and effective means of protecting strategically important locations such as the Panama Canal. The Air Service was authorized to develop barrage balloons for the military. However, this decision sparked an interagency dispute with the Coast Artillery Corps, which felt that barrage balloons would be better suited to the other anti-aircraft defenses they already had under their command. Ultimately, it was decided that the Air Service would be responsible for developing the burnout balloon technology, but the Coast Artillery Corps would actually operate the balloons.
Development of American barrage balloons was slow and suffered greatly from a lack of funding and a widespread lack of enthusiasm for the program. Between 1923 and 1939, there were only minor developments, and inter-service competition between the Air Corps and the Coast Artillery Corps continued for years. The advent of war in Europe in 1939 brought a new impetus to the development of barrage balloons, and on March 14, 1941, the headquarters of the US Army designated barrage balloons under the joint control of the Air Corps and the Coast Artillery. The service and the two units began to coordinate their efforts. One of the first decisions required of the Joint Command was where to establish a permanent training base for the barrage balloon battalions. The first and only base established for this purpose in the US was located near Paris, Tennessee and was called Camp Tyson.
Barrage Balloons Hi Res Stock Photography And Images
Although the Joint Command was in the process of developing barrage balloon units from almost nothing, the Japanese attack on the US Navy at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 brought the barrage balloon program to the fore. After the attack, Chief of Coast Artillery General Joseph A. Greene ordered an all-out effort to send three barrage battalions to the West Coast to protect key locations, including the Bremerton Navy Yard and the Boeing aircraft factory in Washington, D.C. Seattle, Washington. Lack of equipment meant that this task could not be completed until the spring of 1942. The Air Corps and the Coast Artillery Corps would continue to develop new equipment, new balloons, and new techniques. At the end of 1942, however, new recruits were most needed; this is where the story of the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion begins.
In late 1942, Camp Tyson, Tennessee became the home of barrage balloon battalions after units that had begun training elsewhere in the United States were transferred to the newly constructed camp. The camp would produce more than 30 barrage balloon battalions, including four that were composed entirely of African Americans: the 318th, 319th, 320th, and 321st Barrage Battalions. Each battalion consisted of 1,100 men and more than 50 balloons.
After basic training, the battalion began six weeks of balloon training, learning the skills needed to operate barrage balloons in combat. The balloons issued to these units were known as Very Low Altitude (VLA) balloons, about 35 feet long and operating below 2,000 feet. They learned to carefully fill the balloons with more than 3,000 cubic feet of flammable hydrogen gas, avoiding sparks or static electricity that could ignite them. They learned how to camouflage balloons, repair them, and generally maintain them on the battlefield. They also learned to attach and arm a small explosive charge to the cable that anchored the balloons to the ground. If an enemy aircraft struck the cable while in flight near the balloons, the cable would become caught in the wing and lead the explosive to the wing, causing an explosion.
After the recruits completed their balloon training, they ended their time at Camp Tyson with twelve weeks of weather forecasting training. Although not dangerous, handling 35m balloons in high winds or bad weather can be quite challenging, so recruits need to know what to expect.
Parris Island. Marine Corps Barrage Balloons. Up She Goes. A Barrage Balloon Takes To The Air Under The Capable Handling Of A Marine Corps Ground Crew At Parris Island, South Carolina. Special
After completing training, the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion went to England in preparation for the invasion of continental Europe. The 320th was just one of thousands of units preparing for the invasion and training for their special role. The 320th was deployed that day among more than 100 landing craft destined for Omaha and Utah Beach, leaving the security of the French coast to the US military. In England, inflatable balloons were inflated and attached to various ships participating in the invasion to cross the English Channel.
In teams of four or five, the soldiers of the 320s were tasked with transporting inflated balloons from the ships to the shore to protect the landing forces from expected German air attacks. More than 600 men from the 320th would be part of the assault force for this mission, most of which would land on Omaha Beach. As with most plans for the day, things went awry as soon as the battalion landed.
The bombardment of Omaha Beach by naval and air forces prior to the amphibious landings did not destroy as many German defensive positions as had been expected, and the first waves of troops, including the 320th, faced withering machine-gun and artillery fire. Most of the balloons were hit and destroyed before they could be removed from the ships, and the soldiers of the 320th struggled to survive. At Utah Beach, the men of the 320th did not encounter as many eddies as at Omaha, but they still lost balloons. They managed to get over 20 balloons onto the beach, but many of them were ordered off because some commanders on the beach thought the enemy was firing artillery. As Allied forces began to occupy the bridgeheads, the commander of the 320th Regiment, Colonel Leon C. Reed, scrambled to find his scattered soldiers amid the chaos, as well as any equipment that had survived the initial attacks.
It was imperative that the balloons be raised before dark, when most enemy air attacks were expected to arrive. Against expectations, the 320th was in a balloon at the east end of Omaha Beach at 11:15 p.m. on the night of June 6 and
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