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Mar-May 2017 Spring 2017 Issue No. 6 Issue No. 6 Spring 2017 Mar-May 2017 # Content Page 1 A Japanese War Weapon and Don Piccard’s Famous Flight 2 2 New World Record: 82 Balloons Take Flight to Cross English Channel 5 3 World’s Largest Airship Achieves a Three-Hour Test Flight 6 4 Konyukhov Plans for High-Altitude Record Attempt 8 5 Exhibition Portrays Birth-of-Flight Era 10 Leak Causes Scientific Balloon and Space Observatory Payload to Sink 6 15 in Pacific Ocean 7 Fifty Years of Balloon-Borne Ozone Research 16 8 Balloon Fleet for English Channel Crossing on Amber Alert 18 Weather Not Favorable for March17th Launch; Balloon Fleet on 9 19 “Standby” Again! 10 Balloon Fleet for Channel Crossing on "GREEN" for April 7th 19 Office Location: Maryland, USA Contact Information: Ms. Sitara Maruf Phone: (240) 426-2040 Emails: [email protected] [email protected] Issue No. 6 Spring 2017 Mar-May 2017 1) A Japanese War Weapon and Don Piccard’s Famous Flight Some of these balloons were retrieved by the FBI. They were 33 feet in diameter, carried 33- by Sitara Maruf, 31st May 2017 pound bombs, and had a volume of 19,000 cubic feet. “In one way, the Japanese had assumed correctly that Americans are gossipy and so they would get news about the bombs hitting their intended target, but what they had not realized was that the American government planned very efficient censorship efforts, and except for a couple of brief reports, there wasn’t any mention in the US or Canadian press,” said Unsworth. This (mis)led the Japanese to believe that their balloon bombs had missed their mark, and they abandoned the operation in April 1945. While project FU-GO failed as an effective intercontinental bombing system, it reignited a passion for hot-air ballooning in Donald Louis Piccard (born 1926), who came to be known as the father of modern hot-air ballooning in the United States. Piccard was a navy balloon and Historic Balloon to Become Museum Exhibit in Michigan (Part 1 of 2) airship rigger in World War II, stationed at During World War II, the Japanese used writer, and retired history librarian at the Lakehurst, New Jersey. Born in the family of the knowledge of atmospheric science and lighter- Michigan State University. “They used their world’s most famous balloonists, the son of Jean than-air technology to attack US mainland from calculations and discovered that jet stream, and Jeannette Piccard, he had first flown in a November 1944 through April 1945. About which frankly was a big surprise to the balloon in 1933, when he was enlisted as “crew” 9,300 balloons strapped with explosives, called Americans.” by his mother, who was getting her balloon FU-GOs, were launched from Japan to ride a jet pilot’s license! In 1937, his parents made a stream –30,000 feet above and across the Pacific However, most balloon bombs fell short into the historic balloon flight to 57,579 feet into the Ocean–and hit North America. Pacific and out of the 300 that reached the United stratosphere and his mother became the first States, Canada, and Mexico, only a few woman to fly to the edge of space. exploded, and one caused a tragedy on May 5, 1945. A Sunday school teacher and five children were killed near Bly, Oregon when, on their way to a picnic, they came across one of the balloons and inadvertently set off the bomb. Photo before taking off on the 1947 FUGO The Japanese launched 9,300 balloon bombs to flight, shows Don’s mother holding homemade ride the jet stream across the Pacific Ocean “Statoscope” for showing minute altitude and hit mainland United States. 300 made it, changes. Don’s father observes. (The “statoscope” was a bottle with a U tube and one caused tragedy. containing colored fluid – as the balloon goes “They had a very active meteorological research up air bubbles out. As it goes down air bubbles program and they did a lot of experimentation in in through the U. You can see the change with a the pre-war era, which was military directed,” two-foot movement. Very low tech, but very said Michael Unsworth, World War II researcher Japanese FUGO balloon carried a 33lb anti- useful in flying the balloon.) Photo reprinted and personnel bomb with permission of Star Tribune, Minneapolis 2/20 Issue No. 6 Spring 2017 Mar-May 2017 At the Naval Air Station, Piccard oversaw the recovered FU-GOs. “The FU-GO balloons were probably one of the most efficient and most hazardous weapons that have been developed,” said Piccard in a phone interview. “But the Japanese knew they had poor quality fuses, and so they used two. If one fails, you have the other. And those that got here, were the ones that failed. Had they used three fuses, more balloons would have gotten here,” he said. According to Piccard, the question of war always comes down to economics. “Each FU-GO balloon cost $180 to have it in the air with those bombs, but it cost much more than that to shoot it down. And if it wasn’t shot down, it would have cost much more than that for suppression of any fires it started, so economically, it was a remarkable weapon.” Don Piccard’s flight. Photo shows Foshay tower on right and the Basilica on left. The Foshay Don Piccard-Known as the father of modern Tower was the only tall building in Minneapolis. It is now hidden by other buildings. It concerned hot air ballooning in US. Photo from Facebook Don, but he cleared it easily once in the air. Photo reprinted with permission of Star Tribune, Minneapolis When the navy had finished testing the FU-GOs, equipment and also to reactivate the sport and created, and some senior officers saw an Piccard was asked to haul these little known create interest in the sport of ballooning.” opportunity for publicity in a FU-GO balloon Japanese weapons to the dumpster and was given ascension. a property pass. Coming from a family with a He did not know how he would get it airborne, remarkable history in balloon experimentation, but he had dreams. But twenty-one-year old Piccard lacked a his fascination for the balloon was inevitable, balloon pilot’s license. He had flown over 40 In an article published in the May 2001 issue of hours in balloons but still needed two hours of and so he asked his senior officer if he could Air & Space Magazine, Piccard wrote, “There keep one. “Sure. Take it,” the officer replied. solo flight to earn the first Free Balloon Pilot were no civilian balloonists active anywhere in Certificate issued from the Civil Aviation “The balloon was captured enemy equipment America then. But, after the war, I became a Agency (now the Federal Aviation according to technicalities, and as part of the student in aeronautical engineering at the Administration). regulations of the time, the navy was able to give University of Minnesota—then the nation’s it to me for use,” Piccard said, adding that he was center of balloon research… I also joined the “I chose the Japanese paper balloon to make that not interested in any of the attachments of the Army Air Forces Reserve Officers Training flight,” he said. “It was a very well-made balloon but only in the balloon envelope. “I Corps (ROTC).” envelope and very tough. Ralph Upson studied it and said I had a 50 to 1 safety factor, which wanted to reuse the balloon for little bit of In 1947, the US Air Force was going to be scientific research and development of new means the envelope fabric was 50 times stronger 3/20 Issue No. 6 Spring 2017 Mar-May 2017 than it needed to be in a sport balloon.” The soil was another bang, bang, bang, as it landed,” tough envelope had weathered a Pacific he said. Crossing, but to change it to a manned flight mission, Piccard made several modifications. Did he receive a hero’s welcome? “Oh, I don’t think so,” he said with a chuckle. Many people came forward to get the project aloft, and the major sponsor was the Minneapolis Piccard’s ascension in the balloon was hailed as Daily Times who got the expensive hydrogen a big event and was covered well in the US and sand ballast. Area military units provided media. At that time, he was the only person in scraps of aluminum to make the basket, which he the United States with a balloon and a balloon did with the help of workers, at the University of pilot’s license. Minnesota medical laboratory, and the Fuller For decades, Piccard promoted ballooning as a Company even figured out a glue that would sport and hobby and his list of firsts is hold the Japanese mulberry paper. impressive, which also include original works in “They [the navy] were interested in seeing the building hot-air balloons and super pressure sport of ballooning reactivated. The army, air balloons. force, and the navy have always helped the sport His dare-devil flight in the FU-GO balloon of ballooning because they feel it is educational launched the modern ballooning era in the for aeronautics and beneficial to the military United States, but he could never fly old FU-GO forces. They have people who are active in the again. “The official papers that the navy gave me sport, and it is the same in the European Don Piccard’s basket on display at the to release it to my ownership were not countries,” said Piccard.
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