Kite Gallery

Dropping from a Kite Balloon 1917

A British observer drops from the car of a kite balloon, attached to the parachute which is hanging over the side of the basket. His colleague has already jumped and is on his way to the ground. The observations balloons were tethered to the ground, but if a sudden squall were to blow up, there was the risk of the cable snapping and the balloon drifting over enemy held territory. In such circumstances, charts and instruments would be thrown out and then each observer in turn would make what was known as the drop out'. Hopefully they would land safely, and not behind enemy lines. Date: 1917

© Illustrated London News Ltd/Mary Evans

Kite Balloon Observers under fire

Victors by telephone: Our kite-balloon observers under fire. Two kite balloon observers on the Western Front relay information by telephone to the British batteries below about the position of enemy guns that are in turn targeting the balloon in order to prevent the observers passing on that information. In this particular case, The Illustrated London News reported that the enemy position was destroyed and both observers escaped, though their basket was riddled with shrapnel. Date: 1918

© Illustrated London News Ltd/Mary Evans

From the Balloon Observers Training Manual, WW1 cartoon

"All apparently natural features should be considered in relation to the general nature of the landscape, as the appearance of a hedge or even a solitary tree may be the cause of the discovery of a concealed battery." Cartoon by Bernard Hugh (one of a series on the subject) should a hapless observer in a kite balloon looking at a tree on the ground through his binoculars only to find that it is in fact concealing a battery and a shell is heading straight towards him. A light-hearted view of the dangerous job done by kite balloonists. Date: 1918

© Illustrated London News Ltd/Mary Evans