@@davea6314 , we should ask THG who it was that first floated the idea for this video. Was it done by someone sending up a social-media trial balloon? 🤔😁
@@spikespa5208 Specifically I have always considered myself an amateur WWII air power buff, and this was my first time hearing of this! Kudos to THG (and all others who covered this)
I think it awesome that you're playing battlefield 1942 in the year 2021 .. such an awesome game, too bad it wasn't released just a few years later when mass multiplayer really took over. Still waiting for that awesome world war II game that combines vehicles ship submarines carriers aircraft tanks and the infantry element all in a single package again.
I'm 60 year old man my grandfather has been gone for 35 years. When I listen to the history guy it takes me back to when I was 10 my grandfather was a great story teller. Makes me feel so good to know this lives on!!! Great story tellers deserve to be remembered I'll never forget!!!!!
Sadly, except for a few, storytelling is becoming a lost art. I'm just a tad older than you and my grandfather also was a great story teller. His favorite subject was history so I too love The History Guy.
I had read about this operation with British weather balloons run by the British Navy with rope and piano wire along with an incendiary device. The prevailing westerly winds made this balloon sabotage operation possible. I was relatively successful in relationship to the manpower and resources deployed to carry it out. I like things like this from history. Please keep making these videos on this subject. One point to mention is barrage balloons were actually quite effective against German V-1 flying robot bombs for guarding London against bombardment. One thing the history guy might like to cover was the Japanese camps in Manchuria called Unit 731. Most of those Japanese officers who did these barbaric experiments were protected by General McArthur from war crimedue to their knowledge of biological warfare. The US War Department did NOT want the Soviet Union gaining the tremendous amount of knowledge on diseases and biological warfare gained by the Japanese. The Japanese had special ceramic bombs carrying fleas from rats that carried a variety of diseases killing an estimated 200,000 Chinese in some experiments. The Japanese had plans for dropping these ceramic bombs on San Francisco and other West Coast cities with airplanes launched from submarines but the rapid end of the war made this impactical as Japan lacked the resources to carry these attacks out. Many of those Japanese officers had exceptional abilities becoming leading university academics, research scientists and head of Japanese companies in the postwar era including in the steel and automobile industries.
After reading/learning about the Japanese use of balloons in WWII,when I was young ,my father mentioned that we ( as in the Allies ) used balloons as well in England. For some reason I never researched this topic further and somehow forgot about it until viewing this video from The History Guy - not only does it teach me something it also brings back the memory of my Dad telling me about it….thanks for bringing back memories that deserve to be remembered…
They could have tried launching them from submarines in the Atlantic, but by then sitting on the surface, even at night was dangerous enough, with having "look at me" balloons overtop of the sub.
The first aviation related law in the USA was signed by George Washington. It required general citizenry to assist balloonists if they ever crash or need assistance.
We are still using balloons. I was in Key West Florida three years ago and saw a large “Rocket” shaped balloon a few hundred feet in the air an hour or so before sunset. A local told me it was a radar picket to detect smugglers. Excellent history lesson as always Sir.
Saw them in Iraq and Syria this year. Tethered surveillance balloons that stay floating over Al Asad Air Base, Erbil, etc to protect the base from attack.
My mom was a US 'Wren'. She joined the CAP at 15 and spent 2 summers in fire watch towers on the Olympic Peninsula, watching for Japanese planes and balloons.
Surprisingly enough, this is the second, but ONLY the second time I've ever heard about these balloons. I would agree, considering how many videos, documentaries, etc. that exist about WWII, these balloons definitely manage to somehow float under the collective radar.
Just prior to WW2 the German's used Zeppilins to try elint warfare aginst British Chain Home and Chain Home low radar stations. The story goes the Britsh operators were appaled by German Navigation and had to be stricly told , No!! You may not radio to them thier actual posiitions.
@@jed-henrywitkowski6470 There was a TV miniseries about World War II titled "On the Winds of War" some years ago. The Johnny Carson show spoofed it as "On the Wings of Whoopee!"
History Guy, you are correct. I have not heard of this effort on the part of the British to slow the German War Machine. It shows how important every effort was during this time. Every concoction was weighed by cost and effect. The British and latter American ingenuity made use of every advantage of engineering, wit, and calculation to crush the enemy. We must include the minds and physical efforts of all the men and women of the free world, even those who did not know it at the time. Thanks again History Guy.
Great Video Brother! My Grandfather worked at the Naval Shipyard in Charleston,SC during WW2. My dad told me stories about what projects he was involved in. One was installing submarine nets and cables to try and catch or keep German subs from sneaking into our harbors . haven't read much about how effective the nets or cables were. I can only imagine what other methods were used to stop the Germans from getting to our shores.
Another balloon project: Project Echo (during the 1960s) was a system of balloons that were coated with aluminum and that were used to reflect microwave signals. As a kid, I remember seeing them in the sky.
There was one large coated balloon launched into space which they "bounced" radio and tv signals off of it to a achieve the first live broadcasts between the USA and Europe. It was large enough and reflected light good enough that the newspapers printed the balloon's passage schedule. And we kids would go outside and watch it cross the sky in it's orbit. We were truly in awe!
@@ronfullerton3162 And now we, our kids and grandkids watch for the space stations, Iridium and Starlink and any other satellites that cross our piece of the night sky..... 👍🏼😎✌🏼
@@gus473 I know. And it is still fun and a thrill to see those things. It is fun to get way out into sparse territories and spend an evening sky watching. Can see a good number of passing items today. And occasional flash of sunlight off a solar panel is a treat.
The Echo balloons were made of a new space-age material called Mylar that was made by a company in Northfield, MN called G.T. Scheldahl. I was the first kid to have pieces of aluminized Mylar to play with as my dad worked for them and brought some bits of it home for us to show off to all the other kids in town as we had watch parties to see the orbital balloons pass over at night. Great memories!!
@@djm61 WOW! You had an extra special reason to remember the echo. That is really a neat story you have. I know as an Iowa farm boy it was just such a thing to read about it, and then read the Des Moines Register for the passage schedule so that we could run outside and watch it silently pass across the sky. I was just in awe every time I watched. Then the "thrill" wore out for the adults, and they no longer printed the time schedule in the paper.
Another gem of history. I have been to many of the locations from where these balloons were launched (including Landguard Fort) but this is the very first that I have heard of this operation, such is the secrecy culture that has endured here since WW2. So, thank you, History Guy, for your presentation.
Yet another piece of history I was unfamiliar with... I knew about the Japanese balloons trying to set light to the Forrests of the pacific northwest, but never that Britain had tried the same tactic. I wonder if that's where the idea came from. Thanks THG!
Imagine my surprise when watching the latest History Guy video and he starts talking about Transmission lines, breakers, and tripping speeds. I work in the Generation and Transmission industry, these are things most people take for granted (until the power goes out). Also, the U.S. still uses balloons as observation platforms. We had one over RS, near the embassy in Afghanistan, when I was last there in 2018.
Plus - Very little human cost on the Allied side. Other than the accidental detonation of an incendiary, the story tells of a method of attack that had zero lives lost on the allied side. The unpredictable nature of the balloons flights meant that defending against them would have been extremely costly in terms of people and material required. A great little known story - Thanks again.
My Great Grandad was a Sergeant in WW2, in charge of a barrage balloon crew - they had three balloons per troop all mounted on the back of trucks - some I think were attached to permanent moorings - so that they could be sent to wherever they deemed to be needed. I have only vague memories of him myself, I think I was about 5 when he died. however, he had a diary and my Grandad would sometimes read parts out when some of his descendants gathered. Though Great Gramps was from a remote Scottish farm he had to travel to Aberdeen when he was called up, he was shucked by the size of it, he was moved on to London to actually serve. They were a motley crew, mainly older guys of people like my GG Pa who had been injured prior, none frontline capable, which may have added to the chaos he described - the balloons broke free a lot, cables snapping, winding gear breaking free of the truck bed in high winds - this seems to have happened to him at least THREE times, the winding gear, diesel generator, electric motor and very large drum with 2000 ft of steel cable wound around it - 3 tons ish - the balloon would blunder along driven by the wind, smashing anything in its path - a Police station was virtually destroyed in Plumstead, a Borough in SE London, on the path of the bombers heading for the docks and close to the Royal Arsenal, still making weapons and possibly even explosives in late 41/early 42. I always saw the possibility of a comedy book/show in his stuff, but the older generation saw it as showing incapacity on his part, something he, having only 1 leg, had struggled against all his life. I think they were wrong, given he was never demoted, discharged or even reprimanded shows that it was much more common than was originally admitted. Thank you so much for this, it shows my GG Pa was not incapable and that truth is the first casualty, but here looking back, we can see that it is history that deserves to be remembered!!! PS I have watched your show for years now, you only had a few hundred subscribers, so far as I recall or can see, for at least the last 3 years I have watched them as soon as you release em, not missed one - oops, not strictly true, I busted my arm and was in hospital for 3 days ( I bought a bicycle to keep me healthy, had it 3 months, fell off it, on my own, no collision and I have all my limbs)
My dad grew up on a tiny island off the coast of Jutland, Denmark during the war. It was under occupation of a smal contengence of mostly elderly germant troops, equiped with KAR 98 rifles and a single MP 40. The only "heavy" weapon they had, was a MG 34, solely for shooting down balloons. My dad saw several beeing shot at, but I don´t recall him telling any was hit..
The woman who introduced footy to my state, is from your country. One night before a game, during some small talk Germany and the war came up. I don't know how to describe it other than her vibe changed. It was quite similar to what my aunt, who was born and raised in Poland, gave off when the subject came up at Thanksgiving dinner a couple years back. She lightened the mood and changed the subject by saying we look forward to beating them in football. I was born in the USA as was my father. I know why, however as an American I hate to admit, I don't think I reall get it... why you Euros are still sensitive about the mid twentieth century. On a lighter note, my cousin and a German-American girl are the only Euro-Americans at their job, so they will root for whichever European team is playing against an Arab team!
@@jed-henrywitkowski6470 Americans are still sensitive about the 18th century so... seriously the difference is this - world war 1, US 1 year of war 100,000 american casualties - 10 Million Russian Casualties 1 Million or so UK, 1 Million French. World war 2 - again 6 years of war for UK and France, 3 years of war for the US (which in the mainland was more or less at peace and never threatened with invasion - the war happened elsewhere). France spent 5 years under occupation. Poland wasn't really liberated until 1990, not to mention the holocaust. Another similarity would be how Europe has very little interest in the American Civil war, yet for the US it's seen as a key part of history.
Another interesting piece of history I'd never heard about. Another excellent program! Might I suggest looking in Operation Hula? It is an interesting Soviet - American cooperative effort at the end of the war against Japan.
I had heard of Operation Outward, but had heard only of the wires intended to short out power lines, not that they included incendiary bombs. The German illustration with notes was interesting and informative of how to build a simple and storable firebomb. The Netze mit Brandflaschen (net with fire bottles), Brandsatz (burning part--presumably fuel), Trennsatz (separating part), and Zündsatz (igniting part). All that's needed is an indication of what exactly the igniting part held. One of the reasons the Japanese Fu-go balloons failed was that they were launched at the wrong time of the year, arriving in the US in November 1944 to April 1945, at a time when the forests were mostly too wet. The fact that many of the balloons actually reached North America suggests that the Japanese were already aware of the jet stream.
interesting! I never knew about this, even though I grew up a few miles from Waxham, during the 1960s and 70’s, my Dad was in the Home Guard a couple of villages away and his parents lived in the family home nearby!
Felixstowe Suffolk is on the East coast! Where I live is the South East Coast. Draw a perpendicular line from London to the South Coast, that's where you find my home town, helpfully done for you by The Greenwich Meridian, crossing the coast about six miles East of home.
Still a story, I'd not heard of before, so as usual, thanks for your excellent long running series. I've a suggestion for a part of The Hundred Years War for you to cover. The time, during a lull in the ongoing war, a massed company of mercenaries marched on Avignon, then the site of The Papacy for reasons to arcane to get into here. Took The Pope hostage and demanded a ransom. So The Pope's tax collectors go out and squeeze the locals. Coming up with the money family quickly, well it is the medieval age, and The Pope was as big as it got next to god. This wasn't acceptable to the mercenaries, they demanded that he return the money, and that it came from church coffers. It would make a marvellous movie.
Back in the 70s while serving with the 82nd I went to England to earn my British jump wings. We jumped out of balloons, they told us they were surplus barrage balloons from the war with a small plywood platform hung underneath. Really fun, better than jumping out of a Huey
Great as always! Very interesting story of wartime plannings. We now know that those kids who had the mischievous ideas for tricks in their youth had a place in wartime duties.
I'm a minor-league WWII buff, but I'd never heard anything about "barrage balloons" other than the name, a phrase I had misunderstood to mean manned dirigibles. Pretty inventive stuff! Thanks, History Guy. This was a pleasant first video of the month.
Not sure why or who would thumbs down this. Unless they were effected by said balloons? War does strange things to leaders on a whim something majestic becomes a war machine and not that good of one either. Honestly the only time balloons where used by the allied forces was when they used blow up tanks that tricked the Nazis to believe a great force was being assembled to invade them that was about the only time balloons did a great job. Great job as always I enjoy all of your videos.
Thanks for the snippet of history. I already knew about the Japanese and the US response with Bat Bombs. (I think you have covered these). Fascinating that the ballons worked well, as compared to either to Japanese ballons or the bat bombs.
Howdy THG!!! Thank You for your wonderful channel!!! My wife & I enjoy watching your programs. When we turn our TV on, yours is THE FIRST Channel that we check for new content. You even beat out HBO & Disney! 😄 We're concerned that lately, after two plus years of watching, we find our LIKES disappearing just after we select the Thumbs Up button. ??? What gives UA-cam??? We've complained to UA-cam without a response. We're concerned that you aren't receiving the legitimate, positive numbers to your channel's algorithm that you deserve!!! We're wondering if you've heard this from other viewers? Anyway, we wish you and your wife (and the kitties) MUCH success!!! Jeff
This reminds of the studies and experiments that were held in the U.S. to use bats during WWII. They thought releasing bats armed with bombs could be deployed to cause destruction in Japan. Fortunately for the bats, the U.S. government decided to focus its efforts toward the atomic bomb. During war, governments will try anything no matter how impractical to gain even a little bit of an advantage.
Hate to burst your bubble, but unfortunately for the bats, the first wave of bats all burned to death when one of the incendiaries detonated the night before the raid, and burned the entire hanger to the ground.
I’m curious if this caused injuries and fatalities to people near these power lines. I can picture people trying to clear a road of a wire they see, only to find that it’s electrified due to being in contact with overhead wires further away
FYI. There was a lady called Hildebrand who lived in Loughborough (UK). her first husband was killed when his truck touched a live trailing cable. after the war she married a soldier and moved to the UK. I heard this one morning whilst helping do her garden, I assumed at the time it was an escaped balloon but it may not have been.
I had heard of the Japanese attacks on West Coast of the US (and tragic deaths in Oregon) but first I heard of the Allies deploying similar devices. Thank you for sharing with all of us!
The very interesting museum in The Pas Manitoba Canada has shrapnel from a Japanese balloon bomb that landed in a tiny community called Wanless during the war. Somehow that balloon made it over the mountains , across the prairies and pooped on that community which is north of the 53 parallel. No one was hurt and somehow the museum got some shrapnel, and from what I understand it came from the RCMP officer who investigated.
Aye. Same thing with setting booby traps in the desert disguised as camel dung or dead rats. The idea being to - with a relative handful of such devices - make the german troops extremely paranoid XD.
Many military forces have utilized harassing attacks at night to interrupt the enemies' sleep thus degrade morale. The soviets had an all-female aviation unit flying obsolete biplanes. The pilots would cut the engines, glide over nazi postions in the night, and drop small bombs, causing little damage but causing already tired soldiers more sleep loss. The Germans called these pilots "night witches".
Sorry for the error on the title.
No problem! Thanks for another great video!
The History Guy is NOT full of hot air about these balloons. (pun intended) 😁 I'll show myself out. Lol
@@davea6314 , we should ask THG who it was that first floated the idea for this video. Was it done by someone sending up a social-media trial balloon? 🤔😁
@@davea6314 , your comment came with strings attached! 🙂
THG blows NPR and PBS away! Ken Burns is a piker!
I'd never once heard of this operation before either, hats off to you History Guy, as this definitely deserves to be remembered!
Pretty sure Mark Felton covered this on his excellent channel.
Consider myself a bit of a WWII reader. Haven't heard of this before. The more you learn, the more you find out there is to learn.
@@sueneilson896 Oh? I must have missed that video! I'll give it a search this evening. Thanks!
@@spikespa5208 Specifically I have always considered myself an amateur WWII air power buff, and this was my first time hearing of this! Kudos to THG (and all others who covered this)
Playing Battlefield 1942 on a rainy Bangkok evening I watch the clock carefully for 7 PM THG arrival. Very grateful for WW 2 history I'd never heard
🎶one night in Bangkok 🎶😄
I think it awesome that you're playing battlefield 1942 in the year 2021 .. such an awesome game, too bad it wasn't released just a few years later when mass multiplayer really took over. Still waiting for that awesome world war II game that combines vehicles ship submarines carriers aircraft tanks and the infantry element all in a single package again.
I'm 60 year old man my grandfather has been gone for 35 years. When I listen to the history guy it takes me back to when I was 10 my grandfather was a great story teller.
Makes me feel so good to know this lives on!!!
Great story tellers deserve to be remembered I'll never forget!!!!!
Sadly, except for a few, storytelling is becoming a lost art. I'm just a tad older than you and my grandfather also was a great story teller. His favorite subject was history so I too love The History Guy.
Democrats are great story tellers.
I had read about this operation with British weather balloons run by the British Navy with rope and piano wire along with an incendiary device. The prevailing westerly winds made this balloon sabotage operation possible. I was relatively successful in relationship to the manpower and resources deployed to carry it out. I like things like this from history. Please keep making these videos on this subject. One point to mention is barrage balloons were actually quite effective against German V-1 flying robot bombs for guarding London against bombardment.
One thing the history guy might like to cover was the Japanese camps in Manchuria called Unit 731. Most of those Japanese officers who did these barbaric experiments were protected by General McArthur from war crimedue to their knowledge of biological warfare. The US War Department did NOT want the Soviet Union gaining the tremendous amount of knowledge on diseases and biological warfare gained by the Japanese. The Japanese had special ceramic bombs carrying fleas from rats that carried a variety of diseases killing an estimated 200,000 Chinese in some experiments. The Japanese had plans for dropping these ceramic bombs on San Francisco and other West Coast cities with airplanes launched from submarines but the rapid end of the war made this impactical as Japan lacked the resources to carry these attacks out. Many of those Japanese officers had exceptional abilities becoming leading university academics, research scientists and head of Japanese companies in the postwar era including in the steel and automobile industries.
According to Pavel Sudoplatov, the head of the NKVD under Stalin, the USSR were already making bio weapons in 1935.
Considering the huge volume of World War 2 history I've read, it just amazes me that I never heard a word about this!
After reading/learning about the Japanese use of balloons in WWII,when I was young ,my father mentioned that we ( as in the Allies ) used balloons as well in England. For some reason I never researched this topic further and somehow forgot about it until viewing this video from The History Guy - not only does it teach me something it also brings back the memory of my Dad telling me about it….thanks for bringing back memories that deserve to be remembered…
The reason Germans didn't retaliate in kind is probably wind direction:
wind direction over the Channel is almost always west or north-west.
I guess you mean it is coming from the West or Northwest.
They could have tried launching them from submarines in the Atlantic, but by then sitting on the surface, even at night was dangerous enough, with having "look at me" balloons overtop of the sub.
@@forbeshutton5487 They were to busy flying auto gyros from U boats Focke-Achgelis Fa 330.
@@MTTT1234 Yes, a west wind comes from the west. That is the standard way meteorologists use wind directions.
@@51WCDodge I saw one in a museum a few years ago. Up until then, I had no idea about those things.
Very cool how an accident, and related incidents, turned into an actual weapon.
The first aviation related law in the USA was signed by George Washington. It required general citizenry to assist balloonists if they ever crash or need assistance.
We are still using balloons. I was in Key West Florida three years ago and saw a large “Rocket” shaped balloon a few hundred feet in the air an hour or so before sunset. A local told me it was a radar picket to detect smugglers. Excellent history lesson as always Sir.
I saw them in use in Southern Arizona in the late 90’s for the same reason.
@@samiam619 Likely the Tethered Aerostat Radar System, in both cases.
www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/assets/documents/2021-Aug/TARS_508%20compliant.pdf
Saw them in Iraq and Syria this year. Tethered surveillance balloons that stay floating over Al Asad Air Base, Erbil, etc to protect the base from attack.
My mom was a US 'Wren'. She joined the CAP at 15 and spent 2 summers in fire watch towers on the Olympic Peninsula, watching for Japanese planes and balloons.
The cost of the program increased at an alarming rate over the years; officials blamed it on inflation.
I see what you did there....
Groan.
Feels good to laugh irl.
Bwaaahhahahahah!!!
Some bar-room genius, inspired by alcohol, came up with the idea. He was half in the bag at the time.😁
Surprisingly enough, this is the second, but ONLY the second time I've ever heard about these balloons. I would agree, considering how many videos, documentaries, etc. that exist about WWII, these balloons definitely manage to somehow float under the collective radar.
Ba dum, tish.
Just prior to WW2 the German's used Zeppilins to try elint warfare aginst British Chain Home and Chain Home low radar stations. The story goes the Britsh operators were appaled by German Navigation and had to be stricly told , No!! You may not radio to them thier actual posiitions.
Thank you. The History Guy, “The Great Educator”
Thanks!
This was very interesting. I am an amateur military historian and I have never heard of this before.
Thank you History Guy. I look forward every morning to your content.
Today is Feb. 2, 2023...and what a timely video!
Thanks for the Inkspots reference. That song is one of the amazing tunes you'll hear in the video game FALLOUT 3.
Fascinating - I've never even heard of this activity. Thank you for explaining it so clearly!
WOW, never heard about it!!!
You have probably heard a lot more about it recently.
Military balloons were inspired by politics; throughout history, armies marched off to war on the directions of a bunch of old windbags!
Literally lol.
@@jed-henrywitkowski6470 There was a TV miniseries about World War II titled "On the Winds of War" some years ago. The Johnny Carson show spoofed it as "On the Wings of Whoopee!"
@OCD Stig , no.
History Guy, you are correct. I have not heard of this effort on the part of the British to slow the German War Machine. It shows how important every effort was during this time. Every concoction was weighed by cost and effect. The British and latter American ingenuity made use of every advantage of engineering, wit, and calculation to crush the enemy. We must include the minds and physical efforts of all the men and women of the free world, even those who did not know it at the time. Thanks again History Guy.
The prevailing westerly winds in Western Europe would have largely precluded a German retaliatory operation (at least until the V1/V2 campaign).
Great Video Brother! My Grandfather worked at the Naval Shipyard in Charleston,SC during WW2. My dad told me stories about what projects he was involved in. One was installing submarine nets and cables to try and catch or keep German subs from sneaking into our harbors . haven't read much about how effective the nets or cables were. I can only imagine what other methods were used to stop the Germans from getting to our shores.
Another balloon project: Project Echo (during the 1960s) was a system of balloons that were coated with aluminum and that were used to reflect microwave signals. As a kid, I remember seeing them in the sky.
There was one large coated balloon launched into space which they "bounced" radio and tv signals off of it to a achieve the first live broadcasts between the USA and Europe. It was large enough and reflected light good enough that the newspapers printed the balloon's passage schedule. And we kids would go outside and watch it cross the sky in it's orbit. We were truly in awe!
@@ronfullerton3162 And now we, our kids and grandkids watch for the space stations, Iridium and Starlink and any other satellites that cross our piece of the night sky..... 👍🏼😎✌🏼
@@gus473 I know. And it is still fun and a thrill to see those things. It is fun to get way out into sparse territories and spend an evening sky watching. Can see a good number of passing items today. And occasional flash of sunlight off a solar panel is a treat.
The Echo balloons were made of a new space-age material called Mylar that was made by a company in Northfield, MN called G.T. Scheldahl. I was the first kid to have pieces of aluminized Mylar to play with as my dad worked for them and brought some bits of it home for us to show off to all the other kids in town as we had watch parties to see the orbital balloons pass over at night. Great memories!!
@@djm61 WOW! You had an extra special reason to remember the echo. That is really a neat story you have. I know as an Iowa farm boy it was just such a thing to read about it, and then read the Des Moines Register for the passage schedule so that we could run outside and watch it silently pass across the sky. I was just in awe every time I watched. Then the "thrill" wore out for the adults, and they no longer printed the time schedule in the paper.
Very interesting. Really an ingenious cost effective weapon.
And one with very little risk to the crews.
Another gem of history. I have been to many of the locations from where these balloons were launched (including Landguard Fort) but this is the very first that I have heard of this operation, such is the secrecy culture that has endured here since WW2.
So, thank you, History Guy, for your presentation.
I had no idea this even happened. That is something I say a lot on this channel. Thank you for that!🤗🐝❤️
Yet another piece of history I was unfamiliar with... I knew about the Japanese balloons trying to set light to the Forrests of the pacific northwest, but never that Britain had tried the same tactic. I wonder if that's where the idea came from. Thanks THG!
The Japanese used Balloons already in their war against China in the 1930s. To spread biological warfare sometimes.
I really appreciate the History Guy. Thank you!
Best way to start the work week: some history guy with a cup of coffee. Thanks for all your content, dude!
Imagine my surprise when watching the latest History Guy video and he starts talking about Transmission lines, breakers, and tripping speeds. I work in the Generation and Transmission industry, these are things most people take for granted (until the power goes out). Also, the U.S. still uses balloons as observation platforms. We had one over RS, near the embassy in Afghanistan, when I was last there in 2018.
Well done, History Guy!
Always Great to Watch! Thanks!
I had heard about this operation on another channel, but you always add fun tidbits about the people involved!
Thank you, I never knew about this until now.
Very interesting.
Very interesting tidbit of history
Plus - Very little human cost on the Allied side. Other than the accidental detonation of an incendiary, the story tells of a method of attack that had zero lives lost on the allied side. The unpredictable nature of the balloons flights meant that defending against them would have been extremely costly in terms of people and material required. A great little known story - Thanks again.
You are NEVER too old to learn something.
Thanks, History Guy.
Well done again, History Guy!
Reminds me of the failures we had with the USAF's Radar carrying balloons in Operation Seek Skyhook in the late 70's to early 90's.
Great fleshing out of this under reported episode of WWII. A+ (titular errata and all!) 😀 🙏 🖖
Thanks for that informative episode. If I didn't see this video of yours, I never would've known!
My Great Grandad was a Sergeant in WW2, in charge of a barrage balloon crew - they had three balloons per troop all mounted on the back of trucks - some I think were attached to permanent moorings - so that they could be sent to wherever they deemed to be needed. I have only vague memories of him myself, I think I was about 5 when he died. however, he had a diary and my Grandad would sometimes read parts out when some of his descendants gathered. Though Great Gramps was from a remote Scottish farm he had to travel to Aberdeen when he was called up, he was shucked by the size of it, he was moved on to London to actually serve. They were a motley crew, mainly older guys of people like my GG Pa who had been injured prior, none frontline capable, which may have added to the chaos he described - the balloons broke free a lot, cables snapping, winding gear breaking free of the truck bed in high winds - this seems to have happened to him at least THREE times, the winding gear, diesel generator, electric motor and very large drum with 2000 ft of steel cable wound around it - 3 tons ish - the balloon would blunder along driven by the wind, smashing anything in its path - a Police station was virtually destroyed in Plumstead, a Borough in SE London, on the path of the bombers heading for the docks and close to the Royal Arsenal, still making weapons and possibly even explosives in late 41/early 42. I always saw the possibility of a comedy book/show in his stuff, but the older generation saw it as showing incapacity on his part, something he, having only 1 leg, had struggled against all his life. I think they were wrong, given he was never demoted, discharged or even reprimanded shows that it was much more common than was originally admitted. Thank you so much for this, it shows my GG Pa was not incapable and that truth is the first casualty, but here looking back, we can see that it is history that deserves to be remembered!!! PS I have watched your show for years now, you only had a few hundred subscribers, so far as I recall or can see, for at least the last 3 years I have watched them as soon as you release em, not missed one - oops, not strictly true, I busted my arm and was in hospital for 3 days ( I bought a bicycle to keep me healthy, had it 3 months, fell off it, on my own, no collision and I have all my limbs)
Fascinating. Thank you.
I had no idea about this. Thanks for your research and your video.
Never heard of this until now, thank you for this bit of fascinating history.
Didn't realize there were balloons "protecting" the Soo Locks! ⛴️
My dad grew up on a tiny island off the coast of Jutland, Denmark during the war. It was under occupation of a smal contengence of mostly elderly germant troops, equiped with KAR 98 rifles and a single MP 40. The only "heavy" weapon they had, was a MG 34, solely for shooting down balloons. My dad saw several beeing shot at, but I don´t recall him telling any was hit..
The woman who introduced footy to my state, is from your country.
One night before a game, during some small talk Germany and the war came up. I don't know how to describe it other than her vibe changed. It was quite similar to what my aunt, who was born and raised in Poland, gave off when the subject came up at Thanksgiving dinner a couple years back.
She lightened the mood and changed the subject by saying we look forward to beating them in football.
I was born in the USA as was my father. I know why, however as an American I hate to admit, I don't think I reall get it... why you Euros are still sensitive about the mid twentieth century.
On a lighter note, my cousin and a German-American girl are the only Euro-Americans at their job, so they will root for whichever European team is playing against an Arab team!
@@jed-henrywitkowski6470 Americans are still sensitive about the 18th century so... seriously the difference is this - world war 1, US 1 year of war 100,000 american casualties - 10 Million Russian Casualties 1 Million or so UK, 1 Million French. World war 2 - again 6 years of war for UK and France, 3 years of war for the US (which in the mainland was more or less at peace and never threatened with invasion - the war happened elsewhere). France spent 5 years under occupation. Poland wasn't really liberated until 1990, not to mention the holocaust. Another similarity would be how Europe has very little interest in the American Civil war, yet for the US it's seen as a key part of history.
Another interesting piece of history I'd never heard about. Another excellent program!
Might I suggest looking in Operation Hula? It is an interesting Soviet - American cooperative effort at the end of the war against Japan.
Weather patterns would impede any German balloon campaign.
Maybe against the Soviets?
@@RalphReagan I can imagine a circular balloon campain against your respective neighbour to the East.
I had heard of Operation Outward, but had heard only of the wires intended to short out power lines, not that they included incendiary bombs. The German illustration with notes was interesting and informative of how to build a simple and storable firebomb. The Netze mit Brandflaschen (net with fire bottles), Brandsatz (burning part--presumably fuel), Trennsatz (separating part), and Zündsatz (igniting part). All that's needed is an indication of what exactly the igniting part held.
One of the reasons the Japanese Fu-go balloons failed was that they were launched at the wrong time of the year, arriving in the US in November 1944 to April 1945, at a time when the forests were mostly too wet. The fact that many of the balloons actually reached North America suggests that the Japanese were already aware of the jet stream.
interesting! I never knew about this, even though I grew up a few miles from Waxham, during the 1960s and 70’s, my Dad was in the Home Guard a couple of villages away and his parents lived in the family home nearby!
Really enjoy your channel and the way you tell the stories, thank you for the truth.
Thanks again ... learning something everyday.
I do really enjoy The History Guy, keep it up!
Felixstowe Suffolk is on the East coast! Where I live is the South East Coast. Draw a perpendicular line from London to the South Coast, that's where you find my home town, helpfully done for you by The Greenwich Meridian, crossing the coast about six miles East of home.
Still a story, I'd not heard of before, so as usual, thanks for your excellent long running series. I've a suggestion for a part of The Hundred Years War for you to cover. The time, during a lull in the ongoing war, a massed company of mercenaries marched on Avignon, then the site of The Papacy for reasons to arcane to get into here. Took The Pope hostage and demanded a ransom. So The Pope's tax collectors go out and squeeze the locals. Coming up with the money family quickly, well it is the medieval age, and The Pope was as big as it got next to god. This wasn't acceptable to the mercenaries, they demanded that he return the money, and that it came from church coffers. It would make a marvellous movie.
"Adjusted for Inflation" had me chuckling - I mean, balloons & inflation go together!
Good morning THG. Glad to see that you survived Halloween.
xD funny thing is we had two crack-heads get in a firefight last night, one didnt make it... probably fighting over candy... -.-'
Back in the 70s while serving with the 82nd I went to England to earn my British jump wings. We jumped out of balloons, they told us they were surplus barrage balloons from the war with a small plywood platform hung underneath. Really fun, better than jumping out of a Huey
Thank you for a lesson.
I had never heard of this before today.
Great as always! Very interesting story of wartime plannings. We now know that those kids who had the mischievous ideas for tricks in their youth had a place in wartime duties.
Very interesting moment in histpry. Thank you.
Thank you for sharing
I'm a minor-league WWII buff, but I'd never heard anything about "barrage balloons" other than the name, a phrase I had misunderstood to mean manned dirigibles. Pretty inventive stuff! Thanks, History Guy. This was a pleasant first video of the month.
Okay okay re the morning
Excellent information. Did not know that a unit was created just for Balloon disruption.
Great story. Glad you have slowed your naration.
4:33 ...The fluttering bowties on right side of the film clip adds a nice touch!
This channel is great.
Cheers mate. I live near Waxham and had never heard of this before
I'd never heard of this before and that's a shame. Thanks, History Guy!
Thank you for informing me of my ignorance of these wonderful hidden tidbits of forgotten history!
I go to Waxham near Norwich every year on holidays, I've never heard of this.
Not sure why or who would thumbs down this. Unless they were effected by said balloons? War does strange things to leaders on a whim something majestic becomes a war machine and not that good of one either. Honestly the only time balloons where used by the allied forces was when they used blow up tanks that tricked the Nazis to believe a great force was being assembled to invade them that was about the only time balloons did a great job. Great job as always I enjoy all of your videos.
Wow. Awesome. My dad was in WW2 and talked about the Japanese balloons. He would have loved this story. Very interesting.
Thanks for the snippet of history. I already knew about the Japanese and the US response with Bat Bombs. (I think you have covered these). Fascinating that the ballons worked well, as compared to either to Japanese ballons or the bat bombs.
Always something new to learn here , Bravo !
Howdy THG!!!
Thank You for your wonderful channel!!!
My wife & I enjoy watching your programs.
When we turn our TV on, yours is THE FIRST Channel that we check for new content. You even beat out HBO & Disney! 😄
We're concerned that lately, after two plus years of watching, we find our LIKES disappearing just after we select the Thumbs Up button.
???
What gives UA-cam???
We've complained to UA-cam without a response.
We're concerned that you aren't receiving the legitimate, positive numbers to your channel's algorithm that you deserve!!!
We're wondering if you've heard this from other viewers?
Anyway, we wish you and your wife (and the kitties) MUCH success!!!
Jeff
The likes are still there after I like THG and some of the comments. Maybe that will make you feel better? Sounds like you have some sort of glitch.
As a Brit I've heard of Barrage balloons being used but never offensively! Thank you for this wonderful tale of history.
Thank you I had no idea of this. I had heard of the japanese FU-Go but not this British effort =)
Congratulations on 1,010,000 subs!
I'm impressed how such a simple and crazy idea ballooned into a significant cost-effective contribution that lifted the war effort to new heights.
The efficacy of balloons is blown out of all proportions.
It's amazing to see how we went from balloons to drones.
Wow. Awesome bit. Well done.
Fascinating information. Part of world war history I have never heard of despite living in the UK. Thank you
Excellent video! I had never heard of this operation!
Nice one! I'd never heard of this, it was a very interesting tidbit, Thank you 😊
This reminds of the studies and experiments that were held in the U.S. to use bats during WWII. They thought releasing bats armed with bombs could be deployed to cause destruction in Japan. Fortunately for the bats, the U.S. government decided to focus its efforts toward the atomic bomb. During war, governments will try anything no matter how impractical to gain even a little bit of an advantage.
Hate to burst your bubble, but unfortunately for the bats, the first wave of bats all burned to death when one of the incendiaries detonated the night before the raid, and burned the entire hanger to the ground.
This was tested at Dugway Proving Grounds Utah.
Thanks Doc
I’m curious if this caused injuries and fatalities to people near these power lines. I can picture people trying to clear a road of a wire they see, only to find that it’s electrified due to being in contact with overhead wires further away
FYI. There was a lady called Hildebrand who lived in Loughborough (UK). her first husband was killed when his truck touched a live trailing cable. after the war she married a soldier and moved to the UK. I heard this one morning whilst helping do her garden,
I assumed at the time it was an escaped balloon but it may not have been.
I had heard of the Japanese attacks on West Coast of the US (and tragic deaths in Oregon) but first I heard of the Allies deploying similar devices. Thank you for sharing with all of us!
Only the History Guy could make a balloon fascinating.
Great work!
It sounds crazy, right! But if it works, it's not crazy - it's brilliant... Great job just finding this long lost bit of History!
Nice to see you. Been a bit. Your looking healthy. Really like the gold tie and purple shirt. Aloha
The very interesting museum in The Pas Manitoba Canada has shrapnel from a Japanese balloon bomb that landed in a tiny community called Wanless during the war. Somehow that balloon made it over the mountains , across the prairies and pooped on that community which is north of the 53 parallel. No one was hurt and somehow the museum got some shrapnel, and from what I understand it came from the RCMP officer who investigated.
I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire is a great song. I remember hearing it for the first time in the Fallout 3 trailer, and I've loved it since lol
Admittedly not quite as good when it is me singing it.
@@TheHistoryGuyChannel Trust me, partner. It could not POSSIBLY have been as bad as if *I'D* sung it.
I like the idea of a weapon designed to just annoy and waste enemies time. Something very British about it.
Aye. Same thing with setting booby traps in the desert disguised as camel dung or dead rats. The idea being to - with a relative handful of such devices - make the german troops extremely paranoid XD.
@@jimtaylor294 The Germans booby trapped everything in Italy.
Some were time delayed for up to weeks.
@@shawnr771 True. Both sides in WWII had innumerate kinds of conventional and unconventional booby traps.
Many military forces have utilized harassing attacks at night to interrupt the enemies' sleep thus degrade morale. The soviets had an all-female aviation unit flying obsolete biplanes. The pilots would cut the engines, glide over nazi postions in the night, and drop small bombs, causing little damage but causing already tired soldiers more sleep loss. The Germans called these pilots "night witches".
That was fascinating! Thank you!