DISCOVERY 



79 



the source of disturbance. Other ships felt that they 

 had been Hfted bodily out of the water. 



Not a few convoyed ships owed their safety to the 

 towing of a balloon which was carrying no observers. 



FIG. 4.— TOWIKG FROM DESTROYER IN ACTION. 



The mere appearance of a balloon, empty or other- 

 wise, made it advisable for the submarine commander 

 to keep well below the surface. He was thus unable 

 to come to the surface to attack our ship. Decoy 

 balloons were just as effective in keeping the U-boats 

 beneath the surface. These were small and cost little, 

 and yet they deceived the enemy both as regards dis- 

 tance and object. 



Kite balloons are capable of being released from the 

 cable and given a free flight in the same manner as a 

 spherical balloon. A kite balloon of 33,000 cubic feet 

 capacity would reach an altitude of about 9,000 feet 

 or more with two occupants when free. 



Parachute descents afford, perhaps, the most thrill- 

 ing experiences of balloonists in war. The parachute 

 is to the airman what the lifebuoy is to the seaman — 

 a means of saving life. Two parachutes folded in cases 

 are always carried on the side of the balloon-car or 

 basket. These are attached to harness worn by the 

 occupants. A parachute is about 26 feet in diameter 

 .and is made of silk, so that it is easily folded into a 

 small bulk. If the balloon is attacked, or if, for any 

 jeason, it is necessary for the occupant to quit the 

 car, it is necessary for him to jump out. In doing so 

 his weight snaps a small cord, or operates a spring, 

 which opens the case and allows the parachute to glide 

 out. It is not till the parachutist has fallen about 

 200 feet that the parachute has fully unfolded, and is 

 •then able to support his weight. This takes several 

 .seconds, and consequently it is Tather a trying time 

 .for the parachutist. It is obvious that the folding of 



the parachute must be done with great care, and men 

 are specially trained for the purpose, and the man 

 who may have to do the jumping usually prefers per- 

 sonally to superintend this operation. There is a 

 parachute called the " positive-opening " one, in which 

 wooden ribs are automatically pushed out, forming the 

 dome. This has not been used extensively with kite 

 balloons. It is a recent development. 



The speed of descent with a parachute is about goo 

 feet per minute. As to his landing-place the para- 

 chutist has to trust to luck. At sea he would be 

 provided with a life-saving waistcoat, but on land he 

 must just hope for the best. Sometimes the observers 

 have drifted into the enemy's lines ; on other occasions, 

 after drifting towards the enemy's hne, a wind in the 

 opposite direction at a lower altitude has kept them 

 on the right side. 



One of the highest descents undertaken was made 

 by a well-known airman from a spherical balloon about 

 10,000 feet up. The writer was told by the pilot 

 that he was asked by the hesitating parachutist to 

 push him off the edge of the basket. It cost the 

 pilot nearly as much nerve to do this as to make the 

 descent himself. 



In France and Italy arrangements are made on 

 some balloons for the complete basket and occupants 

 to be released if necessary by the touch of a lever, the 

 whole being supported by a parachute making a free 

 descent. The gear has not found favour in this 

 country. One of the objections to the arrangement 

 is that in war an enemy gunner is less likely to attack 

 a helpless man deseending in a parachute, than a 

 basket 'containing men who might be free to use fire- 

 arms. Valuable instruments, and complete records 

 of observations made, are saved by the basket method 



FIC. 5.— B.\SKET METHOD OK DESCENT. 



of descent. This, of course, would induce the enemy 

 the more to shoot. 



Kite balloons are sometimes unfavourably compared 

 with airships, but a comparison of advantages is 



