Abstract
AS soon as the war broke out, balloons, which had been so long forgotten by statesmen, were recalled to their memory by hundreds of projectors. Some of the schemes suggested were of the wildest description; and scientific men took advantage of this circumstance to reject everything connected with aëronautics. But surprises and reverses became so frequent in the French army, that it became evident that any apparatus able to carry observers would be considered as a preserver from such disgraces. As soon as it was clear that the Prussians were intending to besiege Paris, the Minister of War issued orders for the construction of a captive balloon, intended to watch the movements of any besieging army moving round the capital; but instead of having recourse to Mr. Giffard, the constructor of so many magnificent balloons, it was resolved to employ MM. Godard and Nadar. Paris was divided into aërial districts, the first being given to Nadar and the other to Godard. Nadar then received orders to establish his balloon on the foot of Buttes Montmartre, and Godard close to the Montsouris Meteorological Observatory on the banks of the small streamlet Bièvre, where it crosses the fortifications. The balloons intended to be attached were not made on purpose, they merely used old ones which were worn out; the gas-pipes were also not sufficiently large, and the gas-pressure was very low, so that when the first attempts at inflating were made, the Godard balloon took more than three days to be filled; and, when filled, was tossed so heavily by the wind, that it wras necessary to let the gas escape. Nadar was still more unfortunate, and could not arrive even at the inflating of his balloon, except after immense labour, by laying a pipe along the ground for aspace of more than 300 yards. Moreover, when the first balloon was floated, it was as late as the 4th of September. I then ordered Godard to continue his inflating process. Many scientific bodies met, and deliberated upon the modes of improving captive balloon ascents; but none of the members had ever ascended, and hence their practical knowledge was so small as to amount practically to nothing.
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DE FONVIELLE, W. Balloon Ascents for Military Purposes . Nature 3, 115–116 (1870). https://doi.org/10.1038/003115a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/003115a0