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First Hot Air Balloon Flight
On this day, the first hot air balloon flight carrying passengers was completed. -
Civil War Begins at Fort Sumter
On this day, The Civil War started when Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter. -
Balloon Corps Idea Brought to President Lincoln
Salmon P. Chase (Secretary of the Treasury) and Joseph Henry (the first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution), suggested that the United States should create a balloon corps under the command of someones named Thaddeus Lowe. The purpose of the this balloon corps was to provide aerial reconnaissance for the Union Army. On this date, those three men met with President Lincoln to discuss the invention of the Balloon Corps. -
Lowe Demonstrates his Balloon to Lincoln
After Lowe met with the Presisdent, Lincoln wanted to see the balloon in action. Lowe flew his balloon - called the Enterprise- to a height of 500 hundred feet in the Washington Mall. Ironically this first flight was around where the Air & Space Muesen would be built. During this flight, Lowe took a telegraph machine with him, and sent Lincoln a telegraph. This would be the first ever aerial telegram. Lincoln loved the idea and personally introduced Lowe and the idea to General Winfield Scott. -
First Union Balloon Built
On this date, the first balloon designed for military use was built. It was called the 'Union'. Its only downfall was that it had to be inflated with natural gas from municipal lines which means the balloon could not be moved far. The Union was limited to operation in the Washington, D.C. and a few miles from the Potomac in Virginia. -
First Military Balloon Use
On this date, Lowe ascended to more than 1,000 feet near Arlington, Vigrinia. He began to provide intelligence on the Confederate troops that were located at Falls Church, Virginia, more than three miles away. Because of this, the Union troops were able to acurately aim and fire at those Confederate troops without actually being able to see them. This was a first in the history of warfare. After this event, General McClellan saw the balloons's potential and established the... -
First Military Balloon Use cont'd
potential for future use. He then established the "Aeronautics Department" or Balloon Corps that was under the control of the Topogrpahical Engineers. Also as a result of this event, Lowe was allowed to build 4 more balloons. You might think that this is when the US. Air Force began, but it actually was still apart of the Union Army. Technically is was the Union Army Balloon Corps even though it sounds kind of contradicting. The US Air Force actually wasn't started until 1949 after WWII. -
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Battle of Seven Pines
During the Battle of Seven Pines or the Battle of Fair Oaks, The Balloon Corps played a pivitol role in a battle that the Union claimed a victory. During this battle, (and others around the area) Lowe transmitted regular, sometimes hourly, reports on the Confederate Troops. By this time, the Balloon Corps had 7 ballons: the Intrepid, Constitution, United States, Washington, Eagle, Excelsior, and the original Union Balloon. -
The End of the Corps
During a battle, the Union forces had to retreat to an area that was very swampy. Because of this, Lowe got Malaria. He had to go back to Washington, D.C. for a month. When he was better and ready to return to service, all of his eqiupment was returned to the Army Qurtermaster. He was essentially out of a job. He was ordered to join the Army at the Battle of Antietam, but didn't arrive until the South had already started their retreat. On this date, the Balloon Corps was decomissioned. -
End of the Balloon Corps (cont'd)
Eventually the Balloon Corps was handed over to the Army Corps of Engineers where the commander did not appreciate Lowe (who was a civilian) getting paid more than him. The commander lowered his pay from $10 to $3. On this date, Lowe left "military servece" and continued work in the private sector. -
End of the Civil War
Although the Balloon Corps had quite a bit of success for a new idea, it was not very appreciated by the military. They were observed as circus acts by enlisted men. They thought they were a bunch of civilians who had no place in the military. On the other hand, the generals greatly appreciated them because their reputations and jobs were on the line at every battle. -
First US Military Desgined Drone
During the year of 1917, two people started to design a pilotless airplane that could carry a 300lb. bomb 50 miles. During the 1920s-40s, pilotless aircraft were mainly used for training us "dumb" targets. This was mainly becasue radios were still a devleoping technolgy so were not yet applied to airplanes. They were just starting to be applied to bombs a litle before WWII. -
Operation Aphrodite
In the year of 1944, an operation was started by the United States Air Force, and Navy. The proposition was to have old airplanes stripped down, and filled with bombs. Pilots would take off from Englad, and fly to their target, then they would bail out of the airplane and then the airplane, that was also outfitted with TV cameras, would fly via remote control to their target. The operation ultimately failed and was never really successful. -
"Pilotless Aircraft" Branch formed
In 1946, a "Pilotless Aircraft Branch" was formed in the USAF. -
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Vietnam War
During the Vietnam War, pilotless aircraft were used a lot more fro air recon. The aircraft were outfitted with surveying technology that could record data about the ground that was beneath them. -
U-2s Replaced with Pilotless Aircraft
In 1964, the US replaced the U2 (not the band) spyplane with an unmanned aircraft. These pilotless aircraft were used to preform recon from the air over Cuba and China. This was one of the first times pilotless aircraft were used for recon since the Civil War. -
First Air Recon Squadron Formed
In 1995, The US Air Force formed the first Air Recon Squadron dedicated to Air Recon with a pilotless aircraft. They flew the UAV known as the predetor. -
Today
Today, there are many advancements in UAVs. Now soldiers on the ground are trained to fly mini UAVs that allow them to see the enemy before they are seen. UAVs continue to change the face of warfare, and the UAV program might not be where it is today had it not been for the Balloon Corps during the Civil War because the potential was not seen until then. -
Bibliogrpahy
Sources:
"Civil War Ballooning." Civil War Trust. Web. 25 Jan. 2015. Ian G. R. Shaw, (2014), “The Rise of the Predator Empire: Tracing the History of U.S. Drones”, Understanding Empire, https://understandingempire.wordpress.com/2-0-a-brief-history-of-u-s-drones/ History of the Union. "Army Balloon Corps." History of The Union. Web. 25 Jan. 2015.
