Operation Outward - History and Development

History and Development

In 1937, the British carried out a study on the damage that may be caused by a balloon-carried wire hitting power lines, as there was concern over what could happen if a barrage balloon accidentally got loose. The idea of using balloons to carry bombs was proposed in the winter of 1939-1940. The balloons, launched from France, would carry transmitters and their position would be tracked by radio triangulation. The bomb would be released by radio control when the balloon drifted over a worthwhile target. The idea became redundant after defeat in the Battle of France put possible launch sites out of British control.

On the night of 17–18 September 1940, a gale broke loose a number of British barrage balloons and carried them across the North Sea. In Sweden and Denmark, they damaged power lines, disrupted railways and the antenna for the Swedish International radio station was knocked down, bearing out the findings of the 1937 report. Five balloons were reported to have reached Finland. A report on the damage and confusion reached the British War Cabinet on 23 September 1940. Winston Churchill then directed that the use of free-flying balloons as weapons against Germany should be investigated.

The Air Ministry initially produced a negative report, possibly because the Ministry of Aircraft Production felt balloons would be ineffective weapons and would use up too many resources. However, the Admiralty took up the idea with more enthusiasm. They concluded balloons had the advantages of being low cost and not placing British personnel at risk. The design of the German power grid made it vulnerable to damage by short-circuit. Large areas of pine forest and heathland in Germany made the countryside vulnerable to random incendiary attack and the Germans would be forced to assign large numbers of people to the task of fire watching, possibly diverting them from more productive war-work. Furthermore, winds above 16,000 feet tended to blow from west to east, making it harder for the Germans to retaliate with similar balloons.