Pen and Sword TBR Pile Review: Balloons and Airships, by Anthony Burton

This book tells the often dramatic and always fascinating story of flight in lighter than air machines. For centuries man had dreamed of flying, but all attempts failed, until in 1782 the Montgolfier brothers constructed the world’s first hot air balloon The following year saw the first ascent with aeronauts – not human beings but a sheep, a duck and a cockerel. But it was not long before men and women too took to the air and became ever more adventurous. The aeronauts became famous giving displays before crowds of thousands, often accompanied by special effects.

In the early years, ballooning was a popular pastime, but in the 19th century it found a new use with the military. Balloons were used to send messages out during the Siege of Paris and later found a role as observation balloons for the artillery. But their use was always limited by the fact that they were at the mercy of the wind. There were numerous attempts at steering balloons, and various attempts were made to power them but it was the arrival of the internal combustion engine that saw the balloon transformed into the airship. The most famous developer of airships was Graf von Zeppelin and the book tells the story of the use of his airships in both peacetime and at war. There were epic adventures including flights over the poles and for a time, commercial airships flourished – then came the disaster of the Hindenburg. Airships still fly today and ballooning has become a hugely popular pastime.

My Review

This book covers the development of lighter than air flight from the earliest attempts of monks with feathered devices jumping off towers, to the Montgolfier brothers’ first paper hot air balloons, the hydrogen balloons that quickly followed and on to airships as smaller combustion engines became available. The work to develop lighter than air travel came substantially from France and Germany, although Britain and the US weren’t far behind. There were many stops and starts in different places as economics, war, safety and technological developments dictated. Balloons have come a long way in 2oo years, and have become a ‘bucket list’ event or a novelty cruise for tourists, but new developments in hybrid airships can help with landing supplies in areas traditionally hard to reach.

The author has an extensive background in aviation and his commentary on navigation added to the depth of the subject covered, especially when discussing the long-distance flights of balloons and airships in the early 1900s and post-Great War. I found the whole narrative fascinating and spent two long periods just engrossed. And now I’m up way past my bedtime to tell you all about it.

Highly illustrated and printed on glossy paper, this is a book that looks good and feels good in the hands.

I originally picked this one for my next Pen & Sword review because it follows nicely from steampunk territory – airships, dirigibles and balloons are common tropes of the genre. I knew some of the information from Balloonomania Belles, but this brings it right up to date, including comprehensive discussions of the use of balloons and airships in war, especially World War 1.