Balloons At War: Gasbags Flying Bombs & Cold War Secrets

Even before he got his first balloon aloft in 1783, Joseph Montgolfier was thinking in terms of using it to launch a surprise attack on the English holding Gibraltar; in 2003 plans for anthrax-carrying balloons were discovered in Afghanistan. From Bonaparte's balloon corps to the present day, this illustrated history traces the military applications of balloons - in reconnaissance and surveillance, as barrage, or for dropping bombs - and describes their use in conflicts as diverse as the American Civil War and the Cold War.

J Christopher
Softcover large format 224pp with b&w photos and illustrations throughout