I have read somewhere of Barrage Balloons bringing down aircraft. I have no idea where or when though. If you look at old photographs of D Day, you will see lots of them over the ships. So, they must have been effective to keep using them for such a long time. They would've been particularly useful during beach landings by keeping straffing aircraft on their guard and above the balloons. When I did my first parachute jump it was out of one of these balloons. There was a basket hanging underneath and we jumped from that.
div>
Bookmarks