Operation Outward

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

Sorry for the error on the title.

[@CatmanFS]

No problem! Thanks for another great video!

[@davea6314]

The History Guy is NOT full of hot air about these balloons. (pun intended) 😁 I'll show myself out. Lol

[@goodun2974]

@@davea6314 , we should ask THG who it was that first floated the idea for this video. Was it done by someone sending up a social-media trial balloon? 🤔😁

[@goodun2974]

@@davea6314 , your comment came with strings attached! 🙂

[@MultiPetercool]

THG blows NPR and PBS away! Ken Burns is a piker!

[@athelwulfgalland]

I'd never once heard of this operation before either, hats off to you History Guy, as this definitely deserves to be remembered!

[@sueneilson896]

Pretty sure Mark Felton covered this on his excellent channel.

[@spikespa5208]

Consider myself a bit of a WWII reader. Haven't heard of this before. The more you learn, the more you find out there is to learn.

[@athelwulfgalland]

@@sueneilson896 Oh? I must have missed that video! I'll give it a search this evening. Thanks!

[@andyc6766]

@@spikespa5208 Specifically I have always considered myself an amateur WWII air power buff, and this was my first time hearing of this! Kudos to THG (and all others who covered this)

[@florianlipp5452]

The reason Germans didn't retaliate in kind is probably wind direction: wind direction over the Channel is almost always west or north-west.

[@MTTT1234]

I guess you mean it is coming from the West or Northwest.

[@forbeshutton5487]

They could have tried launching them from submarines in the Atlantic, but by then sitting on the surface, even at night was dangerous enough, with having "look at me" balloons overtop of the sub.

[@51WCDodge]

@@forbeshutton5487 They were to busy flying auto gyros from U boats Focke-Achgelis Fa 330.

[@MichaelOnines]

@@MTTT1234 Yes, a west wind comes from the west. That is the standard way meteorologists use wind directions.

[@GeoffTV2]

@@51WCDodge I saw one in a museum a few years ago. Up until then, I had no idea about those things.

[@jeffbangkok]

Playing Battlefield 1942 on a rainy Bangkok evening I watch the clock carefully for 7 PM THG arrival. Very grateful for WW 2 history I'd never heard

[@samjohnstone1356]

🎶one night in Bangkok 🎶😄

[@lonewulf44]

I think it awesome that you're playing battlefield 1942 in the year 2021 .. such an awesome game, too bad it wasn't released just a few years later when mass multiplayer really took over. Still waiting for that awesome world war II game that combines vehicles ship submarines carriers aircraft tanks and the infantry element all in a single package again.

[@nzkiwi9]

The first aviation related law in the USA was signed by George Washington. It required general citizenry to assist balloonists if they ever crash or need assistance.

[@rexfrommn3316]

I had read about this operation with British weather balloons run by the British Navy with rope and piano wire along with an incendiary device. The prevailing westerly winds made this balloon sabotage operation possible. I was relatively successful in relationship to the manpower and resources deployed to carry it out. I like things like this from history. Please keep making these videos on this subject. One point to mention is barrage balloons were actually quite effective against German V-1 flying robot bombs for guarding London against bombardment. One thing the history guy might like to cover was the Japanese camps in Manchuria called Unit 731. Most of those Japanese officers who did these barbaric experiments were protected by General McArthur from war crimedue to their knowledge of biological warfare. The US War Department did NOT want the Soviet Union gaining the tremendous amount of knowledge on diseases and biological warfare gained by the Japanese. The Japanese had special ceramic bombs carrying fleas from rats that carried a variety of diseases killing an estimated 200,000 Chinese in some experiments. The Japanese had plans for dropping these ceramic bombs on San Francisco and other West Coast cities with airplanes launched from submarines but the rapid end of the war made this impactical as Japan lacked the resources to carry these attacks out. Many of those Japanese officers had exceptional abilities becoming leading university academics, research scientists and head of Japanese companies in the postwar era including in the steel and automobile industries.

[@Mercmad]

According to Pavel Sudoplatov, the head of the NKVD under Stalin, the USSR were already making bio weapons in 1935.

[@johnstevenson9956]

Considering the huge volume of World War 2 history I've read, it just amazes me that I never heard a word about this!

[@thomasrussell5562]

After reading/learning about the Japanese use of balloons in WWII,when I was young ,my father mentioned that we ( as in the Allies ) used balloons as well in England. For some reason I never researched this topic further and somehow forgot about it until viewing this video from The History Guy - not only does it teach me something it also brings back the memory of my Dad telling me about it….thanks for bringing back memories that deserve to be remembered…

[@michaelc.6593]

I'm 60 year old man my grandfather has been gone for 35 years. When I listen to the history guy it takes me back to when I was 10 my grandfather was a great story teller. Makes me feel so good to know this lives on!!! Great story tellers deserve to be remembered I'll never forget!!!!!

[@angelachouinard4581]

Sadly, except for a few, storytelling is becoming a lost art. I'm just a tad older than you and my grandfather also was a great story teller. His favorite subject was history so I too love The History Guy.

[@TheAnimeist]

Democrats are great story tellers.

[@VosperCDN]

Very cool how an accident, and related incidents, turned into an actual weapon.

[@goodun2974]

Military balloons were inspired by politics; throughout history, armies marched off to war on the directions of a bunch of old windbags!

[@jed-henrywitkowski6470]

Literally lol.

[@goodun2974]

@@jed-henrywitkowski6470 There was a TV miniseries about World War II titled "On the Winds of War" some years ago. The Johnny Carson show spoofed it as "On the Wings of Whoopee!"

[@goodun2974]

@OCD Stig , no.

[@seatedliberty]

The cost of the program increased at an alarming rate over the years; officials blamed it on inflation.

[@otpyrcralphpierre1742]

I see what you did there....

[@Hrodn]

Groan.

[@jed-henrywitkowski6470]

Feels good to laugh irl.

[@Zombeegun]

Bwaaahhahahahah!!!

[@goodun2974]

Some bar-room genius, inspired by alcohol, came up with the idea. He was half in the bag at the time.😁

[@annatheinnotz4901]

Today is Feb. 2, 2023...and what a timely video!

[@larrybuzbee7344]

My mom was a US 'Wren'. She joined the CAP at 15 and spent 2 summers in fire watch towers on the Olympic Peninsula, watching for Japanese planes and balloons.

[@Swaggerlot]

The prevailing westerly winds in Western Europe would have largely precluded a German retaliatory operation (at least until the V1/V2 campaign).

[@captainskippy6622]

We are still using balloons. I was in Key West Florida three years ago and saw a large “Rocket” shaped balloon a few hundred feet in the air an hour or so before sunset. A local told me it was a radar picket to detect smugglers. Excellent history lesson as always Sir.

[@samiam619]

I saw them in use in Southern Arizona in the late 90’s for the same reason.

[@seannewton8386]

@@samiam619 Likely the Tethered Aerostat Radar System, in both cases.

[@SkipPletcher]

www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/assets/documents/2021-Aug/TARS_508%20compliant.pdf

[@MattH-wg7ou]

Saw them in Iraq and Syria this year. Tethered surveillance balloons that stay floating over Al Asad Air Base, Erbil, etc to protect the base from attack.

[@skyden24195]

Surprisingly enough, this is the second, but ONLY the second time I've ever heard about these balloons. I would agree, considering how many videos, documentaries, etc. that exist about WWII, these balloons definitely manage to somehow float under the collective radar.

[@CheshireTomcat68]

Ba dum, tish.

[@51WCDodge]

Just prior to WW2 the German's used Zeppilins to try elint warfare aginst British Chain Home and Chain Home low radar stations. The story goes the Britsh operators were appaled by German Navigation and had to be stricly told , No!! You may not radio to them thier actual posiitions.

[@markgraff8326]

Thank you. The History Guy, “The Great Educator”

[@tfp0052]

This was very interesting. I am an amateur military historian and I have never heard of this before.

[@andyhastings5950]

WOW, never heard about it!!!

[@dogstar7]

You have probably heard a lot more about it recently.

[@kevinbyrne4538]

Another balloon project: Project Echo (during the 1960s) was a system of balloons that were coated with aluminum and that were used to reflect microwave signals. As a kid, I remember seeing them in the sky.

[@ronfullerton3162]

There was one large coated balloon launched into space which they "bounced" radio and tv signals off of it to a achieve the first live broadcasts between the USA and Europe. It was large enough and reflected light good enough that the newspapers printed the balloon's passage schedule. And we kids would go outside and watch it cross the sky in it's orbit. We were truly in awe!

[@gus473]

@@ronfullerton3162 And now we, our kids and grandkids watch for the space stations, Iridium and Starlink and any other satellites that cross our piece of the night sky..... 👍🏼😎✌🏼

[@ronfullerton3162]

@@gus473 I know. And it is still fun and a thrill to see those things. It is fun to get way out into sparse territories and spend an evening sky watching. Can see a good number of passing items today. And occasional flash of sunlight off a solar panel is a treat.

[@djm61]

The Echo balloons were made of a new space-age material called Mylar that was made by a company in Northfield, MN called G.T. Scheldahl. I was the first kid to have pieces of aluminized Mylar to play with as my dad worked for them and brought some bits of it home for us to show off to all the other kids in town as we had watch parties to see the orbital balloons pass over at night. Great memories!!

[@ronfullerton3162]

@@djm61 WOW! You had an extra special reason to remember the echo. That is really a neat story you have. I know as an Iowa farm boy it was just such a thing to read about it, and then read the Des Moines Register for the passage schedule so that we could run outside and watch it silently pass across the sky. I was just in awe every time I watched. Then the "thrill" wore out for the adults, and they no longer printed the time schedule in the paper.

[@SuperWooba]

Weather patterns would impede any German balloon campaign.

[@RalphReagan]

Maybe against the Soviets?

[@eljanrimsa5843]

@@RalphReagan I can imagine a circular balloon campain against your respective neighbour to the East.

[@stumccabe]

Very interesting. Really an ingenious cost effective weapon.

[@shawnr771]

And one with very little risk to the crews.

[@KartiacKID]

Very interesting tidbit of history

[@kennyhagan5781]

Thanks for the Inkspots reference. That song is one of the amazing tunes you'll hear in the video game FALLOUT 3.

[@-jeff-]

Reminds me of the failures we had with the USAF's Radar carrying balloons in Operation Seek Skyhook in the late 70's to early 90's.

[@anecologistspeaks6422]

Fascinating. Thank you.

[@whitedomerobert]

History Guy, you are correct. I have not heard of this effort on the part of the British to slow the German War Machine. It shows how important every effort was during this time. Every concoction was weighed by cost and effect. The British and latter American ingenuity made use of every advantage of engineering, wit, and calculation to crush the enemy. We must include the minds and physical efforts of all the men and women of the free world, even those who did not know it at the time. Thanks again History Guy.

[@noahwail2444]

My dad grew up on a tiny island off the coast of Jutland, Denmark during the war. It was under occupation of a smal contengence of mostly elderly germant troops, equiped with KAR 98 rifles and a single MP 40. The only "heavy" weapon they had, was a MG 34, solely for shooting down balloons. My dad saw several beeing shot at, but I don´t recall him telling any was hit..

[@jed-henrywitkowski6470]

The woman who introduced footy to my state, is from your country. One night before a game, during some small talk Germany and the war came up. I don't know how to describe it other than her vibe changed. It was quite similar to what my aunt, who was born and raised in Poland, gave off when the subject came up at Thanksgiving dinner a couple years back. She lightened the mood and changed the subject by saying we look forward to beating them in football. I was born in the USA as was my father. I know why, however as an American I hate to admit, I don't think I reall get it... why you Euros are still sensitive about the mid twentieth century. On a lighter note, my cousin and a German-American girl are the only Euro-Americans at their job, so they will root for whichever European team is playing against an Arab team!

[@tomriley5790]

@@jed-henrywitkowski6470 Americans are still sensitive about the 18th century so... seriously the difference is this - world war 1, US 1 year of war 100,000 american casualties - 10 Million Russian Casualties 1 Million or so UK, 1 Million French. World war 2 - again 6 years of war for UK and France, 3 years of war for the US (which in the mainland was more or less at peace and never threatened with invasion - the war happened elsewhere). France spent 5 years under occupation. Poland wasn't really liberated until 1990, not to mention the holocaust. Another similarity would be how Europe has very little interest in the American Civil war, yet for the US it's seen as a key part of history.

[@Cheeseatingjunglista]

My Great Grandad was a Sergeant in WW2, in charge of a barrage balloon crew - they had three balloons per troop all mounted on the back of trucks - some I think were attached to permanent moorings - so that they could be sent to wherever they deemed to be needed. I have only vague memories of him myself, I think I was about 5 when he died. however, he had a diary and my Grandad would sometimes read parts out when some of his descendants gathered. Though Great Gramps was from a remote Scottish farm he had to travel to Aberdeen when he was called up, he was shucked by the size of it, he was moved on to London to actually serve. They were a motley crew, mainly older guys of people like my GG Pa who had been injured prior, none frontline capable, which may have added to the chaos he described - the balloons broke free a lot, cables snapping, winding gear breaking free of the truck bed in high winds - this seems to have happened to him at least THREE times, the winding gear, diesel generator, electric motor and very large drum with 2000 ft of steel cable wound around it - 3 tons ish - the balloon would blunder along driven by the wind, smashing anything in its path - a Police station was virtually destroyed in Plumstead, a Borough in SE London, on the path of the bombers heading for the docks and close to the Royal Arsenal, still making weapons and possibly even explosives in late 41/early 42. I always saw the possibility of a comedy book/show in his stuff, but the older generation saw it as showing incapacity on his part, something he, having only 1 leg, had struggled against all his life. I think they were wrong, given he was never demoted, discharged or even reprimanded shows that it was much more common than was originally admitted. Thank you so much for this, it shows my GG Pa was not incapable and that truth is the first casualty, but here looking back, we can see that it is history that deserves to be remembered!!! PS I have watched your show for years now, you only had a few hundred subscribers, so far as I recall or can see, for at least the last 3 years I have watched them as soon as you release em, not missed one - oops, not strictly true, I busted my arm and was in hospital for 3 days ( I bought a bicycle to keep me healthy, had it 3 months, fell off it, on my own, no collision and I have all my limbs)

[@rolandbogush2594]

Fascinating - I've never even heard of this activity. Thank you for explaining it so clearly!

[@charlesflint9048]

Thank you, I never knew about this until now. Very interesting.

[@sharonwhiteley6510]

You are NEVER too old to learn something. Thanks, History Guy.

[@johngreenwood1972]

The efficacy of balloons is blown out of all proportions.

[@gscott5778]

Plus - Very little human cost on the Allied side. Other than the accidental detonation of an incendiary, the story tells of a method of attack that had zero lives lost on the allied side. The unpredictable nature of the balloons flights meant that defending against them would have been extremely costly in terms of people and material required. A great little known story - Thanks again.

[@MrGray-dx8sw]

It's amazing to see how we went from balloons to drones.

[@hoodagooboy5981]

Only the History Guy could make a balloon fascinating.

[@deborahdanhauer8525]

I had no idea this even happened. That is something I say a lot on this channel. Thank you for that!🤗🐝❤️

[@ErstO1]

Back in the 70s while serving with the 82nd I went to England to earn my British jump wings. We jumped out of balloons, they told us they were surplus barrage balloons from the war with a small plywood platform hung underneath. Really fun, better than jumping out of a Huey

[@nickw7619]

Yet another piece of history I was unfamiliar with... I knew about the Japanese balloons trying to set light to the Forrests of the pacific northwest, but never that Britain had tried the same tactic. I wonder if that's where the idea came from. Thanks THG!

[@MarkVrem]

The Japanese used Balloons already in their war against China in the 1930s. To spread biological warfare sometimes.

[@IDNHANTU2day]

Thank you History Guy. I look forward every morning to your content.

[@richardlilley6274]

Thank you for sharing

[@mikeriley7296]

Thanks again ... learning something everyday.

[@c.joyceb.8991]

Very interesting moment in histpry. Thank you.

[@shawnr771]

Thank you for a lesson. I had never heard of this before today.

[@alanocarlossur9440]

Imagine my surprise when watching the latest History Guy video and he starts talking about Transmission lines, breakers, and tripping speeds. I work in the Generation and Transmission industry, these are things most people take for granted (until the power goes out). Also, the U.S. still uses balloons as observation platforms. We had one over RS, near the embassy in Afghanistan, when I was last there in 2018.

[@CAMacKenzie]

I had heard of Operation Outward, but had heard only of the wires intended to short out power lines, not that they included incendiary bombs. The German illustration with notes was interesting and informative of how to build a simple and storable firebomb. The Netze mit Brandflaschen (net with fire bottles), Brandsatz (burning part--presumably fuel), Trennsatz (separating part), and Zündsatz (igniting part). All that's needed is an indication of what exactly the igniting part held. One of the reasons the Japanese Fu-go balloons failed was that they were launched at the wrong time of the year, arriving in the US in November 1944 to April 1945, at a time when the forests were mostly too wet. The fact that many of the balloons actually reached North America suggests that the Japanese were already aware of the jet stream.

[@MontanaHarvestor]

Thanks Doc

[@slartybartfarst55]

"Adjusted for Inflation" had me chuckling - I mean, balloons & inflation go together!

[@jimm7346]

Best way to start the work week: some history guy with a cup of coffee. Thanks for all your content, dude!

[@Fred_Lougee]

Side note: possibly the most famous escaped balloon incident came in 1975 in London. Artist Storm Thorgerson, founder and owner of Hipgnosis, a graphic arts company which created numerous album covers, was shooting the photos for the forthcoming Pink Floyd album "Animals" at the decommissioned Battersea Power Station. The concept was for a giant pig-shaped balloon to be tethered over the station. However, as Thorgerson was snapping away the tether parted and the pig flew off into the London overcast. When the album was released the liner notes included pictures Thorgerson had taken as the pig flew away and reproductions of newspaper articles detailing the event. Winds that day were apparently easterly as the pig flew though the landing pattern for Heathrow, startling the crew of one inbound airliner.

[@solarforfuture]

very timely now 2023. i want one

[@punditgi]

Well done, History Guy!

[@Traderjoe]

I’m curious if this caused injuries and fatalities to people near these power lines. I can picture people trying to clear a road of a wire they see, only to find that it’s electrified due to being in contact with overhead wires further away

[@jessh5310]

FYI. There was a lady called Hildebrand who lived in Loughborough (UK). her first husband was killed when his truck touched a live trailing cable. after the war she married a soldier and moved to the UK. I heard this one morning whilst helping do her garden, I assumed at the time it was an escaped balloon but it may not have been.

[@MervynPartin]

Another gem of history. I have been to many of the locations from where these balloons were launched (including Landguard Fort) but this is the very first that I have heard of this operation, such is the secrecy culture that has endured here since WW2. So, thank you, History Guy, for your presentation.

[@StuSaville]

99 Luftballons floating in the summer sky Panic bells, it's red alert There's something here from somewhere else The war machine springs to life Opens up one eager eye Focusing it on the sky Where 99 Luftballons go by ~ Nena

[@g00gleminus96]

Hast du etwas Zeit für mich? Dann singe ich ein Lied für dich Von neunundneunzig Luftballons Auf ihrem Weg zum Horizont Denkst du vielleicht grad an mich? Dann singe ich ein Lied für dich Von neunundneunzig Luftballons Und dass sowas von sowas kommt Neunundneunzig Luftballons Auf ihrem Weg zum Horizont Hielt man für Ufos aus dem All Darum schickte ein General 'Ne Fliegerstaffel hinterher Alarm zu geben, wenn's so wär' Dabei war'n dort am Horizont Nur neunundneunzig Luftballons Neunundneunzig Düsenflieger Jeder war ein großer Krieger Hielten sich für Captain Kirk Das gab ein großes Feuerwerk Die Nachbarn haben nichts gerafft Und fühlten sich gleich angemacht Dabei schoss man am Horizont Auf neunundneunzig Luftballons Neunundneunzig Kriegsminister Streichholz und Benzinkanister Hielten sich für schlaue Leute Witterten schon fette Beute Riefen: "Krieg!" und wollten Macht Mann, wer hätte das gedacht Dass es einmal so weit kommt Wegen neunundneunzig Luftballons Wegen neunundneunzig Luftballons Neunundneunzig Luftballons Neunundneunzig Jahre Krieg Ließen keinen Platz für Sieger Kriegsminister gibt's nicht mehr Und auch keine Düsenflieger Heute zieh' ich meine Runden Seh' die Welt in Trümmern liegen Hab' 'n Luftballon gefunden Denk' an dich und lass' ihn fliegen

[@jamesmurray8558]

Gives new meaning now.

[@gus473]

🎈 When this was popular on the radio, after your heard the opening notes, there always was a moment of anticipation: Will they play the English or German-language version? 🤔 (We'd crank up the volume if it was the German version! 👍🏼😉✌🏼)

[@nathangreer8219]

Every American that ever sang along to the German version: Hmmm Hmmm Hmm Hmmm Hmmm Hmmm Hmmm Hmmm Hmmm Hmmm Hmmm Hmmm Captain Kirk Hmmmm Hmmmm Hmm Hmmm Hmmmm Hmm Hmmm Hmmm

[@lisafish1449]

Yup. That's where my brain went. God's teeth, I'm old!

[@Green4CloveR]

This reminds of the studies and experiments that were held in the U.S. to use bats during WWII. They thought releasing bats armed with bombs could be deployed to cause destruction in Japan. Fortunately for the bats, the U.S. government decided to focus its efforts toward the atomic bomb. During war, governments will try anything no matter how impractical to gain even a little bit of an advantage.

[@nates9536]

Hate to burst your bubble, but unfortunately for the bats, the first wave of bats all burned to death when one of the incendiaries detonated the night before the raid, and burned the entire hanger to the ground.

[@martyshannon7542]

This was tested at Dugway Proving Grounds Utah.

[@barrydysert2974]

Great fleshing out of this under reported episode of WWII. A+ (titular errata and all!) 😀 🙏 🖖

[@bryantsemenza9703]

Excellent information. Did not know that a unit was created just for Balloon disruption.

[@siggy6044]

I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire is a great song. I remember hearing it for the first time in the Fallout 3 trailer, and I've loved it since lol

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

Admittedly not quite as good when it is me singing it.

[@xaenon]

@@TheHistoryGuyChannel Trust me, partner. It could not POSSIBLY have been as bad as if *I'D* sung it.

[@markwoodger2]

I go to Waxham near Norwich every year on holidays, I've never heard of this.

[@leonardpodbisky6128]

The very interesting museum in The Pas Manitoba Canada has shrapnel from a Japanese balloon bomb that landed in a tiny community called Wanless during the war. Somehow that balloon made it over the mountains , across the prairies and pooped on that community which is north of the 53 parallel. No one was hurt and somehow the museum got some shrapnel, and from what I understand it came from the RCMP officer who investigated.

[@fastbike175]

Thanks

[@vvogt4252]

Great Video Brother! My Grandfather worked at the Naval Shipyard in Charleston,SC during WW2. My dad told me stories about what projects he was involved in. One was installing submarine nets and cables to try and catch or keep German subs from sneaking into our harbors . haven't read much about how effective the nets or cables were. I can only imagine what other methods were used to stop the Germans from getting to our shores.

[@beerdrinker6452]

I really appreciate the History Guy. Thank you!

[@w.m.woodward2833]

I'm impressed how such a simple and crazy idea ballooned into a significant cost-effective contribution that lifted the war effort to new heights.

[@markfilippone3845]

Thank you for informing me of my ignorance of these wonderful hidden tidbits of forgotten history!

[@trenthink]

@ 8:25 “The British feared that the Germans might respond in kind, but the Germans never did, for whatever reason…” The simple reason is that the prevailing high altitude winds are from west to east. If my memory is correct, the Japanese actually attempted to use bomb-laden balloons to attack the US, and actually had one or two land in the Pacific Northwest, but otherwise were unsuccessful.

[@nobody6546]

Always Great to Watch! Thanks!

[@summonersumnerus4364]

As a Brit I've heard of Barrage balloons being used but never offensively! Thank you for this wonderful tale of history.

[@pitsnipe5559]

Never heard of this until now, thank you for this bit of fascinating history.

[@gus473]

Didn't realize there were balloons "protecting" the Soo Locks! ⛴️

[@quintonmcqueen1382]

"let us do everything we can to inconvenience them in the slightest" love it

[@TestingPyros]

Amazing history!

[@attilathehen1555]

interesting! I never knew about this, even though I grew up a few miles from Waxham, during the 1960s and 70’s, my Dad was in the Home Guard a couple of villages away and his parents lived in the family home nearby!

[@ianstradian]

This reminds me of the development of a “bat” bomb, during WW2, essentially several thousand bats were fitted with small incendiary devices and then placed into small cardboard boxes inside a container that would have been timed to drop from a balloon over Japan. The bats once released would fly to houses and structures to hide. The incendiary devices would then set fire to the houses and structures, creating mass chaos and infrastructure damage.

[@jimaanders7527]

That sounded like a good idea to me. I guess there were some little "gotchas" that made it impractical.

[@ianstradian]

@@jimaanders7527 kzbin.info/www/bejne/mZSsp6GIqNaMZsU this is a good video about it.

[@JTA1961]

Thanks!

[@dunkilos3632]

History worth Finding! Thank you Peace

[@Ballinalower]

The common wind direction in Europe is West to East, and frequently North West to South East. So it was ideal for the British to send balloons against German occupied Europe and difficult for the Germans to retaliate in kind. Their equivalent were the V1 and V2 and even after the war the VW which Britons and some Americans bought and suffered as a result.

[@goodun2974]

Not sure which iteration of Volkswagen's you are referring to, the VW Beetle or the models that followed it, but having once worked on a number of British cars I can tell you that the electrical systems of those things were a nightmare and caused great suffering to anyone who owned one. I curse the name of Lucas Electric Works, aka the Prince of Darkness.....

[@Ballinalower]

@@goodun2974 In my life I have owned 5 VWs. The first 2 air cooled ones were okay except in the case of the van the tendency of the sliding door to fall off. The rest including a Syncro were a f.... disaster. I once had an MGB which I parked down by the Thames and the tide came up and covered it completely for a couple of hours. A few squirts of WD40 and it started and I drove it home. But I agree that a lot of British cars, like American ones, were shit. In the 1960s I made a TV documentary about the British car industry and a British executive actually said in an interview "Can you imagine any Englishman ever buying a car that was made in Japan?" LOL.

[@goodun2974]

@@Ballinalower , my folks had a VW camper-van for a couple years, around 1970; us kids thought it was great, and we took a couple of family camping trips up-and-down the East Coast of the US. It wasn't very aerodynamic and my mother in particular hated driving it so my folks sold it. In the late 70's and early 80's a number of my friends with very little money drove Beetles; ee had lots of fun trips in those little cars but they weren't much fun in the New England winter with barely any heat and very little bad-weather traction. As for British cars, I was a car stereo and alarm installer for a dozen years and worked on a number of TR7's, Spitfire, MG's etc, and even a Rolls, and the electric systems were horrid. Most of my audio sales coworkers drove VW's (Golf's, Jettas, GTI's, Siroccos), Audi's and Hondas, but I'm too tall to fit comfortably in any if those. So, you went Mudlarking in your MG? Or was it mudraking? 😁 By the way ex-pat British singer/songwriter/ guitarist Richard Thompson, who has lived in the States for decades, once wrote a song titled "MGB-GT". His reasoning was, why should American musicians have all the fun with their "Little Deuce Coupes" and their "crazy 'bout a Mercury Blues" and the sportscar driving "Little Old Lady from Pasadena" and the "Dead Man's Curve"? Thompson is probably better known for his song "1952 Vincent Black Lightning": " Now Norton's and Indians and Greeves'es won't do/ Ah, they don't have a soul like a Vincent '52....."

[@tomriley5790]

Even more Britons bought British made cars and were tortured as a result!

[@Ballinalower]

@@tomriley5790 There used to be a saying in Los Angeles that owning a Jaguar showed you were rich enough to afford two of them, so you had one to drive while the other was being fixed.

[@gdcartjr]

Rare that I hear something from ww2 that I did not already know.....kudos

[@frankthomas855]

Thanks for that informative episode. If I didn't see this video of yours, I never would've known!

[@lairdcummings9092]

News to me. Ingenious and highly efficient.

[@nilo70]

Always something new to learn here , Bravo !

[@declanoleary1]

Enlightened again , thank you

[@Brodym2433]

Great work!

[@anti-Russia-sigma]

The History Guy:”It was a great example of looking at cost vs. benefit.” Me:”Today’s military c. o.s should see the channel.Especially,US military c. o.s.Especially,this show.”

[@MarshOakDojoTimPruitt]

thanks

[@christophermcclure9392]

I had heard about this operation on another channel, but you always add fun tidbits about the people involved!

[@ALTruckerDad]

Everyone always hears about the German U-boats, but not much is ever told about US subs convoy raiding in the Pacific. One of those is the USS Drum. SS-228. She is credited with 15 ships, and over 80000tons of shipping tonnage sank, 8th highest in the entire US pacific fleet, and earned 12 battle stars. She was depth charges numerous times, even damaged several times, but always made it home. She even played a role in the famous Leyte Gulf campaign.

[@SteveF1967]

I’ve always held that going after Axis power grids would have been the most effective way to stop their war machine. Without power no factories or refineries would run. I would have targeted power plants and substations as well as coal and copper mines. I would have every partisan shooting transformers and other electrical equipment. Eventually it becomes circular. Without power they can’t even mine the copper and coal needed to manufacture, repair, and run power equipment, and factories everywhere would just stop working.

[@rickharold7884]

Wow. Awesome. My dad was in WW2 and talked about the Japanese balloons. He would have loved this story. Very interesting.

[@joespilman7333]

Tks agin

[@norfolkmountainman4332]

Cheers mate. I live near Waxham and had never heard of this before

[@HistorySkills]

I had no idea about this. Thanks for your research and your video.

[@TheQuickSilver101]

I'd never heard of this before and that's a shame. Thanks, History Guy!

[@zegotashalom3881]

Really enjoy your channel and the way you tell the stories, thank you for the truth.

[@drawn2myattention641]

The Brits used to have a charming expression, "and suddenly the balloon went up", to indicate something spectacular which gets everyone's attention. Must date from this period.

[@nickw6175]

landguard fort is still there a museum and a decent cafe nice place to visit.

[@MM-vv8mt]

Well done again, History Guy!

[@capt.bart.roberts4975]

Felixstowe Suffolk is on the East coast! Where I live is the South East Coast. Draw a perpendicular line from London to the South Coast, that's where you find my home town, helpfully done for you by The Greenwich Meridian, crossing the coast about six miles East of home.

[@capt.bart.roberts4975]

Still a story, I'd not heard of before, so as usual, thanks for your excellent long running series. I've a suggestion for a part of The Hundred Years War for you to cover. The time, during a lull in the ongoing war, a massed company of mercenaries marched on Avignon, then the site of The Papacy for reasons to arcane to get into here. Took The Pope hostage and demanded a ransom. So The Pope's tax collectors go out and squeeze the locals. Coming up with the money family quickly, well it is the medieval age, and The Pope was as big as it got next to god. This wasn't acceptable to the mercenaries, they demanded that he return the money, and that it came from church coffers. It would make a marvellous movie.

[@SMac-bq8sk]

4:33 ...The fluttering bowties on right side of the film clip adds a nice touch!

[@inisipisTV]

I remember Mark Felton did an episode regarding this Operation once. Still, a very interesting story largely forgotten by modern audience.