Why Are Military Balloons So Feared Today?

Check out our other Channel: / @simplehistory2
Become a Simple History member: kzbin.info...
Support us on Patreon: / simplehistory
Copyright: DO NOT translate and re-upload our content on KZbin or other social media.
Although the use of a spy balloon in 2023 was considered startlingly primitive, these lighter-than-a feather sacks caused an entire ‘balloonomania’ when they first began being introduced in eighteenth century France. Pilots risked their lives to prove their creations could be used for flight, with Jean-Pierre Blanchard even throwing away his trousers and jacket to keep his balloon afloat as he and his friend crossed the English Channel airborne. Yet, it wasn’t long before these marvellous spectacles, once wondrous spheres of colour in the sky, would be given additional roles. Ones as innovative tools for destruction, terror and intelligence gathering. Well… occasionally, of course.
SIMPLE HISTORY MERCHANDISE
Get the Simple History books on Amazon:
www.amazon.com/Daniel-Turner-...
T-Shirts
teespring.com/stores/simple-h...
Simple history gives you the facts, simple!
See the book collection here:
Amazon USA
www.amazon.com/Daniel-Turner/e...
Amazon UK
www.amazon.co.uk/Daniel-Turner...
/ simple-history-5494376...
/ simplehistoryyt
Credit:
Show Created by Daniel Turner (B.A. (Hons) in History, University College London)
Script: Jake Leigh-Howarth
Narrator:
Bryan 'Lazlo' Beauregard
"Balloons in the American Civil War." ACWS, Spring 2010.
Cho, Kelly Kasulis. "Timeline: A suspected Chinese spy balloon’s eight-day journey." WashingtonPost, February 5, 2023.
Czekanski, Tom. "Museum Acquires Item Related to the First African American Unit in Normandy." NationalWW2Museum, February 1, 2020.
Frazier, Kendrick. "The Roswell Incident at 70: Facts, Not Myths." Skeptical Inquirer, Volume 41.6, November/December 2017.
Haydon, Frederick Stansbury. Military Ballooning during the early Civil War. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000.
Klein, Christopher. "When Japan Launched Killer Balloons in World War II." History. Last modified February 6, 2023.
Leary, William M. "Robert Fultons Skyhook and Operation Coldfeet." CIA.
"Military Use of Balloons in the Mid- and Late Nineteenth Century." US Centennial Flight Commission.
Schwarz, Jon. "U.S. Sent “Weather” Balloons to Spy on China and the Soviet Union in the 1950s." The Intercept, February 7 2023.
"Sentinels of the Sky: The Persistent Threat Detection System." Lockheed Martin.
Smart, Jeffery K. "History of Chemical And Biological Warfare: An American Perspective." Air University.
"The History of Sky Lanterns." EpicFireworks, August 23, 2021.
Tiwari, Sakshi. "Russia Is Launching ‘Military Balloons’ With Corner Reflectors Into Ukraine To Exhaust Its Air Defenses - Kyiv." The EurAsian Times, February 13, 2023.
Whigham, Thomas L. "Brazil's "Balloon Corps": Pride, Desperation, and the Limits of Military Intelligence in the Triple Alliance War." Luso-Brazilian Review, Vol. 52, No. 2 (2015): 1-18.

[@noahboat580]

I never thought general mills would be in classified information, especially involving balloons

[@marksmant50gaming11]

Yeah I thought he was commander of the cereal division 😂

[@EGRJ]

@@marksmant50gaming11 No, you're thinking of Captain Horatio Crunch, USN. Who does wear Commander tabs.

[@WarPigstheHun]

General Mills, General Electric, General Motors, General Lee Speeking...

[@marksmant50gaming11]

@@WarPigstheHun lol that was a good one

[@ryo86ok]

I definitely got a good lesson in balloons from this video, but I must have missed where you discussed the video title - "Why Are Military Balloons So Feared Today?". ie. what effective detection or countermeasures exist & what the limitations and challenges are - resulting in them still being "So Feared Today".

[@ouroboricscribe3201]

Ah, so you too experienced the click bait effect.

[@HIFLY01]

They aren't that feared today otherwise the Chinese balloons for earlier this year would have not have crossed the whole continent

[@Dan.Hibiki]

They are so feared today because the government says so.

[@CoralCopperHead]

From the context, I'm guessing a better title would've been "Why Are Military Balloons So (Strategically Fearsome) Today?"

[@ramonnajar1974]

This video fails to address the real monster in the room, modern Chinese atmospheric balloons as an EMP delivery device...

[@splitrim509]

I'm so afraid of balloons I wont even use a condom

[@Angusblackllc]

Underated comment

[@johnathanczakel5195]

Laughing internally so hard! (L.i.s.h.)

[@Predator42ID]

Giggity.

[@supershadowan]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@poster5887]

Unfunny.

[@Cheez1000]

I forgot the Fulton balloons were a real thing for minute there. Thought I was watching Metal Gear lore.

[@anvi.a8976]

xD ikr, I was like this existed irl?!!

[@CoralCopperHead]

@@anvi.a8976 Yeah, it's kind of surprising, but up until MGSV dropped, the games all featured currently-existing technology at the time the game was set. It's just that everything featured was either bleeding-edge, in the prototype stage but was ultimately abandoned, only had prototypes that most failed or only 'kind of' worked, or were only theoretical at the time. MGS3 was my first big "oh cool, someone actually thought of that all the way back then?" moment.

[@ZaHandle]

@@anvi.a8976yep, except the abduction via balloons part

[@TheHammerGuy94]

This was also used in COD Blops Cold war. you need to evacuate Cuba via the fulton recovery balloon.

[@changsiah2]

Yeah I know so can't wait for those Resurrection project to happen but I want move on for now

[@Rylon321]

All I can think about when the observation balloon used in the Afghan War came up is the story Zack Hazard told of the officer who used the surveillance equipment to make sure his men weren't speeding in the base instead of using it to observe outside threats.

[@yoboikamil525]

same

[@lyndalepowell1225]

fun fact: those japanese ballons were the first ever intercontinental flying objects until the creation of the b-36 peacemaker

[@michaelwang1713]

so charles lindbergh and amelia earhart swam across the atlantic?

[@ihminen5820]

​@@michaelwang1713 Yes

[@amh9494]

The Hindenburg accident happened in 1937, the Zeppelin flew from Germany to New York and want the first. WTF are you on about?

[@25thBananaRepublic]

The Japanese ballon cause casualties but the U.S suppress the news from spreading until after ww2

[@ItsInThereFam]

​@@amh9494 hes talking about the chinese lanterns i believe.

[@smtoonworld]

*I’ve been following you guys for the past four years. I enjoy all your videos.*

[@maflones]

This video was pure clickbait and did not discuss "Why Are Military Balloons So Feared Today?"

[@alexanderleach3365]

During WW1 one American pilot became an ace for shooting down more than five reconnaissance balloons becoming an ace. He was known as the ‘Balloon Buster.’

[@paulparker8298]

Must’ve been right at the very end of ww1 coz murica played hardly any part of that war , just picked up the glory

[@ZaHandle]

@@paulparker8298could just be flying for the British or something

[@swamptalkpodcast8744]

@@paulparker8298 Americans flew in the war before the US joined. As volunteers for international forces. Britain, France had Americans mixed in with their ranks

[@junmanalili3086]

robbx

[@TCW838]

@paulparker8298 It's a Myth that the US "hardly played any part...". My 3x great Uncle was a Captain in the 94th Areo Sq., U.S. Air Corps, earning a French Croix de Guerre c, US Medal.of Honor with a total of 26 ariel victories. He was only in the war from 1917-1918. The US entry into the war was the decisive factor in the allied powers ending a stagnated war of attrition. Simply put, fresh troops in large numbers overwhelmed the Germans. That doesn't minimize what the UK, the French, and other troops had accomplished, it's simply a fact of history.

[@ambrnonya]

Fun fact: for a while, the US used that high tech blimp in Iraq meant to look for artillery positions to scan for... violators of the speed limit within the base

[@victorydrawsmanga4539]

I remember seeing the supposed Chinese spy balloon flying over my school and everyone stopped class and came outside to watch, we all were laughing and making fun of it- And here in Missouri, I have seen more hot air balloons then I ever had when I used to be in South Carolina... But the history of these balloons is rather interesting, considering it was first invented in China.

[@jamesmoriarty9433]

Pictures or it didn't happen.

[@noob-jy7zd]

​@@jamesmoriarty9433 yeah pictured

[@elxse4478]

Source : trust me bro

[@jakejake7162]

I wouldn’t put it past the Chinese to have had lidar on the balloon to scan the ground (essentially creating a 3d model of whatever it scans.) there’s an open source 3d lidar scan of the world currently (obviously sensitive places in multiple countries remain hidden) but they could just use those programs, scan the few areas that are hidden and then have a good picture of what the USA looks like in 2023. And that would just be one of many many many metrics that they probably measured along the way.

[@kittybellx3156]

@@jakejake7162 that’s what I imagine it was

[@iusefacebookalso]

Person in balloon looking down: IT'S OVER. I have the high ground.

[@Menaceblue3]

F-22: "You underestimate my power!"

[@TheHammerGuy94]

Monkey with a giant sized Ballista shooting Plasma glowing spiked Balls: *YOU UNDERESTIMATE MY POWER!!!*

[@JeanLucCaptain]

every aircraft and AA gun: YOU UNDERESTIMATE OUR POWER!

[@AutisticPlays]

​@@Menaceblue3 cringe

[@smtoonturkce]

*balloon has to be the oldest weapon still in use actively today*

[@princessmarlena1359]

But a big heavy rock still works! 🪨

[@silasgreene2479]

7:42 one of my favorite scenes in batman dark night is when the bat uses one of these to hitch a ride out of that Chinese bank

[@Daniel4646]

7:20: "Like something out of a James Bond movie." Fun fact: The Fulton retrieval system WAS actually used in a James Bond movie.

[@Rizu181]

i wonder how the first guy to shoot a enemy balloon felt and his teammates. were they like "I SHOT THE FLYING THING!" and the team was like "HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?!"

[@stevens9625]

Wow, I always thought the cigar balloons in movies like Saving Private Ryan were observation balloons. Turns out they are hoisting cables to prevent fighter strafing.

[@saibabu4842]

Good information😊

[@iambelvedere785]

No words can express how awesome simple history is

[@nicholasnguyen5181]

So that’s how the Fulton device was made… . Nice!

[@luisemoralesfalcon4716]

Those guys really are brave.

[@DiscoBallGaming]

We need to send the Goodyear blimp to China playing Lynyrd Skynyrd immediately with a case of Budweiser. give them a taste of their own medicine

[@terrygrossmann6125]

With the increase of inflation steadily rising. The ballon business looks good.

[@carmonajr18]

Another fun fact: during WW1, British Balloon pilots were known as "Balloonatics".

[@helium-379]

I mean baloons are so shootable. You wouldnt pop that sucker when you see it?

[@pyro104ever]

Not really that shootable. You're talking about shooting at a target with significant elevation above you if shooting from the ground. The bullet is going to be working against gravity even moreso than usual, so it will fall off rather quickly. Altitude and distance can provide considerable protection from incoming fire.

[@villeveikko1]

And if they shoot that in Alaska bay area there is to deep waters and when that continues flying it was too risky to shoot it above dense populaty because that balloon and its cargo was huge and the falling debree could land anywhere. They have to wait that the balloon is over South Carolinas shallow waters and then send the raptors

[@tamarakepreyeomgbuayakimi.2841]

Proceed to commit war crime, more like balloon crime.

[@C.A._Old]

*1:24** no way... OHHOHHHH... WHat a history!*

[@kirkdaley3441]

Fun facts :Japanese used ballons in ww2 carried by winds to hit a couple mid western states balloons reached as far as Iowa state

[@jamesborb4255]

Thanks to this video I discovered that MGS's Fulton system isn't science fiction

[@DEstin100]

7:48 He's coming too?, Roger that.

[@muhammadizzdanish2562]

Soldier:I fear no man,but that thing... (Balloon) it's scared me

[@GLASSMOSCOWANDBEIJING]

So I'm supposed to be afraid of a Chinese spy balloon whilst every 3rd teenager uses a literal Chinese spy app? I am pissed off that it managed to get so far into US airspace but it's miniscule

[@simplyaregularguy131]

It's nothing but a bunch of noise to rile people into voting for people who run on nothing but culture wars and empowering their rich donors

[@simplyaregularguy131]

@Rob was saying the only reason there's a lot of noise about those chinese spy balloons is because one party has hooted and hollared over them despite the fact that Mr [redacted] pointed out that something like tik tok should logically be of bigger concern considering how widespread it is compared to a few balloons with cameras that have limited range

[@fistedbiscuits7639]

Id say your priorities for national security don't have much real basis in reality.

[@TheOneManWhoBeatYou]

Except they're spying on American military sites, not you

[@simplyaregularguy131]

@@fistedbiscuits7639 What about a bunch of hillbillies shooting transformers like in Moore county or the ever increasing risk of cyber warfare on our aging infrastructure? I think our power grid needs to be heavily revamped

[@stevelucky7579]

Something hella sus with the mention of hot air balloons being used in the civil war. Considering hot air balloons being used in the civil war was almost never mentioned. So either it was a RARE occurrence or every teacher i have ever had, had conveniently left out this tidbit despite mentioning ships, submarines, and railroad.

[@sooryan_1018]

Thumbnail is another masterpiece 😂

[@Trexdude256]

I love these videos

[@SlyCooper1920]

4:42 Battlefield 1 Trailer

[@pabcu2507]

Call in the dart monkeys

[@cocacola4blood365]

The Fulton System actually looks like fun.

[@Banzaiiii2223456]

Big Boss: *Heavy Breathing

[@Emanon...]

10/10 for the title alone

[@jessecockrum5273]

I like that the pig got mad and attacked the people when it was back in the lab

[@sohambiswas674]

4:42 looks like its inspired from battlefield 1 trailer.

[@hanpolo2727]

I thought a Chinese spy balloon flew over my house, turned out it was my neighbours 30th birthday balloon. Lol.

[@OPgreif]

Greetings from Brazil. 🤝

[@bsjeffrey]

new innovative tech always instills great fear.

[@rommebernardcutamora]

Amazing Video

[@DeltaDemon1]

"Like something out of a James Bond movie..." Literally. It's the rescue method at the end of Thunderball.

[@lucaswitteveen4506]

Love the rise of nations theme music on the background

[@MasonTC]

7:10 I always wondered what exactly was happening in that one Battlefield 4 mission.

[@boser_ketchup3101]

The thumbnail 😂😂

[@crossfire7474]

What goes around comes around.

[@nickvinsable3798]

With that out of the way, do you know what the KZ-99 is?

[@alextucker5819]

Wow, I never knew Balloons played such an important part in warfare.

[@korbell1089]

3:20 So was it called the pantabaloon?😁

[@fidelcastro1706]

IT'S A WEATHER BALLOON

[@EndEverEsports]

“Snake? SNAAAKEEE!”

[@DangerousMoonwalkerOfficial]

Fun fact: the first hot air balloon was from London and flew over the city where everyone thought it was a monster and threw stones and pitch forks at it hitting it causing it to plummet thinking they killed it they tore it apart and pulled the pilot out and some people attacked him thinking he was a wizard

[@TheHammerGuy94]

when you realize the Monkeys in Bloons series send out Nuclear mortars, Giant Planes with 2 cockpits dropping payloads with all the napalm in the world, a Ballista Driver with Plasma Spike balls as ammo, an Aircraft Carrier with all the guns you could fit on deck the best Engineers with independently firing robot guns Boomerang Throwers that throw heat-seeking exploding Glaives, Ninjas with all the explosives, and countless shurikens and even a divine being... Just to kill... what? Balloons? it only shows these inflatables are no joke.

[@God-ld6ll]

they are scared of the noise it makes when popped

[@alejandrofrade325]

A slow moving, massive object that you can pop???

[@The105ODST]

Wait until you read about the Sask weather balloon incident in1998. It survived more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition from the Canadian CF-18 and several other NATO Air Forces

[@marrqi7wini54]

​@@The105ODST Yep balloons that are designed to go that high are extremely resilient. So you need a missile without explosives to bring it down.

[@alejandrofrade325]

@@The105ODST real hindenburg moment they had...hahaha

[@JeanLucCaptain]

The fact that you are made to waste a 400,000 missile on 12$ ballon is helarious and that china invented them hundreds of years ago really gives perspective.

[@Dread_Pirate_Homesteader]

It was a spy balloon and price was more then 13 dollars

[@JeanLucCaptain]

@@Dread_Pirate_Homesteader meanwhule Russia got to smoke a MUCH more expensive UAV to 20$ of cheap russian gasoline HEHEHE

[@Dread_Pirate_Homesteader]

@@JeanLucCaptain was pretty slick

[@Paul_George]

How do you animate the whole video and post a video per day

[@Spaghetti332]

It's terrifying to know that few years after this he might make a video of the battle of WWIII

[@annroousivakumar2819]

Assuming the owner of this channel is a man. He will probably be telling war stories about his service in WW3

[@rihan364]

BRASIL, É NOIS! Glad to see my country in my favorite channel...

[@user-ue5df1ms7g]

Well this is quite nce

[@asahearts1]

There's a surveillance balloon over Mar-a-lago right now. Not a joke. You can track military aircraft online. They have some surveillance drones over there, too, and there's a lot of traffic around Guantanamo. As far as trains there's movement from the northeast to DC, suggesting they're moving military vehicles to the capitol.

[@goodmusic4673]

ok

[@asahearts1]

@@goodmusic4673 ok

[@spyrofrost9158]

Seems rather... dystopian.

[@The105ODST]

There is a whole mess of military bases in DC.

[@kaelibw34]

Ok buddy

[@rewardunkind4541]

HE STOLE MY BALLOONS, WHY DIDN’T SOMEONE TOLD ME HE HAD ONE OF THOSE THINGS?!!!

[@jakevelasco4072]

That one test pig must have gotten some air

[@secretsquirrel1534]

Picture a couple of Blimps dropping Tsar bomba on England !!!

[@chazhartwayne6493]

0:30 YA BOY KONGMING!

[@Justapototo]

So we are all just gonna ignore the X-32 in the thumbnail

[@NoBody-kv3yd]

Will you please make a video about what it was life for the Vietnamese people during the war? I have a coworker who escaped during the war and I’d love a perspective on what it was like for her during that time and the years following.

[@samkangal8428]

99 red balloons🎶🎶

[@jonL88]

“It’s a UFO, Scully.”

[@warpartyattheoutpost4987]

You'll float, too.™

[@alternax9751]

woahh

[@julymonarchy7341]

Yoooo is that an XF-32 in the thumbnail?

[@murraysiegel5194]

Bro the thumbnail is crazy

[@princessmarlena1359]

🎵🎶”You and I, in a little toy shop…buy a bag of bal-loons, with the money we’ve got…” 🎈

[@MrGrimmydareaper]

Bf1 reference in the beginning?

[@cannonball666]

You left out the story of the 99 Luftballons

[@jeenyus720]

shoutout to sky pig

[@monsourtecson4582]

they can give actual sitrep.

[@blagojpejov4155]

Well balloons are becoming a threat

[@jaykillxreaperofdeath6967]

When the first balloon to balloon kill happens then I'll be impressed.

[@spyrofrost9158]

Fly up in a hot air balloon and poke it with a stick!

[@marrqi7wini54]

I believe there was a balloon gun duel in the 1700s. kzbin.info/www/bejne/nXW0oaSphMxmesU

[@villeveikko1]

Im sure that has happened allready

[@hoomstucked]

War… war never changes

[@andrewnguyen3863]

You guys remember that balloon parade ad from Clash of Clans? Well that didn’t age well😂

[@Paul_George]

Do you animate this in one day?

[@rinse2clean]

balloon vs no balloon

[@trippy999x]

Who knew a balloon would be the thing to break thru us air space 😂

[@ansonang7810]

LoL the picture bullet won't reach the balloon.

[@pyeitme508]

Wow

[@02suraditpengsaeng41]

Basically balloon never obsolete, above from a tank

[@jackholmesdiscovereranglos7891]

0:13 that’s a American Hobby Balloon being shot down 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@matopski9578]

People like that can't complain, if they couldn't be bothered to make a suggestion on which movie to watch.

[@linzabfb]

Certainly because of the popularity of Balloons TD

[@rulue8610]

Hot air balloons can also be used by the military for surveillance, scout, and sniping purposes. A single hot air balloon can carry one or two snipers aboard to pick off enemies from above.

[@azrulroyrosli3248]

Kirov reporting!

[@idkmyname12]

Americans are not afraid of it. It's that it is EXTREMELY suspicious that they would do such a thing, and even rude.

[@hughmungus5033]

Why is the landing gear deployed on the F22?

[@karenmindock1898]

Why does Winnie the poo love balloons so much?

[@startled_squid]

Is that a x32 in the thimnail

[@ProfessorDreamer]

Simple History can you do a video on John Locke and his ideology on Freedom and Liberalism.