Airships past and present, together with chapters on the use of balloons in connection with meteorology, photography and the carrier pigeon . free fromimpurities, and the remaining three for drying the gas. Theballoon was filled on September 24th in five hours, and in theafternoon an ascent was made by the two officers, who werelater joined by an amateur from Cologne, named Dr. wind was too strong to allow of very exact work, and theballoon was consequently secured by a grapnel. Although everypossible precaution was taken to shelter it from the force of thewind, it was nevertheless
Airships past and present, together with chapters on the use of balloons in connection with meteorology, photography and the carrier pigeon . free fromimpurities, and the remaining three for drying the gas. Theballoon was filled on September 24th in five hours, and in theafternoon an ascent was made by the two officers, who werelater joined by an amateur from Cologne, named Dr. wind was too strong to allow of very exact work, and theballoon was consequently secured by a grapnel. Although everypossible precaution was taken to shelter it from the force of thewind, it was nevertheless much damaged, all the gas escaping. 142 AIKSHIPS PAST AND PRESENT. Before it was refilled Strassburg had capitulated, and orderswere received to move forward to Paris. The march to Paris was a laborious operation. All availablevans were placed at the disposal of the commissariat department,and so none were left for the balloonists. As soon as theyarrived in the neighbourhood of Paris it was found to beimpossible to refill the balloon, and the company was there-fore disbanded on October 10th, 1870, the balloon being sentback to Fig-. 88.—Steam winch for pulling in a captive balloon.(From Die Geschichte der Luftschifter-Abteilung.) The French also found them to be of doubtful value. At thebeginning of the war all proposals to employ aeronauts wererefused by Leboeuf, the Minister of War. Even the offers ofassistance from the celebrated scientific balloonist, Wilfrid deFonvielle, were rejected, and it was not till after the fall ofSedan and the old regime that the experience of the beginningof the century was turned to account. During the battle ofValenton, on September 17th, 1870, four balloons were sent captive balloons were used in Paris, but they did littlegood, owing to the winter fogs. On one occasion useful informa-tioi/with regard to some trenching work done by the Germans at BALLOONING IN THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR. 143 Pierrefitte was received. But on
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