Parseval-Sigsfeld kite balloon
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| Parseval-Sigsfeld kite balloon | |
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| German Parseval-Sigsfeld balloon near Équancourt, 22 September 1916 | |
| Role | Observation balloon |
| National origin | Germany |
| Manufacturer | August Riedinger Balloon Plant in Augsburg, Germany |
| Designer | August von Parseval and Hans Bartsch von Sigsfeld |
| First flight | 1898 |
| Retired | c. 1920 |
| Status | Dismantled |
| Primary user | Imperial German Army |
| Number built | hundreds |
Parseval-Sigsfeld kite balloon (in German Parseval-Sigsfeld Drachenballon) was a type of non-rigid military observation balloon, designed in 1898 by August von Parseval and Hans Bartsch von Sigsfeld. Its aerodynamic shape and the air capsule ensured a stable position thanks to the force of the wind, in a similar way to how kites are stabilized; for this reason it was known as the kite balloon (in German Drachenballon).
Aircraft was widely used as a main observation balloon type by the Central Powers armies in World War I warfare.
Design
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August Parseval, German airship factory owner and Hans Bartsch von Sigsfeld, German military officer,[1] had been experimenting with different balloon shapes since 1893, previously using spherical balloon shapes, which had been unstable in windy weather. Around 1898 they constructed a balloon with an elongated shape, equipped with stabilizers, later replaced by suitably shaped air chambers. Under the pressure of the wind (the permissible speed for the balloon was 10 m/s) it would settle into a stable position, with the canopy raised about 30–40° in the direction of the wind.
A two-person observation balloon had a tether with a volume of 760 m3. The envelope with a diameter of 6.68 meters had a cylindrical shape with semicircular bottoms. In the rear part of the envelope there was a stabilizer with a characteristic phallic shape, which was filled with air under wind pressure.[2] Volume compensation was regulated by ballonet.
Operational history
[edit]Positive flight characteristics pursued high command of the Imperial German Army to apply Parseval-Sigsfeld kite balloons for military service, as the Austro-Hungarian Army did so.[3] Type was then produced and used in large quantities during World War I not only by the German or Austro-Hungarian troops, but also by the French, who undertook its minor production based on captured examples under the designation Ballon Captif type G and the modernized type H.
Two balloons of this type were taken over by the Poles in January 1919 in the airship hall at Winogrady in Poznań. One of them was used for the first balloon ascent in independent Poland, which took place on July 23, 1919. As an outdated equipment it was then used for training observers at the Officers' Aeronautical School . In 1920, the balloons were replaced by Caquot type R balloons imported from France.[4]
Specifications
[edit]General characteristics
- Length: 27.54 m (90 ft 4 in)
- Diameter: 6 m (19 ft 8 in)
- Volume: 760 m3 (27,000 cu ft)
Performance
Armament
none
Gallery
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Austro-Hungarian Parseval-Sigsfeld during take-off preparations -
Parseval-Sigsfeld balloon of the Swiss Army -
British balloon-mother ship HMS "Manica" launches a Parseval-Sigsfeld balloon off the coast of German East Africa to locate German battery positions (c. 1917)
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Supf, Peter. "Bartsch von Sigsfeld, Rudolf Max Wilhelm Hans". Deutsche-biographie.de. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
- ^ Hearne, R.P.; Maxim, Sir Hiram Stevans (1910). "Airships in Peace & War". Internet Archive. John Lane Company. p. 63. OCLC 68833818.
- ^ Duschnitz, Alexander (1908). Der Oberste Kriegsherr und sein Stab: die k.u.k. Wehrmacht in Wort und Bild, 1908 (in German). Vienna: Verlag "Der Oberste Kriegsherr und sein Stab". p. 306. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
- ^ Morgała, Andrzej (1997). Samoloty wojskowe w Polsce 1918–1924. Warsaw: Lampart. ISBN 83-86776-34-X, pp. 226-227, 313 (in Polish)
Bibliography
[edit]- Ege, Lennart (1973). Balloons and Airships 1783–1973. Blandford Colour series - The Pocket Encyclopaedia of World Aircraft in Colour. Translated by Hildesheim, Erik. London: Blandfor Press. ISBN 0-7137-0568-X.
External links
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