An incendiary balloon (or balloon bomb) is a balloon inflated with a lighter-than-air gas such as hot air, hydrogen, or helium, that has a bomb, incendiary device, or Molotov cocktail attached. The balloon is carried by the prevailing winds to the target area, where it falls or releases its payload.
In 1792, Joseph-Michel Montgolfier suggested using balloons for bombing British forces in Toulon. [1] In 1807, Denmark tried to build a dirigible to bomb British ships blockading Copenhagen. [2] In 1846 a British board rejected as impractical a bombing design by Samuel Alfred Warner. [3] Attempts by Henry Tracey Coxwell to interest the British government a few years later were rejected as well. [3]
In 1847, John Wise proposed the use of balloon bombs in the Mexican–American War. [1]
The first aggressive use of balloons in warfare occurred in 1849 during the First Italian War of Independence. [4] [5] Austrian imperial forces, who were besieging Venice, attempted to deploy approximately 200 paper hot air balloons. Each balloon was equipped with a 24-to-30-pound (11 to 14 kg) bomb, designed to be dropped over the besieged city via a time fuse. The majority of the balloons were launched from land, but some were also dispatched from the side-wheel steamer SMS Vulcano, which served as a balloon carrier. To determine the correct fuse settings, the Austrians utilized smaller pilot balloons. At least one bomb landed in the city. However, due to changes in wind direction after launch, most of the balloons missed their target. Some even drifted back over Austrian lines and the launching ship, Vulcano. [2] [3] [6]
During World War II, the British Operation Outward launched some 99,142 balloons at Germany, 53,543 of which were carrying incendiaries, the other 45,599 carrying trailing wires to damage high voltage lines. [7]
During the period of 1944-1945, in the midst of World War II, Japan initiated the launch of approximately 9,300 Fu-Go balloon bombs targeted at North America. These balloons, with a diameter of 10 meters (33 feet), were filled with hydrogen and typically transported one bomb weighing 15 kilograms (33 lbs) or alternatively, one 12-kilogram (26 lbs) bomb along with four additional bombs each weighing 5 kilograms (11 lbs). [8] The Fu-Go balloons utilized the power of the winter jet stream, which travels at a speed of 220 miles per hour (350 km/h), to traverse a distance of 5,000 miles (8,000 km) across the Pacific Ocean in roughly three days. To maintain a specific altitude, the balloons were equipped with a barometric sensor that would jettison ballast sandbags whenever the balloon descended below 30,000 feet (9,100 m). If the sensor detected an altitude exceeding 38,000 feet (12,000 m), hydrogen would be released from the balloon. This entire mechanism was set into motion 52 minutes post-launch, allowing the balloon to attain its initial altitude. The final sandbag stations were equipped with incendiary bombs, which were dispensed by the same mechanism. Following the final release, the balloon triggered a self-destruction process and dropped an additional bomb. [9]
The balloons were launched in the winter to take advantage of the more favorable winter jet stream. [10] However this limited their damage potential as wildfires were less likely to catch in winter. [11] [12] The Fu-Go balloons inflicted relatively little damage, except for one fatal incident in which a woman and five children were killed near Bly, Oregon after they approached a balloon that had landed at the subsequently named Mitchell Recreation Area. [6] [13] The deaths of six civilians were the only fatalities caused by fire balloons on American soil during World War II. [14]
Following World War II, the United States developed the E77 balloon bomb based on the Fu-Go balloon. This balloon was intended to disperse an anti-crop agent, but it was not used operationally. [15] [16] The 1954–1955 WS-124A Flying Cloud program tested high-altitude balloons for the delivery of weapons of mass destruction, but they were found infeasible because of their inaccuracy. [17]
Since the beginning of the 2018 Gaza border protests, Palestinian militants have been launching incendiary kites at Israel as a form of agro-terrorism. Since the beginning of May 2018, [18] helium-filled incendiary balloons have been used alongside the kites. [19] [20] [21] Gazan balloons are devised from helium-filled party balloons or condoms that are strung together, with flaming rags, other incendiary devices, or explosives strung below. [22] [23] The prevailing wind blowing in from the Mediterranean Sea, propels the balloons inland from Gaza into Israel. [24] [25]
By July 2018, incendiary kites and balloons had started 678 fires in Israel, burning 910 hectares (2,260 acres) of woodland, and 610 hectares (1,500 acres) of agricultural lands. [26] Some balloons landed in residential areas of the Eshkol Regional Council [27] and the Sdot Negev Regional Council. [28] One balloon cluster reached Beersheba, some 40 kilometers (25 mi) from the Gaza strip. [29] [30] In response to these incendiary attacks, Israel closed the Kerem Shalom border crossing in July 2018, but later reopened it after a few months of relative calm. [31] By the end of 2018, over 7,000 acres of land had been burned as a result of incendiary balloon attack, causing millions of shekels in damages, according to Israeli officials. The fires destroyed forests and agricultural lands, and killed livestock. [32] The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) attempted to combat these incendiary devices by deploying small, remote-controlled drones with knives on their wings to cut the guide lines of the kites. [33] The method ultimately proved ineffective. [34]
Persistent incidents of airborne arson were observed in the years 2019, [35] [36] [37] 2020, [38] [39] and 2021. [40] In August 2020, fuel deliveries to the Gaza Strip were halted once more due to a resurgence of these arson attacks, leading to the closure of the Gaza Strip's sole power station. [41] The most effective strategy against these balloons was found to be continuous surveillance and manual extinguishing of the fires. [42] In February 2020, a new laser weapon system known as the Light Blade (or Lahav) was tested operationally along the Gaza border to combat kites and balloons. [43]
White phosphorus munitions are weapons that use one of the common allotropes of the chemical element phosphorus. White phosphorus is used in smoke, illumination, and incendiary munitions, and is commonly the burning element of tracer ammunition. Other common names for white phosphorus munitions include WP and the slang terms Willie Pete and Willie Peter, which are derived from William Peter, the World War II phonetic alphabet rendering of the letters WP. White phosphorus is pyrophoric ; burns fiercely; and can ignite cloth, fuel, ammunition, and other combustibles.
Nahal Oz is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located in the northwestern part of the Negev desert close to the border with the Gaza Strip and near the development towns of Sderot and Netivot, it is under the jurisdiction of Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council. In 2022, it had a population of 479. A nearby IDF military base is known by the same name.
Eshkol Regional Council is a regional council in the north-western Negev, in Israel's Southern District. The regional council's territory lies midway between Ashkelon and Beersheba, bounded on the west by the Gaza Strip while the eastern border abuts the territory of the Bnei Shimon Regional Council. Due to its proximity to the Gaza Strip, the region has experienced numerous sporadic waves of violence, primarily as a result of rocket attacks, mortar strikes, and fires caused by incendiary kites and balloons launched from Gaza Strip. These waves of violence often result in widespread damage to farms and structures within the region.
Mefalsim is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located near the Gaza Strip and covering 11,000 dunams, it falls under the jurisdiction of Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council. In 2022 it had a population of 1,057.
The E77 balloon bomb was a U.S. anti-crop biological munition based on the design of Japanese Fu-Go balloon bomb. The E77 used feathers as a vector to disseminate anti-crop agents from a hydrogen-filled balloon and was first developed in 1950.
Since 2001, Palestinian militants have launched tens of thousands of rocket and mortar attacks on Israel from the Gaza Strip as part of the continuing Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The attacks, widely condemned for targeting civilians, have been described as terrorism by the United Nations, the European Union, and Israeli officials, and are defined as war crimes by human rights groups Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. The international community considers indiscriminate attacks on civilian targets to be illegal under international law. Palestinian militants say rocket attacks are a response to Israel's blockade of Gaza, but the Palestinian Authority has condemned them and says rocket attacks undermine peace.
Animal-borne bomb attacks are the use of animals as delivery systems for explosives. The explosives are strapped to a pack animal such as a horse, mule or donkey. The pack animal may be set off in a crowd.
Kerem Shalom border crossing is a border crossing at the junction of two border sections: one between the Gaza Strip and Israel, and one between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. It is used by trucks carrying goods from Israel or Egypt to the Gaza Strip.
The Ashkelon rocket attacks were a series of rocket attacks from Gaza initiated by the ISIL affiliate Sheikh Omar Hadid Brigade in 2015.
The 2018–2019 Gaza border protests, also known as the Great March of Return, were a series of demonstrations held each Friday in the Gaza Strip near the Gaza-Israel border from 30 March 2018 until 27 December 2019, in which Israeli forces killed a total of 223 Palestinians. The demonstrators demanded that the Palestinian refugees must be allowed to return to lands they were displaced from in what is now Israel. They protested against Israel's land, air and sea blockade of the Gaza Strip and the United States recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel.
An Incendiary kite(also Firebomb kite, flaming kite, Fire Kite) is a kite with a bomb, incendiary device, or Molotov cocktail attached.
The Sons of Zouari are a militant group in Gaza, responsible for launching incendiary kites and balloons into Israel causing damage to fields and land, during the 2018 Gaza border protests. The group's incendiary balloons are usually attached with Molotov cocktails, grenades, and other flammable materials, and inflated with helium. The wind from the Mediterranean sea allows the kites and balloons to float into Israeli territory and cause damage to farmland, forests, and wildlife. The group is named after Hamas’s chief drone expert and engineer Mohamed Zouari, inspired by his method of "invasion by air" as he supervised an unmanned aircraft during the 2014 Gaza War. In June 2018, the Israeli Air Force targeted the car of one of the group's leaders, though the car was empty at the time. The group targets both houses and land. Damage by kites has caused damage to thousands of acres of Israeli farmland near Gaza during the 2018 Gaza border protests.
Light Blade is a laser-based air defense system intended to intercept airborne devices such as incendiary balloons, incendiary kites, and miniature UAVs such as quadcopters, and RAM threats. When first deployed in 2020, it was the first laser air defense system in the world.
The first wave of Palestinian airborne arson attacks on Israel from Gaza Strip using airborne incendiary devices was launched in May 2018 during the 2018 Gaza border protests. These attacks are taking an advantage of the prevailing westwards winds which propel the airborne devices to Israel. The fires that ensued annihilated distinctive habitats, ecosystems, and agricultural fields.
The Anzac Memorial is a monument in Be'eri Forest, Negev, Israel, to the soldiers of the Australian and New Zealand armies who were killed in Palestine during the First Battle of Gaza and Second Battle of Gaza of World War I.
More than 100 fires were reported in June 2019 alone, with reported damage to at least 4,500 acres of farmland.