Parseval-Sigsfeld kite balloon

Last updated
Parseval-Sigsfeld kite balloon
Balloons (WWI).jpg
German Parseval-Sigsfeld balloon near Équancourt, 22 September 1916
RoleObservation balloon
National originGermany
Manufacturer August Riedinger Balloon Plant in Augsburg, Germany
Designer August von Parseval and Hans Bartsch von Sigsfeld
First flight1898
Retiredc. 1920
StatusDismantled
Primary user Imperial German Army
Number builthundreds

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).

Contents

Aircraft was widely used as a main observation balloon type by the Central Powers armies in World War I warfare.

Design

Parseval-Sigsfeld kite balloon diagram (Airships in peace & war, 1910) Parseval-Sigsfeld kite balloon diagram - Airships in peace & war, 1910.png
Parseval-Sigsfeld kite balloon diagram (Airships in peace & war, 1910)

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

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

General characteristics

PerformanceArmament
none

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ferdinand von Zeppelin</span> German general and airship pioneer (1838–1917)

| relations = | laterwork = | signature = Ferdinand von Zeppelin signature.svg | website = | signature_size = | signature_alt =

Luftschiffertruppe, a German word meaning "airshipmen's troop", was the designation of the German airship units.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aerostat</span> Lighter-than-air aircraft

An aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft is an aircraft that relies on buoyancy to maintain flight. Aerostats include the unpowered balloons and the powered airships.

This is a list of aviation-related events during the 19th century :

<i>Luftstreitkräfte</i> Air arm of the Imperial German Army

The Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte – known before October 1916 as Die Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches – was the air arm of the Imperial German Army. In English-language sources it is usually referred to as the Imperial German Air Service, although that is not a literal translation of either name. German naval aviators of the Marine-Fliegerabteilung were an integral part of the Imperial German Navy. Both military branches operated aeroplanes, observation balloons and airships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">August von Parseval</span> German airship designer (1861–1942)

August von Parseval was a German airship designer. His designs for an amphibian flying boat, balanced by two wing-floats, achieved liftoff in April 1910. This makred the beginning of marine aviation in Germany. He became a professor at the Technical University of Berlin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Observation balloon</span> Military crewed balloon

An observation balloon is a type of balloon that is employed as an aerial platform for gathering intelligence and spotting artillery. The use of observation balloons began during the French Revolutionary Wars, reaching their zenith during World War I, and they continue in limited use today. Synonyms include espionage balloon, reconnaissance balloon, spy balloon, and surveillance balloon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kite balloon</span> Type of tethered balloon

A kite balloon is a tethered balloon which is shaped to help make it stable in low and moderate winds and to increase its lift. It typically comprises a streamlined envelope with stabilising features and a harness or yoke connecting it to the main tether and a second harness connected to an observer's basket.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">D-class blimp</span>

The D class blimp was a patrol airship used by the US Navy in the early 1920s. The D-type blimps were slightly larger than the C-type and had many detail improvements. The Navy continued the practice of dividing the envelope production between Goodyear and Goodrich. The control cars were manufactured by the Naval Aircraft Factory. The major improvements over the C-type blimps were a better control car design and easier, more reliable controls and instrumentation. The engines were moved to the rear to reduce noise and allow easier communications between crew members. The fuel tanks were suspended from the sides of the envelope. The envelope was identical to the C-type, except an additional six-foot panel was inserted for a total length of 198 feet (60 m) and a volume of 190,000 cubic feet (5,400 m3). The last of the D-Class, D-6, had a redesigned control car by Leroy Grumman who later founded the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">H-class blimp</span> 1921 blimp of the United States Navy

The H class blimp was an observation airship built for the U.S. Navy in the early 1920s. The original "H" Class design of 1919 was for a twin engined airship of approximately 80,000 cubic feet volume. Commander Lewis Maxfield suggested that a small airship which could be used either as a tethered kite balloon, or be towed by a ship until releasing its cable, would be able to scout on its own. The concept was an airship similar to the later Army Motorized Kite Balloons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Semi-rigid airship</span> Lighter-than-air aircraft

A semi-rigid airship is an airship which has a stiff keel or truss supporting the main envelope along its length. The keel may be partially flexible or articulated and may be located inside or outside the main envelope. The outer shape of the airship is maintained by gas pressure, as with the non-rigid "blimp". Semi-rigid dirigibles were built in significant quantity from the late 19th century but in the late 1930s they fell out of favour along with rigid airships. No more were constructed until the semi-rigid design was revived by the Zeppelin NT in 1997.

Zeppelin <i>LZ 1</i> Type of aircraft

The ZeppelinLZ 1 was the first successful experimental rigid airship. It was first flown from a floating hangar on Lake Constance, near Friedrichshafen in southern Germany, on 2 July 1900. "LZ" stood for Luftschiff Zeppelin, or "Airship Zeppelin".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Assmann</span>

Richard Assmann was a German meteorologist and physician who was a native of Magdeburg. He made numerous contributions in high altitude research of the Earth's atmosphere. He was a pioneer of scientific aeronautics and considered a co-founder of aerology.

August Riedinger was a German businessman who operated gas companies in Germany and Europe and also participated in balloon and airship manufacturing.

Founded on August 31, 1881, the Deutsche Verein zur Förderung der Luftschifffahrt,, was the first German aviation association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kytoon</span> Aircraft

A kytoon or kite balloon is a tethered aircraft which obtains some of its lift dynamically as a heavier-than-air kite and the rest aerostatically as a lighter-than-air balloon. The word is a portmanteau of kite and balloon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berlin scientific balloon flights</span> Series of balloon flights

The Berlin scientific balloon flights were a series of 65 manned and 29 unmanned balloon flights carried out between 1888 and 1899 by the German Society for the Promotion of Aeronautics to investigate the atmosphere above the planetary boundary layer. The flights were organized by Richard Aßmann, Professor at the Meteorological Institute of Berlin, who also developed the most important of the measurement instruments employed by them. The execution lay primarily in the hands of the military airship pilot Hans Groß and the meteorologist Arthur Berson. In 1894, Berson flew with the balloon Phönix to a height of 9155 meters, the highest that any human had flown until then.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M.III Körting</span> Austro-Hungarian military airship

M.III Körting was a non-rigid military single-gondola airship built in 1911 by the Österreichische Maschinenbau-AG Körting in Vienna, designed by engineers Cassinone, Strattmann and Basenach. The ship was built for the aviatic troops of the Austro-Hungarian Army, conducting radiotelegraphic and photogrammetric research. During military practice on 20 June 1914 near Fischamend, M.III collided with a Farman F.20 military biplane and crashed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caquot kite balloon</span> French-made observation balloon type

Caquot kite balloon was a type of non-rigid military observation balloon, designed in 1915 by Albert Caquot. The type became widely used by Allied forces in World War I warfare for multiple observation or naval defence uses and later also as a anti-aircraft barrage balloon.

References

  1. Supf, Peter. "Bartsch von Sigsfeld, Rudolf Max Wilhelm Hans". Deutsche-biographie.de. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
  2. Hearne, R.P.; Maxim, Sir Hiram Stevans (1910). "Airships in Peace & War". Internet Archive. John Lane Company. p. 63. OCLC   68833818.
  3. 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.
  4. Morgała, Andrzej (1997). Samoloty wojskowe w Polsce 1918–1924. Warsaw: Lampart. ISBN   83-86776-34-X, pp. 226-227, 313 (in Polish)

Bibliography