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142-538: In peacetime, Dübendorf is the operational air force headquarters. The Swiss Air Force operates from several fixed bases (see current status) but its personnel are also trained to carry out air operations from temporary highway airstrips. In case of crisis or war, several stretches of road are specially prepared for this option. The first military aviation in Switzerland took the form of balloon transport, pioneered by Swiss balloonist Eduard Spelterini , but by 1914 there

284-600: A 75 mm 12-pounder, and even a 105 mm gun. Erhardt also had a 12-pounder, while Vickers Maxim offered a 3-pounder and Schneider a 47 mm. The French balloon gun appeared in 1910, it was an 11-pounder but mounted on a vehicle, with a total uncrewed weight of two tons. However, since balloons were slow moving, sights were simple. But the challenges of faster moving aeroplanes were recognised. By 1913 only France and Germany had developed field guns suitable for engaging balloons and aircraft and addressed issues of military organisation. Britain's Royal Navy would soon introduce

426-517: A balloon is unstable in high winds. Tethered balloons for use in windy conditions are often stabilised by aerodynamic shaping and connecting to the tether by a halter arrangement. These are called kite balloons . A kite balloon is distinct from a kytoon , which obtains a portion of its lift aerodynamically. Unmanned hot air balloons are mentioned in Chinese history. Zhuge Liang of the Shu Han kingdom, in

568-483: A distance of 27 miles (43 km), landing in the small town of Nesles-la-Vallée . The first Italian balloon ascent was made by Count Paolo Andreani and two other passengers in a balloon designed and constructed by the three Gerli brothers, on 25 February 1784. A public demonstration occurred in Brugherio a few days later, on 13 March 1784, when the vehicle flew to a height of 1,537 metres (5,043 ft) and

710-668: A distance of 8 kilometres (5.0 mi). On 28 March Andreani received a standing ovation at La Scala , and later a medal from Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor . De Rozier, together with Joseph Proust , took part in a further flight on 23 June 1784, in a modified version of the Montgolfiers' first balloon christened La Marie-Antoinette after the Queen. They took off in front of the King of France and King Gustav III of Sweden. The balloon flew north at an altitude of approximately 3,000 metres, above

852-600: A few days. A superpressure balloon , in contrast, has a tough and inelastic envelope that is filled with light gas to pressure higher than that of the external atmosphere, and then sealed. The superpressure balloon cannot change size greatly, and so maintains a generally constant volume. The superpressure balloon maintains an altitude of constant density in the atmosphere, and can maintain flight until gas leakage gradually brings it down. Superpressure balloons offer flight endurance of months, rather than days. In fact, in typical operation an Earth-based superpressure balloon mission

994-401: A few exceptions, scientific balloon missions are unmanned. There are two types of light-gas balloons: zero-pressure and superpressure. Zero-pressure balloons are the traditional form of light-gas balloon. They are partially inflated with the light gas before launch, with the gas pressure the same both inside and outside the balloon. As the zero-pressure balloon rises, its gas expands to maintain

1136-628: A full military structure. For example, the UK's Anti-Aircraft Command, commanded by a full British Army general was part of ADGB. At its peak in 1941–42 it comprised three AA corps with 12 AA divisions between them. The use of balloons by the U.S. Army during the American Civil War compelled the Confederates to develop methods of combating them. These included the use of artillery, small arms, and saboteurs. They were unsuccessful, and internal politics led

1278-437: A gas that is lighter than the surrounding atmosphere . As the entire balloon is less dense than its surroundings, it rises, taking along with it a basket, attached underneath, which carries passengers or payload. Although a balloon has no propulsion system, a degree of directional control is possible by making the balloon rise or sink in altitude to find favorable wind directions. There are three main types of balloons: Both

1420-456: A height of 500 feet or so. The pilots, Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d'Arlandes , covered about 5.5 miles (8.9 km) in 25 minutes. On 1 December 1783, Professor Jacques Charles and the Robert brothers made the first gas balloon flight, also from Paris. Their hydrogen-filled balloon flew to almost 2,000 feet (600 m), stayed aloft for over 2 hours and covered

1562-451: A large traverse that could be easily transported on a wagon. Krupp 75 mm guns were supplied with an optical sighting system that improved their capabilities. The German Army also adapted a revolving cannon that came to be known to Allied fliers as the " flaming onion " from the shells in flight. This gun had five barrels that quickly launched a series of 37 mm artillery shells. As aircraft started to be used against ground targets on

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1704-590: A long-distance flight such as crossing the English Channel , the aeronaut would need to make use of the differing wind directions at different altitudes. It would be essential therefore to have good control of altitude while still able to stay up for a long time. He developed a combination balloon having two gas bags, the Rozier balloon . The upper one held hydrogen and provided most of the steady lift. The lower one held hot air and could be quickly heated or cooled to provide

1846-510: A long-term full scale air conflict. So the main Swiss Air Force mission is to guarantee Swiss air sovereignty and air defence throughout the country. This is achieved by: Its secondary missions are executing airlift, reconnaissance operations, and gathering and interpreting intelligence for the Swiss political and military leadership. Through the years, the Swiss Air Force traditionally had been

1988-543: A maritime force against attacks by airborne weapons launched from aircraft, ships, submarines and land-based sites". In some armies the term all-arms air defence (AAAD) is used for air defence by nonspecialist troops. Other terms from the late 20th century include "ground based air defence" (GBAD) with related terms " short range air defense " (SHORAD) and man-portable air-defense system (MANPADS). Anti-aircraft missiles are variously called surface-to-air missiles , ("SAMs") and surface-to-air guided weapons (SAGWs). Examples are

2130-460: A militia-based service, including its pilots. Its inventory existed of approximately 450 aircraft whose operational service life overlapped several eras. Beginning with its separation from the army in 1966 the Air Force has been reduced in size (currently about 230 fixed and rotary-wing aircraft) moving towards a small professional cadre with fewer reserves and conscripted supporting personnel. Currently

2272-504: A new 3.6-inch gun, in 1918. In 1928 a 3.7-inch (94 mm) gun became the preferred solution, but it took six years to gain funding. Production of the QF 3.7-inch gun began in 1937; this gun was used on mobile carriages with the field army and transportable guns on fixed mountings for static positions. At the same time the Royal Navy adopted a new 4.5-inch (113 mm) gun in a twin turret, which

2414-624: A new field mounting was introduced in 1916. Since most attacks were at night, searchlights were soon used, and acoustic methods of detection and locating were developed. By December 1916 there were 183 AA sections defending Britain (most with the 3-inch), 74 with the BEF in France and 10 in the Middle East. AA gunnery was a difficult business. The problem was of successfully aiming a shell to burst close to its target's future position, with various factors affecting

2556-666: A par with the army, navy, or air force. In the Soviet Union, this was called Voyska PVO , and had both fighter aircraft, separate from the air force, and ground-based systems. This was divided into two arms, PVO Strany, the Strategic Air defence Service responsible for Air Defence of the Homeland, created in 1941 and becoming an independent service in 1954, and PVO SV, Air Defence of the Ground Forces. Subsequently, these became part of

2698-582: A room in Lisbon . On August 8, 1709, in Lisbon, Gusmão managed to lift a small balloon made of paper with hot air about four meters in front of king John V and the Portuguese court He also claimed to have built a balloon named Passarola ( Big bird ) and attempted to lift himself from Saint George Castle in Lisbon, landing about one kilometre away. However the claim of this feat remains uncertain, even though there

2840-446: A separate service independent from the Army , under its present name Schweizer Luftwaffe . With the prospect of a future World War 3 involving nuclear weapons , jet aircraft were purchased: 75 De Havilland Vampires in 1950, followed by over 100 De Havilland Venoms and the same number of Hawker Hunters . The Venoms served until 1983; Vampires until 1990 and Hunters even until 1994. In

2982-585: A short, non-fiction story, published in 1852, about being stranded aboard a hydrogen balloon. The earliest successful balloon flight recorded in Australia was by William Dean in 1858. His balloon was gas-filled and travelled 30 km with two people aboard. On 5 January 1870, T. Gale, made an ascent from the Domain in Sydney. His balloon was 17 metres in length by 31 metres in circumference and his ascent, with him seated on

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3124-502: A variant of the Northrop Grumman AN/TPS-75 and are deployable in areas of difficult terrain or where specific coverage is needed. Peacetime TAFLIR deployment locations are at Dübendorf Air Base and Emmen. In time of crisis or at war they can be deployed anywhere. Air surveillance in Switzerland (including the airspace of Liechtenstein) is also called Permanent Air Surveillance (PLÜ); uninterrupted 24/365 coverage with

3266-558: Is a performance by the Air Force for anyone interested. It is the only event where everybody may have a look at a live exercise at 1,700 m (5,600 ft) above sea level. The use of helicopter ops at high altitudes, search & rescue and firefighting demonstrations also have become a large part of the Axalp air show. After World War II, the service was renamed Airforce and Anti-Aircraft Command ( Schweizerische Flugwaffe Kommando der Flieger und Fliegerabwehrtruppen ). In 1966, this became

3408-462: Is always connected to the Air Defence & Direction Center (ADDC or air ops centre) at Dübendorf Air Base and fully operational on-line on a 24/7 basis, monitoring Swiss airspace. Depending on the international situation, more facilities will be manned; in case of crisis or war (ADDC and 4 facilities operational) radarcoverage will be extended far beyond the Swiss boundaries. Each of these facilities

3550-530: Is an extension of air defence, as are initiatives to adapt air defence to the task of intercepting any projectile in flight. Most modern anti-aircraft (AA) weapons systems are optimized for short-, medium-, or long-range air defence, although some systems may incorporate multiple weapons (such as both autocannons and surface-to-air missiles ). ‘Layered air defence’ usually refers to multiple ‘tiers’ of air defence systems which, when combined, an airborne threat must penetrate in order to reach its target; This defence

3692-475: Is assisted but not governed by identification friend or foe (IFF) electronic devices originally introduced during the Second World War . While these rules originate at the highest authority, different rules can apply to different types of air defence covering the same area at the same time. AAAD usually operates under the tightest rules. NATO calls these rules "weapon control orders" (WCO), they are: Until

3834-490: Is capable of making all battle management decisions in case of elimination of the ADDC or other facilities. The first FLORAKO unit activated in 2003 and the operational lifetime of this hi-tech system is guaranteed by its manufacturers for at least 25 years. The system consists of: The radar system may eventually be completed by 2 mobile TAFLIR ( TA ktische FLI eger R adars – Tactical Flight Radars). These AN/MPQ-64 radars are

3976-631: Is deployed in several ways: Air defence has included other elements, although after the Second World War most fell into disuse: Passive air defence is defined by NATO as "Passive measures taken for the physical defence and protection of personnel, essential installations and equipment in order to minimise the effectiveness of air and/or missile attack". It remains a vital activity by ground forces and includes camouflage and concealment to avoid detection by reconnaissance and attacking aircraft. Measures such as camouflaging important buildings were common in

4118-410: Is ended by a command from ground control to open the envelope, rather than by natural leakage of gas. High-altitude balloons are used as high flying vessels to carry scientific instruments (like weather balloons ), or reach near-space altitudes to take footage or photos of the earth. These balloons can fly over 100,000 feet (30.5 km) into the air, and are designed to burst at a set altitude where

4260-405: Is greater than the weight of the balloon containing it, it will lift the balloon upwards. A hot air balloon can only stay up while it has fuel for its burner, to keep the air hot enough. The Montgolfiers' early hot air balloons used a solid-fuel brazier which proved less practical than the hydrogen balloons that had followed almost immediately, and hot air ballooning soon died out. In the 1950s,

4402-454: Is operated by specialists, batteries may have several dozen teams deploying separately in small sections; self-propelled air defence guns may deploy in pairs. Batteries are usually grouped into battalions or equivalent. In the field army, a light gun or SHORAD battalion is often assigned to a manoeuvre division. Heavier guns and long-range missiles may be in air-defence brigades and come under corps or higher command. Homeland air defence may have

Swiss Air Force - Misplaced Pages Continue

4544-584: Is record of this flight in the source used by the FAI the exact distance and conditions of the flight are not confirmed. Following Henry Cavendish 's 1766 work on hydrogen , Joseph Black proposed that a balloon filled with hydrogen would be able to rise in the air. The first recorded manned flight was made in a hot air balloon built by the Montgolfier brothers on 21 November 1783. The flight started in Paris and reached

4686-532: Is the main peacetime activity of the Swiss Air Force. The Air Force distinguishes two types of mission, live mission (observation, identification) and hot mission (intervention). The Ground Based Air Defence (GBAD) is currently headquartered at Emmen airbase. Formerly it used the fixed emplacement BL-64 "Bloodhound" missile system. The current system uses three shorter ranged but mobile systems which may be deployed anywhere. The Swiss Air Force supports third party organisations with equipment and staff. It provides

4828-414: Is to detect hostile aircraft and destroy them. The critical issue is to hit a target moving in three-dimensional space; an attack must not only match these three coordinates, but must do so at the time the target is at that position. This means that projectiles either have to be guided to hit the target, or aimed at the predicted position of the target at the time the projectile reaches it, taking into account

4970-573: Is usually accomplished via the combined use of systems optimized for either short-, medium-, or long-range air defence. In some countries, such as Britain and Germany during the Second World War , the Soviet Union , and modern NATO and the United States, ground-based air defence and air defence aircraft have been under integrated command and control. However, while overall air defence may be for homeland defence (including military facilities), forces in

5112-425: The 13-pr QF 9 cwt and these proved much more satisfactory. However, in general, these ad hoc solutions proved largely useless. With little experience in the role, no means of measuring target, range, height or speed the difficulty of observing their shell bursts relative to the target gunners proved unable to get their fuse setting correct and most rounds burst well below their targets. The exception to this rule

5254-656: The Austrian Netherlands , Germany, the Netherlands and Poland . His hydrogen filled balloon took off from a prison yard in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania. The flight reached 5,800 feet (1,770 m) and landed in Gloucester County, New Jersey . President George Washington was among the guests observing the takeoff. Sophie Blanchard , married to Jean-Pierre, was the first woman to pilot her own balloon and

5396-818: The Brazilian Army . Balloons were used by the British Royal Engineers in 1885 for reconnaissance and observation purposes during the Bechuanaland Expedition and the Sudan Expedition . Although experiments in Britain had been conducted as early as 1863, a School of Ballooning was not established at Chatham, Medway, Kent until 1888. During the Anglo-Boer War (1899–1902), use was made of observation balloons. A 11,500 cubic feet (330 m ) balloon

5538-520: The F/A-18 Hornet was decisive in its selection. Designed for carrier-borne operations, it was optimally suited to operate from very short runways with steep take-offs. Its radar allowed detection of multiple targets and simultaneously engaging with medium-range air-to-air missiles. Between 1996 and 1999, 34 licence-built Hornets left the assembly lines at Emmen . As the F/A-18 size is larger than either

5680-542: The FLORAKO system, wherein the Identifications Officer (IDO) and Track Monitor (TM) monitor and represent the general Recognized Air Picture (RAP). The Air Force has several operational centres. In peacetime, the primary military command centre is at Dübendorf Air Base joint with the civilian air traffic control Skyguide . The locations of the other operational centres are classified. The command centres are part of

5822-671: The KFOR , some supported in large-scale events for relief abroad (e.g. Sumatra after the tsunami). The Air Force supports the Federal Office of Public Health, National Emergency Operations Centre and conducts regular ENSI flights collecting airquality data and radioactivity measurements; it also does parabolic F-5 flights as part of the ARES program of the ETH Zurich and other research institutions. The Air Force also modified all diplomatic flights outside

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5964-463: The Mirage III or Tiger II the caverns in the mountains used to protect the aircraft had to be enlarged, a continuing process as of 2011. The 100th anniversary of the Swiss Air Force has been celebrated in 2014 with the airshow Air14 at Payerne . Switzerland is a small country which has always kept its neutrality. Therefore, its air component is also limited in size and not capable of fighting

6106-458: The QF 3-inch and QF 4-inch AA guns and also had Vickers 1-pounder quick firing "pom-poms" that could be used in various mountings. The first US anti-aircraft cannon was a 1-pounder concept design by Admiral Twining in 1911 to meet the perceived threat of airships, that eventually was used as the basis for the US Navy's first operational anti-aircraft cannon: the 3-inch/23 caliber gun . On

6248-647: The RIM-66 Standard , Raytheon Standard Missile 6 , or the MBDA Aster missile. Non-English terms for air defence include the German Flak or FlaK ( Fliegerabwehrkanone , 'aircraft defence cannon', also cited as Flugabwehrkanone ), whence English flak , and the Russian term Protivovozdushnaya oborona ( Cyrillic : Противовозду́шная оборо́на), a literal translation of 'anti-air defence', abbreviated as PVO. In Russian,

6390-653: The Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) was manning AA guns and searchlights assembled from various sources at some nine ports. The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was given responsibility for AA defence in the field, using motorised two-gun sections. The first were formally formed in November 1914. Initially they used QF 1-pounder "pom-pom"s (37 mm versions of the Maxim Gun ). All armies soon deployed AA guns often based on their smaller field pieces, notably

6532-686: The Three Kingdoms era (220–280 AD) used airborne lanterns for military signaling. These lanterns are known as Kongming lanterns ( Kǒngmíng dēng 孔明灯 ). The Mongolian army learned of the Kongming lantern from the Chinese and used it in Battle of Legnica during the Mongol invasion of Poland. In 1709 the Brazilian-Portuguese cleric Bartolomeu de Gusmão made a balloon filled with heated air rise inside

6674-658: The United States Air Force 's operating bases in the UK. All ground-based air defence was removed from Royal Air Force (RAF) jurisdiction in 2004 . The British Army's Anti-Aircraft Command was disbanded in March 1955, but during the 1960s and 1970s the RAF's Fighter Command operated long-range air-defence missiles to protect key areas in the UK. During World War II, the Royal Marines also provided air defence units; formally part of

6816-649: The 1950s, guns firing ballistic munitions were the standard weapon; guided missiles then became dominant, except at the very shortest ranges. However, the type of shell or warhead and its fuzing and, with missiles, the guidance arrangement were and are varied. Targets are not always easy to destroy; nonetheless, damaged aircraft may be forced to abort their mission and, even if they manage to return and land in friendly territory, may be out of action for days or permanently. Ignoring small arms and smaller machine-guns, ground-based air defence guns have varied in calibre from 20 mm to at least 152 mm. Ground-based air defence

6958-465: The 30th of September, 1915, troops of the Serbian Army observed three enemy aircraft approaching Kragujevac . Soldiers fired at them with shotguns and machine-guns but failed to prevent them from dropping 45 bombs over the city, hitting military installations, the railway station and many other, mostly civilian, targets in the city. During the bombing raid, private Radoje Ljutovac fired his cannon at

7100-420: The 8.8 cm FlaK 18 in 1933, the 36 and 37 models followed with various improvements, but ballistic performance was unchanged. In the late 1930s the 10.5 cm FlaK 38 appeared, soon followed by the 39; this was designed primarily for static sites but had a mobile mounting, and the unit had 220 V 24 kW generators. In 1938 design started on the 12.8 cm FlaK . Britain had successfully tested

7242-484: The AA systems are called zenitnye (i.e., 'pointing to zenith ') systems. In French, air defence is called Défense contre les aéronefs (DCA) , aéronef meaning 'aircraft'. The maximum distance at which a gun or missile can engage an aircraft is an important figure. However, many different definitions are used and unless the same definition is used, performance of different guns or missiles cannot be compared. For AA guns only

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7384-485: The British Isles increased in 1915 and the AA efforts were deemed somewhat ineffective, so a Royal Navy gunnery expert, Admiral Sir Percy Scott , was appointed to make improvements, particularly an integrated AA defence for London. The air defences were expanded with more RNVR AA guns, 75 mm and 3-inch, the pom-poms being ineffective. The naval 3-inch was also adopted by the army, the QF 3-inch 20 cwt (76 mm),

7526-534: The British adopted a new instrument developed by Vickers. It was a mechanical analogue computer - the Predictor AA No 1. Given the target height, its operators tracked the target and the predictor produced bearing, quadrant elevation and fuse setting. These were passed electrically to the guns, where they were displayed on repeater dials to the layers who "matched pointers" (target data and the gun's actual data) to lay

7668-732: The F-5s. However, in a national referendum in May 2014 a majority of Swiss rejected the purchase of the Gripen. This included continued operation of the Patrouille Suisse on F-5E. To reduce the risk of a negative referendum outcome the Swiss defence ministry revised its procurement strategy. With its Air 2030 programme The Swiss government now opted for a planning order for a combined purchase of new fighters together with long-range groundbased air defences (GBAD). This programme valued at CHF8 billion ($ 8.1 billion),

7810-634: The FLORIDA ( FL ugsicherungs O perations R adar ID entifikation A larm – Flight Ops, Radar Identifying, and Alerting) air defense system. Since its phasing out, however, the Swiss airspace control and defence is being carried out by the THALES Raytheon FLORAKO . This system is being operated from 4 fixed locations on the Pilatus , Scopi , Weisshorn and Weissfluh mountains. At least one of these Command, Control, and Communications (C3) facilities

7952-468: The French 75 mm and Russian 76.2 mm, typically simply propped up on some sort of embankment to get the muzzle pointed skyward. The British Army adopted the 13-pounder quickly producing new mountings suitable for AA use, the 13-pdr QF 6 cwt Mk III was issued in 1915. It remained in service throughout the war but 18-pdr guns were lined down to take the 13-pdr shell with a larger cartridge producing

8094-621: The French army; however, given the logistical problems linked with the production of hydrogen on the battlefield (it required constructing ovens and pouring water on white-hot iron), the corps was disbanded in 1799. The first major use of balloons in the military occurred during the American Civil War with the Union Army Balloon Corps established in 1861. During the Paraguayan War (1864–70), observation balloons were used by

8236-544: The German Flugzeugabwehrkanone ), "ack-ack" (from the spelling alphabet used by the British for voice transmission of "AA"); and "archie" (a World War I British term probably coined by Amyas Borton , and believed to derive via the Royal Flying Corps , from the music-hall comedian George Robey 's line "Archibald, certainly not!" ). NATO defines anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) as "measures taken to defend

8378-468: The Second World War. During the Cold War the runways and taxiways of some airfields were painted green. While navies are usually responsible for their own air defence—at least for ships at sea—organisational arrangements for land-based air defence vary between nations and over time. The most extreme case was the Soviet Union and this model may still be followed in some countries: it was a separate service, on

8520-511: The Swiss Air Force because of the tourist industry. Due to these reasons, the Swiss Air Force is increasingly participating in air defence training exercises with many NATO counterparts. These exercises have covered the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin , the Euro 2008 football championships, and the annual World Economic Forum . During the past 35 years, Swiss military and civil airspace control depended on

8662-443: The Swiss F-18 component reached its 50,000 flight hour milestone. Due to the RUAG Upgrade 21 (UG21) programme between 2004 and 2009 and the Mid-Life Update (MLU) its operational lifecycle will be guaranteed until 2022. From 2011 the air force intended to start the Partial F-5 Tiger Replacement programme for 22 new aircraft with the JAS 39 Gripen , Eurofighter Typhoon and Dassault Rafale as replacement candidates. In November 2011

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8804-502: The Swiss air force has a peacetime strength of 1,600 career military and about 20,000 reservists on call. Its air defence consists of 30 McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornets and 53 Northrop F-5 Tiger IIs (110 purchased in 1978–85). The F/A-18 pilots are career military; the F-5 pilots however are reservists (mostly air- or freight-liner pilots with F-5 rating). During reserve duty periods they are assigned to military duties refreshing their operational live flying training and rating. In 2008,

8946-485: The Swiss government announced its decision to buy 22 Gripen New Generation fighters. The contract for the 22 aircraft was signed at 3.1 billion Swiss francs. On 25 August 2012, the order was confirmed by both the Swedish and Swiss authorities. The first new aircraft would be delivered in 2018 and the intention was to lease 11 current generation (eight JAS 39Cs/3 JAS 39Ds) Gripen fighters from 2016 to 2020 in order to train Swiss fighter pilots while avoiding expensive upkeep of

9088-400: The U.S. military in Bern, U.S. military attaché Barnwell R. Legge , instructed the soldiers not to flee so as to allow the U.S. Legation to coordinate their escape attempts, but the majority of the soldiers thought it was a diplomatic ruse or did not receive the instruction directly. On 1 October 1944 Switzerland housed 39,670 internees in all: 20,650 from Italy, 10,082 from Poland, 2,643 from

9230-490: The United States Army's Balloon Corps to be disbanded mid-war. The Confederates experimented with balloons as well. Turks carried out the first ever anti-airplane operation in history during the Italo-Turkish war . Although lacking anti-aircraft weapons, they were the first to shoot down an airplane by rifle fire. The first aircraft to crash in a war was the one of Lieutenant Piero Manzini, shot down on August 25, 1912. The earliest known use of weapons specifically made for

9372-418: The United States and Canada. In Operation Outward the British used balloons to carry incendiaries to Nazi Germany . During 2018, incendiary balloons and kites were launched from Gaza at Israel, burning some 12,000 dunams (3,000 acres) in Israel. Large helium balloons are used by the South Korean government and private activists advocating freedom in North Korea . They float hundreds of kilometers across

9514-401: The United States, 1,121 from the United Kingdom (including five Australians), 822 from the Soviet Union, and 245 from France. In September the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was commissioned by the U.S. Supreme Command to organize the escapes of 1,000 American internees, but the task was not effectively accomplished before late winter 1944/45. Soldiers who were caught after their escape from

9656-510: The air force and ground forces respectively. At the other extreme, the United States Army has an Air Defense Artillery Branch that provides ground-based air defence for both homeland and the army in the field; however, it is operationally under the Joint Force Air Component Commander . Many other nations also deploy an air-defence branch in the army. Some, such as Japan or Israel, choose to integrate their ground based air defence systems into their air force. In Britain and some other armies,

9798-456: The airfield brigade 32 was founded as part of a reorganization. The airbase group comprised all military airfields in Switzerland, around 16,000 members of the army. Built up by a: In combination with the Bundesamt für Militärflugplätze (BAMF), this organization, together with its ZV Central Administration in Dübendorf, constituted a robust structure, which could be activated by mobilization within 48 hours. The Patrouille Suisse aerobatics team

9940-413: The altitude at which a gun could deliver a series of shells against a moving target; this could be constrained by maximum fuse running time as well as the gun's capability. By the late 1930s the British definition was "that height at which a directly approaching target at 400 mph [640 km/h] can be engaged for 20 seconds before the gun reaches 70 degrees elevation". The essence of air defence

10082-424: The anti-aircraft role occurred during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. After the disaster at Sedan , Paris was besieged and French troops outside the city started an attempt at communication via balloon . Gustav Krupp mounted a modified 1-pounder (37 mm) gun – the Ballonabwehrkanone (Balloon defence cannon) or BaK — on top of a horse-drawn carriage for the purpose of shooting down these balloons. By

10224-407: The ascending part of the trajectory can be usefully used. One term is "ceiling", the maximum ceiling being the height a projectile would reach if fired vertically, not practically useful in itself as few AA guns are able to fire vertically, and the maximum fuse duration may be too short, but potentially useful as a standard to compare different weapons. The British adopted "effective ceiling", meaning

10366-457: The battlefield, the AA guns could not be traversed quickly enough at close targets and, being relatively few, were not always in the right place (and were often unpopular with other troops), so changed positions frequently. Soon the forces were adding various machine-gun based weapons mounted on poles. These short-range weapons proved more deadly, and the " Red Baron " is believed to have been shot down by an anti-aircraft Vickers machine gun . When

10508-483: The biggest arms procurement programme in modern Swiss history. Defence minister Viola Amherd unveiled results of studies tackling the defence procurement package: fighters replacing both the current F-5 Tigers and F/A-18 Hornets scheduled to be retired in the 2020s as well as a reconfigured GBAD. Armasuisse , the Federal Office for Defence Procurement, asked several firms to submit pricing for 40 aircraft including missile armament and logistics as well as an assessment of

10650-400: The border carrying news from the outside world, illegal radios, foreign currency and gifts of personal hygiene supplies. A North Korean military official has described it as "psychological warfare" and threatened to attack South Korea if their release continued. Ed Yost redesigned the hot air balloon in the late 1950s using rip-stop nylon fabrics and high-powered propane burners to create

10792-544: The civilian radar Skyguide with FLORAKO radardata enabling safe air traffic management. Air Force helicopters and drones regularly conduct surveillance flights for the Border Guard Corps GWK, for general surveillance at major events and search flights ( SAR ) for national police and Rega (air rescue) . The Fire Department also uses its drones and helicopters with FLIR to locate forestfires and to extinguish them with Bambibuckets . 3 helicopters supported Swisscoy in

10934-468: The clouds, travelling 52 km in 45 minutes before cold and turbulence forced them to descend past Luzarches , between Coye et Orry-la-Ville , near the Chantilly forest. The first balloon ascent in Britain was made by James Tytler on 25 August 1784 at Edinburgh , Scotland, in a hot air balloon . The first aircraft disaster occurred in May 1785 when the town of Tullamore , County Offaly , Ireland

11076-408: The competition for a share of limited defence budgets. Demobilisation meant that most AA guns were taken out of service, leaving only the most modern. However, there were lessons to be learned. In particular the British, who had had AA guns in most theatres in action in daylight and used them against night attacks at home. Furthermore, they had also formed an Anti-Aircraft Experimental Section during

11218-565: The conflict, and the air corps confined its activities to training and exercises, reconnaissance and patrol. It was only with the worsening international situation in the 1930s that an effective air force was established at great cost, with up-to-date Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Morane-Saulnier D‐3800 fighters ordered from Germany and France respectively (the Moranes were licence-built in Switzerland). The Swiss Air Force as an autonomous military service

11360-419: The construction, operation, and navigation of lighter-than-air vehicles. Tiberius Cavallo 's The History and Practice of Aerostation was published in 1785. Other books were published on the subject including by Monck Mason . Dramatist Frederick Pilon wrote a play with aerostation as its title. A balloon is conceptually the simplest of all flying machines. The balloon is a fabric envelope filled with

11502-436: The convenience and low cost of bottled gas burners led to a revival of hot air ballooning for sport and leisure. The height or altitude of a hot air balloon is controlled by turning the burner up or down as needed, unlike a gas balloon where ballast weights are often carried so that they can be dropped if the balloon gets too low, and in order to land some lifting gas must be vented through a valve. A man-carrying balloon using

11644-674: The early 20th century balloon, or airship, guns, for land and naval use were attracting attention. Various types of ammunition were proposed, high explosive, incendiary, bullet-chains, rod bullets and shrapnel. The need for some form of tracer or smoke trail was articulated. Fuzing options were also examined, both impact and time types. Mountings were generally pedestal type but could be on field platforms. Trials were underway in most countries in Europe but only Krupp, Erhardt, Vickers Maxim, and Schneider had published any information by 1910. Krupp's designs included adaptations of their 65 mm 9-pounder,

11786-439: The effectiveness of hostile air action". It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched ), and air-based weapon systems, in addition to associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements, and passive measures (e.g. barrage balloons ). It may be used to protect naval , ground , and air forces in any location. However, for most countries, the main effort has tended to be homeland defence . Missile defence

11928-444: The end of the 1950s, reflecting both the threat of possible invasion by the Soviet Union and a nuclear warfare , Swiss military doctrine changed to mobile defence that included missions outside its territory, in order to defeat stand-off attacks and nuclear threats, including the possibility of defensive employment of air-delivered nuclear weapons . However the inability to field a force capability to carry out such missions led to

12070-482: The enemy aircraft and successfully shot one down. It crashed in the city and both pilots died from their injuries. The cannon Ljutovac used was not designed as an anti-aircraft gun; it was a slightly modified Turkish cannon captured during the First Balkan War in 1912. This was the first occasion in military history that a military aircraft was shot down with ground-to-air artillery fire. The British recognised

12212-654: The field, wherever they are, provide their own defences against airborne threats. Until the 1950s, guns firing ballistic munitions ranging from 7.62 mm (.30 in) to 152.4 mm (6 in) were the standard weapons; guided missiles then became dominant, except at the very shortest ranges (as with close-in weapon systems , which typically use rotary autocannons or, in very modern systems, surface-to-air adaptations of short-range air-to-air missiles , often combined in one system with rotary cannons). It may also be called counter-air , anti-air , AA , flak , layered air defence or air defence forces . The term air defence

12354-409: The first passenger flight was 19 September 1783, carrying a sheep, a duck, and a rooster. The first tethered manned balloon flight was by a larger Montgolfier balloon, probably on 15 October 1783. The first free balloon flight was by the same Montgolfier balloon on 21 November 1783. When heated, air expands, so a given volume of space contains less air. This makes it lighter and, if its lifting power

12496-564: The first woman to adopt ballooning as a career. On 29 September 1804, Abraham Hopman became the first Dutchman to make a successful balloon flight in the Netherlands . Gas balloons became the most common type from the 1790s until the 1960s. The French military observation balloon L'Intrépide of 1795 is the oldest preserved aircraft in Europe; it is on display in the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum in Vienna. Jules Verne wrote

12638-578: The ground-based air defence of the British Army's Anti-Aircraft Command , although field-deployed air defence relied on less sophisticated arrangements. NATO later called these arrangements an "air defence ground environment", defined as "the network of ground radar sites and command and control centres within a specific theatre of operations which are used for the tactical control of air defence operations". Rules of engagement are critical to prevent air defences engaging friendly or neutral aircraft. Their use

12780-529: The guns. This system of repeater electrical dials built on the arrangements introduced by British coast artillery in the 1880s, and coast artillery was the background of many AA officers. Similar systems were adopted in other countries and for example the later Sperry M3A3 in the US, was also used by Britain as the Predictor AA No 2. Height finders were also increasing in size; in Britain, the seven-foot optical base World War I Barr & Stroud UB 2 stereoscopic rangefinder

12922-468: The hot air, or Montgolfière, balloon and the gas balloon are still in common use. Montgolfière balloons are relatively inexpensive, as they do not require high-grade materials for their envelopes, and they are popular for balloonist sport activity. The first balloon which carried passengers used hot air to obtain buoyancy and was built by the brothers Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier in Annonay , France in 1783:

13064-479: The internment camp, were often detained in the Wauwilermoos internment camp near Luzern. Official Swiss records identify 6,501 airspace violations during the course of the war, with 198 foreign aircraft landing on Swiss territory and 56 aircraft crashing there. With the threat of WW2 and the possible need for the army and civilian population to retreat into the mountains ( Reduit ) as proposed by General Guisan, it

13206-494: The late 1930s for development work on sound-locating acoustic devices to be generally halted, although equipment was retained. Furthermore, in Britain the volunteer Observer Corps formed in 1925 provided a network of observation posts to report hostile aircraft flying over Britain. Initially radar was used for airspace surveillance to detect approaching hostile aircraft. However, the German Würzburg radar put into use in 1940

13348-490: The late 1940s Switzerland purchased the North American P-51 Mustang from US surplus WW2 stock. The aircraft initially was intended as a stop-gap solution for the Swiss army in order to maintain a defence force during a time when the outdated Bf 109E's and Swiss built D-3801 Moranes were being phased out but the licensed production of the British designed Dh-100 Vampires and Dh-112 Venoms was not in full swing. At

13490-458: The lifting gas, and several designs have successfully undertaken long-distance flights. As an alternative to free flight, a balloon may be tethered to allow reliable take off and landing at the same location. Some of the earliest balloon flights were tethered for safety, and since then balloons have been tethered for many purposes, including military observation and aerial barrage, meteorological and commercial uses. The natural spherical shape of

13632-522: The lifting power of hydrogen, which had to be specially manufactured. In 1836 Green made an almost 500 mile long-distance flight from London, England to Weilberg in Germany. The first military use of a balloon was at the Battle of Fleurus in 1794, when L'Entreprenant was used by the French Aerostatic Corps to watch the movements of the enemy. On 2 April 1794, an aeronauts corps was created in

13774-513: The light gas hydrogen for buoyancy was made by Professor Jacques Charles and flown less than a month after the Montgolfier flight, on 1 December 1783. Gas balloons have greater lift for a given volume, so they do not need to be so large, and they can also stay up for much longer than hot air, so gas balloons dominated ballooning for the next 200 years. In the 19th century, it was common to use manufactured town gas (coal gas) to fill balloons; this

13916-513: The mobile naval base defence organisation, they were handled as an integral part of the army-commanded ground based air defences. The basic air defence unit is typically a battery with 2 to 12 guns or missile launchers and fire control elements. These batteries, particularly with guns, usually deploy in a small area, although batteries may be split; this is usual for some missile systems. SHORAD missile batteries often deploy across an area with individual launchers several kilometres apart. When MANPADS

14058-536: The modern hot air balloon. His first flight of such a balloon, lasting 25 minutes and covering 3 miles (5 km) , occurred on 22 October 1960 in Bruning, Nebraska . Yost's improved design for hot air balloons triggered the modern sport balloon movement. Today, hot air balloons are much more common than gas balloons. Anti-aircraft warfare Anti-aircraft warfare is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce

14200-487: The need for anti-aircraft capability a few weeks before World War I broke out; on 8 July 1914, the New York Times reported that the British government had decided to "dot the coasts of the British Isles with a series of towers, each armed with two quick-firing guns of special design," while "a complete circle of towers" was to be built around "naval installations" and "at other especially vulnerable points". By December 1914

14342-570: The netting, took him about a mile before he landed in Glebe. Henri Giffard also developed a tethered balloon for passengers in 1878 in the Tuileries Garden in Paris. The first tethered balloon in modern times was made in France at Chantilly Castle in 1994 by Aerophile SA . Ballooning developed as a leisure activity. It was given a significant boost when Charles Green discovered that readily-available coal gas , then coming into urban use, gave half

14484-467: The next decades. On the 30th of June 2021 the F-35A was announced as the winner of the competition. On 10 December 2010, the last 20 outdated Aérospatiale Alouette III were replaced by two VIP configuration Eurocopter EC135s and 18 Eurocopter EC635s . The first EC-635 was delivered in 2008. In peacetime the air defence radar coverage is maintained on a 24/7 basis. Until late 2020, the aviator corps however

14626-445: The number of aircraft necessary to fulfil Swiss needs and kicked off the competition for 5 types of combat aircraft under consideration (Eurofighter Typhoon, Boeing F-18 Super Hornet, Dassault Rafale, Lockheed Martin F-35A and Saab Gripen E) at Payerne airbase. With a reconfigured GBAD system covering appx 15,000 km2 in the densely populated Swiss plateau the balance between fighter aircraft and ground-based air defence would be ensured for

14768-707: The opening times of the FOCA and represents the REGA (Swiss Air Rescue) communication systems. The Swiss Air Force operates the Rescue Coordination Center "RCC Zurich" on behalf of the FOCA at the Dübendorf Air Base . (2023) Panther 33.700 6×6 A135 Flugfeldlöschwagen schwer Balloon (aeronautics) In aeronautics , a balloon is an unpowered aerostat , which remains aloft or floats due to its buoyancy . A balloon may be free, moving with

14910-442: The parachute will deploy to safely carry the payload back to earth. Cluster ballooning uses many smaller gas-filled balloons for flight. Early hot air balloons could not stay up for very long because they used a lot of fuel, while early hydrogen balloons were difficult to take higher or lower as desired because the aeronaut could only vent the gas or drop off ballast a limited number of times. Pilâtre de Rozier realised that for

15052-552: The prototypes EFW N-20 and FFA P-16 , Switzerland did not invest in development combat aircraft anymore. In 1964 the procurement of the Dassault Mirage 3 fighters (1964–2002) caused a scandal due to severe budget overruns . The commander, the chief of the general staff and the minister of defence were forced to resign, followed by a complete restructuring of the air force and air defence units in 1968 and leading to separation of users and procurement officials. In February 1968,

15194-828: The purpose of igniting the hydrogen. The Aeronaut Badge was established by the United States Army in World War I to denote service members who were qualified balloon pilots. Observation balloons were retained well after the Great War, being used in the Russo-Finnish Wars, the Winter War of 1939–40, and the Continuation War of 1941–45. During World War II the Japanese launched thousands of hydrogen " fire balloons " against

15336-419: The return of traditional "protection of own territory" doctrine. Meanwhile, the army started preparing ad hoc airbases in the mountains, with sections of highway strengthened to act as runways and hangars carved out of the mountains . In 1954 the first Air Radar Recruit School activated, the first early warning radar systems were installed and the concept of command & control facilities at mountain summits

15478-461: The shells' predicted trajectory. This was called deflection gun-laying, where "off-set" angles for range and elevation were set on the gunsight and updated as their target moved. In this method, when the sights were on the target, the barrel was pointed at the target's future position. Range and height of the target determined fuse length. The difficulties increased as aircraft performance improved. The British dealt with range measurement first, when it

15620-621: The single artillery branch has been responsible for both home and overseas ground-based air defence, although there was divided responsibility with the Royal Navy for air defence of the British Isles in World War I . However, during the Second World War , the RAF Regiment was formed to protect airfields everywhere, and this included light air defences. In the later decades of the Cold War this included

15762-477: The speed and direction of both the target and the projectile. Throughout the 20th century, air defence was one of the fastest-evolving areas of military technology, responding to the evolution of aircraft and exploiting technology such as radar, guided missiles and computing (initially electromechanical analogue computing from the 1930s on, as with equipment described below). Improvements were made to sensors, technical fire control, weapons, and command and control. At

15904-422: The start of the 20th century these were either very primitive or non-existent. Initially sensors were optical and acoustic devices developed during World War I and continued into the 1930s, but were quickly superseded by radar, which in turn was supplemented by optoelectronics in the 1980s. Command and control remained primitive until the late 1930s, when Britain created an integrated system for ADGB that linked

16046-463: The target and having its height. Second, that the target would maintain a steady course, speed and height. This HAA was to engage targets up to 24,000 ft (7.3 km). Mechanical time fuses were required because the speed of powder burning varied with height, so fuse length was not a simple function of time of flight. Automated fire ensured a constant rate of fire that made it easier to predict where each shell should be individually aimed. In 1925

16188-445: The threat. The aim for a 24-hour Quick Reaction Alert readiness of two armed F/A-18 fighters was achieved on 31 December 2020. A major problem in defending the Swiss airspace is the size of the country. The Swiss maximum extension is only 348 kilometres (216 mi). Commercial airliners may pass over in about 15–20 minutes, while fast jets would take even less time. However, noise-abatement issues traditionally caused problems for

16330-440: The unit "Einsatz Luftwaffe," the chief of which is directly subordinate to the commander of the Air Force. It consists of the operations center of the Air Force, redundant direct connections to the emergency organizations ( air rescue and federal police ), as well as to the 2 Skyguide air traffic centers (Geneva and Zurich) and to the relevant military and civilian air traffic control centers of neighboring countries. Air policing

16472-601: The varying lift for good altitude control. In 1785 Pilâtre de Rozier took off in an attempt to fly across the Channel, but shortly into the flight the hydrogen gas bag caught fire and de Rozier did not survive the ensuing accident. This earned de Rozier the title "The First to Fly and the First to Die". It wasn't until the 1980s that technology was developed to allow safe operation of the Rozier type, for example by using non-flammable helium as

16614-409: The war and accumulated large amounts of data that was subjected to extensive analysis. As a result, they published the two-volume Textbook of Anti-Aircraft Gunnery in 1924–1925. It included five key recommendations for HAA equipment: Two assumptions underpinned the British approach to HAA fire; first, aimed fire was the primary method and this was enabled by predicting gun data from visually tracking

16756-437: The war ended, it was clear that the increasing capabilities of aircraft would require better means of acquiring targets and aiming at them. Nevertheless, a pattern had been set: anti-aircraft warfare would employ heavy weapons to attack high-altitude targets and lighter weapons for use when aircraft came to lower altitudes. World War I demonstrated that aircraft could be an important part of the battlefield, but in some nations it

16898-561: The war, the Allied bomber offensive sometimes took US or British bombers into Swiss airspace, either damaged craft seeking safe haven or even on occasions bombing Swiss cities by accident. Swiss aircraft would attempt to intercept individual aircraft and force them to land, interning the crews. Only one further Swiss pilot was killed during the war, shot down by a US fighter in September 1944. From September red and white neutrality bands were added to

17040-420: The wind, or tethered to a fixed point. It is distinct from an airship , which is a powered aerostat that can propel itself through the air in a controlled manner. Many balloons have a basket , gondola , or capsule suspended beneath the main envelope for carrying people or equipment (including cameras and telescopes, and flight-control mechanisms). Aerostation is an obsolete term referring to ballooning and

17182-580: The wings of aircraft to stop accidental attacks on Swiss aircraft by Allied aircraft. From 1943 Switzerland shot down American and British aircraft, mainly bombers, overflying Switzerland during World War II: six by Swiss air force fighters and nine by flak cannons. 36 Allied airmen were killed. On 1 October 1943 the first American bomber was shot down near Bad Ragaz : Only three men survived. Officers were interned in Davos , airmen in Adelboden . The representative of

17324-440: The years immediately after World War I, the prospect of another major war seemed remote, particularly in Europe, where the most militarily capable nations were, and little financing was available. Four years of war had seen the creation of a new and technically demanding branch of military activity. Air defence had made huge advances, albeit from a very low starting point. However, it was new and often lacked influential 'friends' in

17466-432: The zero pressure difference, and the balloon's envelope swells. At night, the gas in a zero-pressure balloon cools and contracts, causing the balloon to sink. A zero-pressure balloon can only maintain altitude by releasing gas when it goes too high, where the expanding gas can threaten to rupture the envelope, or releasing ballast when it sinks too low. Loss of gas and ballast limits the endurance of zero-pressure balloons to

17608-404: Was also introduced in which the air superiority fighter in interceptor role stood central. In 1974 the first 2 Northrop F-5 Tiger fighters were tested and in 1978 the first F-5 Tiger fighter/interceptor squadron became operational. In the late 1980s changing political and military world situations implied the need for multirole aircraft in the Air Force. After evaluation, the performance of

17750-571: Was capable of providing data suitable for controlling AA guns, and the British Radar, Gun Laying, Mark I , was designed to be used on AA gun positions and was in use by 1939. The Treaty of Versailles prevented Germany having AA weapons, and for example, the Krupps designers joined Bofors in Sweden. Some World War I guns were retained and some covert AA training started in the late 1920s. Germany introduced

17892-421: Was clear that the army air force needed the ability to attack enemy ground forces in the mountains. To practice this Axalp was selected. After WW2 ground attack by jet aircraft was practiced at Axalp, including strafing and bombing exercises. During the Cold War, military liaison officers from western, eastern and non-aligned nations were invited to the screenings. Nowadays Axalpfliegerschiessen ("Airshow Axalp")

18034-597: Was created in October 1936. Although Switzerland remained neutral throughout World War II , it had to deal with numerous violations of its airspace by combatants from both sides – initially by German aircraft, especially during their invasion of France in 1940. Zealous Swiss pilots attacked and shot down eleven German aircraft, losing two of their own, before a threatening memorandum from the German leadership forced General Guisan to forbid air combat above Swiss territory. Later in

18176-581: Was determined by time of flight, but the burning rate of the gunpowder was affected by altitude. The British pom-poms had only contact-fused ammunition. Zeppelins , being hydrogen-filled balloons, were targets for incendiary shells and the British introduced these with airburst fuses, both shrapnel type-forward projection of incendiary "pot" and base ejection of an incendiary stream. The British also fitted tracers to their shells for use at night. Smoke shells were also available for some AA guns, these bursts were used as targets during training. German air attacks on

18318-404: Was electrical; the operator entered the target range and had displays at guns; it was used with their 75 mm. The British Wilson-Dalby gun director used a pair of trackers and mechanical tachymetry; the operator entered the fuse length, and deflection angles were read from the instruments. By the start of World War I , the 77 mm had become the standard German weapon, and came mounted on

18460-545: Was founded in 1964, the 50th anniversary year of Swiss army aviation. In 1969, air force logistics and air defence were reassigned into brigades, the Armed Forces Meteo Group and Avalanche Rescue Service came under air force and air defence command and the Para Reconnaissance Company was established. In the 1970s major manoeuvres with over 22,000 participants took place. A new air defence concept

18602-581: Was incapable of maintaining a matching state of readiness due to limited budget and lack of staff available and was operated from 06:00-22:00 local time only. This became painfully clear as the Swiss Air Force was unable to respond to the Ethiopian Airlines ET702 hijacking in February 2014 which occurred outside routine operating hours. Agreements with Italy and France in particular enabled fighters from both air forces to enter Swiss airspace to handle

18744-471: Was introduced; leading to acquisition of the FLORIDA early warning and command guidance system in 1965 followed by the current FLORAKO system in 2003. At the same time, ground-based air defence (GBAD) projects were initiated such as radar-equipped medium-caliber guns with an integrated 63 Superfledermaus (Superbat) fire control system' as well as the BL-64 ‘Bloodhound’ air defence missile system (1964–1999). After

18886-548: Was kept inflated for 22 days and marched 165 miles into the Transvaal with the British forces. Hydrogen-filled balloons were widely used during World War I (1914–1918) to detect enemy troop movements and to direct artillery fire. Observers phoned their reports to officers on the ground who then relayed the information to those who needed it. Balloons were frequently targets of opposing aircraft. Planes assigned to attack enemy balloons were often equipped with incendiary bullets , for

19028-411: Was not as light as pure hydrogen gas, having about half the lifting power, but it was much cheaper and readily available. Light gas balloons are predominant in scientific applications, as they are capable of reaching much higher altitudes for much longer periods of time. They are generally filled with helium. Although hydrogen has more lifting power, it is explosive in an atmosphere rich in oxygen . With

19170-575: Was probably first used by the UK when Air Defence of Great Britain (ADGB) was created as a Royal Air Force command in 1925. However, arrangements in the UK were also called "anti-aircraft", abbreviated as AA , a term that remained in general use into the 1950s. After the First World War it was sometimes prefixed by "light" or "heavy" (LAA or HAA) to classify a type of gun or unit. Nicknames for anti-aircraft guns include "AA", "AAA" or "triple-A" (abbreviations of "anti-aircraft artillery"), "flak" (from

19312-472: Was realised that range was the key to producing a better fuse setting. This led to the height/range finder (HRF), the first model being the Barr & Stroud UB2, a two-metre optical coincident rangefinder mounted on a tripod. It measured the distance to the target and the elevation angle, which together gave the height of the aircraft. These were complex instruments and various other methods were also used. The HRF

19454-522: Was replaced by the nine-foot optical base UB 7 and the eighteen-foot optical base UB 10 (only used on static AA sites). Goertz in Germany and Levallois in France produced five m (16 ft) instruments. However, in most countries the main effort in HAA guns until the mid-1930s was improving existing ones, although various new designs were on drawing boards. From the early 1930s eight countries developed radar ; these developments were sufficiently advanced by

19596-488: Was seriously damaged when the crash of a balloon resulted in a fire that burned down about 100 houses, making the town home to the world's first aviation disaster . To this day, the town shield depicts a phoenix rising from the ashes. Jean-Pierre Blanchard went on to make the first manned flight of a balloon in America on 9 January 1793, after touring Europe to set the record for the first balloon flight in countries including

19738-551: Was soon joined by the height/fuse indicator (HFI), this was marked with elevation angles and height lines overlaid with fuse length curves, using the height reported by the HRF operator, the necessary fuse length could be read off. However, the problem of deflection settings — "aim-off" — required knowing the rate of change in the target's position. Both France and the UK introduced tachymetric devices to track targets and produce vertical and horizontal deflection angles. The French Brocq system

19880-442: Was still little official support for an air corps. The outbreak of World War I changed opinions drastically and cavalry officer Theodor Real was charged with forming a flying corps. He commandeered three civilian aircraft at Bern's airfield and set about training the initial nine pilots at a makeshift airfield close to Wankdorf Stadium , later moving to a permanent home at Dübendorf. Switzerland remained neutral and isolated during

20022-501: Was the guns protecting spotting balloons, in which case the altitude could be accurately measured from the length of the cable holding the balloon. The first issue was ammunition. Before the war it was recognised that ammunition needed to explode in the air. Both high explosive (HE) and shrapnel were used, mostly the former. Airburst fuses were either igniferious (based on a burning fuse) or mechanical (clockwork). Igniferious fuses were not well suited for anti-aircraft use. The fuse length

20164-496: Was the prospect of strategic air attack that was the main issue, presenting both a threat and an opportunity. The experience of four years of air attacks on London by Zeppelins and Gotha G.V bombers had particularly influenced the British and was one of if not the main driver for forming an independent air force. As the capabilities of aircraft and their engines improved it was clear that their role in future war would be even more critical as their range and weapon load grew. However, in

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