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RAF Balloon Command : A History Of Courage In Pictures

WAAF Barrage Balloon crews at RAF Cardington.

RAF Balloon Command : A History Of Courage In Pictures 77 years ago today, on February 5th, 1945 the RAF Balloon Command is disbanded as the air raid threat lessens.

A kite balloon tethered to the balloon barge NORMAN WADE on the River Humber, at No. 17 Balloon Centre at Sutton-on-Hull in Yorkshire, January 1943. A kite balloon tethered to the balloon barge NORMAN WADE on the River Humber, ready to be taken ashore for inspection and maintenance at No. 17 Balloon Centre, Sutton-on-Hull, Yorkshire.
Barrage balloons near Biggin Hill in Kent, part of the defences on the south-eastern approaches to London to combat V-1 flying bombs, 1944. A barrage balloon of Balloon Command floating just above the ground, near Biggin Hill, Kent. In the background a number of airborne balloons are visible. Large numbers of barrage balloons were located across the south-eastern approaches to London to combat the growing threat from V-1 flying bombs launched from the Pas de Calais starting in June 1944.

The Battle of Britain was over. Furthermore, the German air threat had vanished as the war was coming to a close.

Restored Fordson Sussex Balloon Winch Tender CC BY-SA 3.0
Britain’s Home Front 1939 – 1945- Barrage Balloon Construction Looking down on the factory floor at the Dunlop Balloon Factory, Manchester, where barrage balloons are being constructed.
Moreover, the Balloon Command was a unit of the Royal Air Force that had the responsibility of controlling all the United Kingdom-based barrage balloon units during the Second World War.
RAF kite balloons are walked out of No. 1 Airship Shed at Cardington for handling practice by No. 1 Balloon Training Unit, October 1940. Kite balloons and their attendant balloon winches are walked out of No. 1 Airship Shed at Cardington, Bedfordshire, for handling practice by No. 1 Balloon Training Unit.
Royal Air Force Balloon Command, 1939-1945. The crew of a kite balloon site of No. 961 Balloon Squadron, relax in their Nissen hut at Dover, Kent.
Originally it was known as the No. 30 (Balloon Barrage) Group when it was formed in 1937.
Royal Air Force Balloon Command, 1939-1945. Kite balloons and balloon winches of No. 1 Balloon Training Unit are prepared for handling practice at Cardington, Bedfordshire.
Royal Air Force Balloon Crew in Britain, 1944 Two men of a Royal Air Force Combined Operations balloon crew with the winch and tackle used for hauling in small barrage balloons.
RAF Cardington near Bedford was home to a large Balloon Command unit.CC BY 2.0
Dodge Type ‘H’ LHD cradle carrier, loaded with gas bottles.

As a result of the need for more defensive protection, the group became a huge RAF division, with the need to defend the United Kingdom against the German air raids.

Photograph of Barrage balloons over London during World War II. Buckingham Palace and the Victoria Memorial can be seen in the middle ground.
Royal Air Force Balloon Command, 1939-1945. A Barrage Balloon Section, housed in a converted sugar barge in the Thames Estuary, sends up a kite balloon from its cradle.
Royal Air Force Balloon Command, 1939-1945. A kite balloon operated by No. 961 Balloon Squadron is winched into the air amid damaged buildings at Granville Gardens, Dover, Kent.

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