[aprssig] K6RPT-11 trans ocean balloons...

[Steve Noskowicz]

  Back in the late 70's, my wife had an interest in paper making and has a book describing in detail the very fine Japanese paper making methods that was written by an American who didn't want the techniques lost.  In that book it mentions these paper balloons ,so I got a copy of the Smithsonian book.  It has much detail such as maps of the landing sites and I believe it also showed the special launching sites bult on Japan's east coast..
  One of the interesting things was how the sand in the ballast bags was analyzed and the beaches of origin determined.
  Because they were largely kept secret and therefore unknown, they had no effect on morale in the US.  
  I don't recall seeing any documentaries here in the US.
 
Robert C. Mikesh, Japan's World War II Balloon Bomb Attacks on North America, Smithsonian Institution Press, 1973 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_balloon

No more comments on the sig.

-- 
 73, Steve, K9DCI   USN (Vet) MOT (Ret) Ham (Yet)

---  Dave wrote:
> There was a documentary about that a
> while back on UK TV.
> 
> Dave G0WBX.
> 
> > 
> >   Few know that just like this, in WWII
> the Japanese sent
> >   paper-balloon bombs across the
> Pacific.  It wasn't publicized at the
> >   time or really afterword. I don't
> recall the altitude, but they had
> >   two altimeters.  One released
> gas when the altitude got too high and
> >   the other dropped ballast bags when
> it got too low. I don't recall
> >   what the bomb-drop trigger was. If I
> recall, they launched something
> >   just short of 10,000.  I think a
> few hundred were known to make it
> >   all up and down the North American
> west coast.  One was known to
> >   make it as far east as
> Michigan.  They watched and tried to shoot
> >   them down off the west coast. 
> Six people died on a church outing
> >   when they stumbled upon one in the
> Pacific Northwest and fiddled
> >   with it and the bomb blew up.
> > 
> >   Battery's UP to (V1F6) 4.85Volts.
> > 
> > -- 
> > Steve, K9DCI
> > 
> > 
> > -- 
> >  73, Steve, K9DCI  
> > 
> > 
> > 
> 
> 
> 
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