The School of Ballooning was a training and test centre for

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

experiments with

balloon A balloon is a flexible bag that can be inflated with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, and air. For special tasks, balloons can be filled with smoke, liquid water, granular media (e.g. sand, flour or rice), or light so ...

s and

airship An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...

s. It was established at

Chatham Chatham may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Chatham Islands (British Columbia) * Chatham Sound, British Columbia * Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi * Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

in 1888. The School moved to Stanhope Lines,

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alders ...

in 1890 when a balloon section and depot were formed as permanent units of the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

establishment. The School was sometimes known as the Balloon Factory.

Origins

In 1862 two

officers, who had seen

balloons A balloon is a flexible bag that can be inflated with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the per ...

being used in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, drew the attention of the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

to the potential use of balloons for observation. These officers demonstrated balloons to the army, but it was only in 1878 that the War Office directed Captain James Templer, an army

reservist A reservist is a person who is a member of a military reserve force. They are otherwise civilians, and in peacetime have careers outside the military. Reservists usually go for training on an annual basis to refresh their skills. This person is ...

and experienced balloonist, to set up a small unit of Royal Engineers which became known as the School of Ballooning.

History

At Woolwich

Initially the School was based at the

Royal Arsenal The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich is an establishment on the south bank of the River Thames in Woolwich in south-east London, England, that was used for the manufacture of armaments and ammunition, proofing, and explosives research for the Britis ...

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...

. In 1878 the school constructed and flew a

hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, an ...

-filled balloon of capacity. By 1879 the unit had five balloons. In 1880 military balloon training and demonstration took place at

. After a tragic incident in 1881 Templer concentrated on development of balloons rather than making ascents himself.

At Chatham

In 1882 the School moved to the School of Military Engineering at

where they discovered that

Goldbeater's skin Goldbeater's skin is the processed outer membrane of the intestine of an animal, typically cattle, which is valued for its strength against tearing. The term derives from its traditional use as durable layers interleaved between sheets of gold s ...

was superior balloon fabric than the material they had used previously – in particular it was easier to stow for transport. Templer also took out a patent for the use of unmanned balloons for " balloon photography" of the ground below.

At Aldershot

In 1890 the School moved to

where a section of the Royal Engineers had been formed to use balloons operationally. The School of Ballooning was renamed the Balloon Factory in 1897. In 1899 the Factory increased production to supply balloons for use in the

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...

. The Factory began experiments with "dirigible balloons" (

s) in 1902.

At Farnborough

The Aldershot site was found to be too enclosed so in 1904-1906 the Factory moved to a site at the edge of

Farnborough Common Farnborough may refer to: Australia * Farnborough, Queensland, a locality in the Shire of Livingstone United Kingdom * Farnborough, Hampshire, a town in the Rushmoor district of Hampshire, England ** Farnborough (Main) railway station, a rail ...

. A high airship shed was built at there.

Samuel Cody Samuel Franklin Cowdery (later known as Samuel Franklin Cody; 6 March 1867 – 7 August 1913, born Davenport, Iowa, USA)) was a Wild West showman and early pioneer of manned flight. He is most famous for his work on the large kites known ...

experimented with man-lifting kites at the site. In 1906 he was appointed as Chief Instructor in Kiting. In 1906 Colonel

John Capper Major-General Sir John Edward Capper (7 December 1861 − 24 May 1955) was a senior officer of the British Army during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century who served on the North-West Frontier of British India, in South Africa and ...

took up command of the School of Ballooning. During his time in command, Capper contributed to the development of Britain's military airships and, with Cody, piloted the first successful British airship flight, that of the ''

Nulli Secundus ''Nulli Secundus'' (Latin for "Second to None"). Australian Defence Force * Motto of Nine Squadron Royal Australian Corps of Transport (active from 1973) Affiliates * Motto of 402 Squadron Watsonia of the Australian Air Force Cadets (4 Wing, ...

'' over

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

during 1907.Royal Engineers Museum History Section - Aeronautics
''Royal Engineers Museum and Library'', Retrieved 15 August 2007 In 1909–1911, part of the Factory was separated to form the Air Battalion of the Royal Engineers. In 1912 the Balloon Factory was renamed the

Royal Aircraft Factory Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

Commanders

The following officers served as superintendent of the Balloon Factory: *1878 to ?, Captain J L B Templer *1901 to May 1906 Colonel J L B Templer *1906 to 1909, Colonel J E Capper In 1909, the Balloon Factory was separated from the Balloon School. Colonel Capper continued as commander of the Balloon School, and the civilian consultant engineer

Mervyn O'Gorman Mervyn Joseph Pius O'Gorman (19 December 1871 – 16 March 1958) was a British electrical and aircraft engineer. After working as an electrical engineer, he was appointed Superintendent of what became the Royal Aircraft Factory at Farnborough ...

was appointed superintendent of the Balloon Factory. Several months later Major Sir Alexander Bannerman took over the Balloon School from Colonel Capper.

References

{{reflist 1888 establishments in the United Kingdom 1911 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Ballooning History of aviation Military units and formations of the British Army Aviation schools in the United Kingdom British military aviation Military units and formations established in 1888