[waltman]

I'm just watching Saving Private Ryan again, and they just left the beach to look for Ryan. Now, although this has nothing to do with the movie itself, I noticed the blimps on the beach and I have always wonderred what the blimps were for. I am guessing they were fort either observation or for extending the range of radio frequencies. Anybody know what they are really for?

 

[Spazmo]

Never seen the movie, but were they just balloons or actual blimps with the cabin at the bottom? If they were those greyish balloons, they were either decoys, or 2 or more of them were linked together with steel wires (they also hung the wires to the ground to keep them from floating away and to widen the area of wires) and when planes flew through them they would literally tear the wings off of em. They were grey cause planes couldn't see them and when they did it was too late.

 

[waltman]

I don't think that was it, Ziggy. I just rewound the movie to the d-day landing and There was no cabin below the blimp and they were about 200' above the ships. There are hundreds of them. I don't see any ropes between the blimps, only from the blimps to the ships. I just don't think it is likely that a plane would get that close to the sea to make that a plausible use for the blimps. I've always wondered about those blimps when I've watched footage of the d-day landings. It would seem to me that it would make them stand out more and result in getting spotted sooner than without them.Thanks anyways Ziggy

great movie, by the way. You gotta rent it.

 

[SouthFloridaBronco85]

The blimps were sometimes used to keep the enemy planes at higher altitudes. Making them more vulnerable to AA fire, also preventing strafing (sp?) of the beach head and dive bombing. These were "baby blimps" which generally carried a 4 man crew. After a foothold was established, they were also used for observation and battlefield assessments.

 

[waltman]

Ok, that sounds possible. Can anybody else confirm this?

 

[MUDDOG7375]

Look up the info on German air weapons...Its been along time since I saw the movie...What I remember from the history channel its Germans used them for dropping bombs & they even launchd air planes from them to save on fuel & to launch them at higher altitudes...

http://www.firstworldwar.com/airwar/bombers_zeppelins.htm

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=German+war+balloons&spell=1

 

[marv]

Ziggy_Moto and SouthFloridaBronco85 are right. They were also used over London and other British cities during the blitz as well as above ship convoys in the English Channel.

 

[TreR1969]

They were often used as aerial observation platforms for spotting submarines and for battlefield assessment.

 

[bnkrtstk]

You're all wrong.

The blimps were there to film it, they didn't have news helicopters at the time. If you look closely you can see the word Goodyear on one of them :goodfinge

 

[marv]

You're all wrong.

The blimps were there to film it, they didn't have news helicopters at the time. If you look closely you can see the word Goodyear on one of them :goodfinge

:histerica:histerica:histerica:histerica:histerica:histerica

 

[Spazmo]

I don't think that was it, Ziggy. I just rewound the movie to the d-day landing and There was no cabin below the blimp and they were about 200' above the ships. There are hundreds of them. I don't see any ropes between the blimps, only from the blimps to the ships. I just don't think it is likely that a plane would get that close to the sea to make that a plausible use for the blimps. I've always wondered about those blimps when I've watched footage of the d-day landings. It would seem to me that it would make them stand out more and result in getting spotted sooner than without them.Thanks anyways Ziggy

great movie, by the way. You gotta rent it.

Eh, 200 feet seems unreasonable. They were at a much higher altitude than that. They were mainly for divebombers and surveillance (medieval style with a guy hangin' out of the plane with a camera :toothless), but they could still trap a few fighter flies in their webs.

 

[[email protected]]

The blimps were sometimes used to keep the enemy planes at higher altitudes. Making them more vulnerable to AA fire, also preventing strafing (sp?) of the beach head and dive bombing. These were "baby blimps" which generally carried a 4 man crew. After a foothold was established, they were also used for observation and battlefield assessments.

:stupid
That is the main reason I think.

:beer
Bill

 

[Leardc]

http://www.afro.com/history/OurWar/stewart1.html

The primary objective of the blimp is to keep enemy planes high, where automatic ack-ack guns can pot them; also to prevent strafing and dive bombing of ships, docks, airfields or troop personnel. Some operate in tandems--with a second blimp attached to and flown above the first one.

 

[waltman]

So it's unanimous. Keep planes at a higher altitude, limit strafing and dive bombing, observation platform, catch the odd low flighing strafer....and practice filming for the superbowl. :thumbup
Thanks for clearing that up.

 

[poopy_pants]

They were barrage balloons. Prevented dive bombing and low-level strafing. And strafing of the beach-head was not prevented by these balloons. They didn't really care about the beach, men were expendable, the ships that supported the men are what they wanted to protect. Men were still strafed because planes could come in parallel w/ the beach.

 

[ScorpionBoy]

They were barrage balloons. Prevented dive bombing and low-level strafing. And strafing of the beach-head was not prevented by these balloons. They didn't really care about the beach, men were expendable, the ships that supported the men are what they wanted to protect. Men were still strafed because planes could come in parallel w/ the beach.

I think it was more likely due to the impracticality of deploying the balloons along the beach before the invasion rather than callousness.

 

[RLKBOB]

I don't know. All my years on Subs during the 90's I never saw any balloons in the sky. Wait a minute I never saw the sky either. Disregard.

 

[Hopper]

:lolup

Barrage balloons. Used to keep torpedo fawkers and dive bombers away they were also used to stop strafing (sp?) runs. They arn't used anymore to my knowlage. They had absolutly nothing to do with the troops that wern't on the ships. Ever seen a plane hit a huge cable at speed? Looks kinda like cheese and a hot wire.

 

[Spazmo]

:lolup

Barrage balloons. Used to keep torpedo fawkers and dive bombers away they were also used to stop strafing (sp?) runs. They arn't used anymore to my knowlage. They had absolutly nothing to do with the troops that wern't on the ships. Ever seen a plane hit a huge cable at speed? Looks kinda like cheese and a hot wire.

Just about sums the topic up for me. :toothless.

 

[Bronco Rob]

i don't know for sure. But the first half of that movie is the MOST intense and supposedly the most ACCURATE war re-creation scenes.

I have to give every man that stormed that beach credit.