What were barrage balloons for?

Answer 1

The barrage balloon was simply a bag of lighter-than-air gas attached to a steel cable anchored to the ground. The balloon could be raised or lowered to the desired altitude by means of a winch. Its purpose was ingenuous: to deny low-level airspace to enemy aircraft. This simple mission provided three major benefits: (1) it forced aircraft to higher altitudes, thereby decreasing surprise and bombing accuracy; (2) it enhanced ground-based air defenses and the ability of fighters to acquire targets,since intruding aircraft were limited in altitudes and direction: and (3) the cable presented a definite mental and material hazard to pilots. Many people think that a barrage balloon system was designed to snare aircraft like a spider web capturing unwary flies. Not so. Any airplanes caught in these aerial nets were a bonus; the real objective of the balloons was to deny low-altitude flight to the enemy. Mindful of these capabilities, the British saw the barrage balloon as a viable means to counter low-level attackers during the world wars.

Answer 2

AnswerBarrage Balloons were lighter-than-air balloons that were flown over ships and important buildings, etc., as a protection against low-flying aircraft. The balloons were tied down by a very strong cable, so the balloon was quite large. In theory, any aircraft that dived too low to shoot or bomb a target would fly into this and crash.

Since the balloons were not flown very high, I had my doubts if this really worked.

However, General Mark Clark flew from Cassino to Anzio very often in a 2-seater light observation aircraft. On one occassion, his pilot flew the L-4 "Cub" into the cable of a balloon. Their plane was so light that it recovered and didn't cause any damage.