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barrage balloon
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barrage balloon

Captive balloons, of tear-drop shape and with fins to keep them headed into the wind, which can be positioned around likely bombing targets to interfere with the probable flight paths of enemy aircraft. These were used extensively in World War II.

Their prime function is to force enemy aircraft to stay high to avoid the balloons, so placing them at the optimum height for engagement by anti-aircraft guns.



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? Mentioned in ? References in periodicals archive
 
The commission's conclusions, which were presented to the party Central Committee and the USSR Government in May 1948, proposed that antiaircraft artillery and barrage balloons be deployed in all military districts; that fighter aviation, aircraft observation, warning, and communications (VNOS) assets and antiaircraft searchlights be incorporated into the Air Force; and that the Soviet Army PVO commander be placed in charge of the country's air defense.
Marshal L.A. Govorov, the country's first commander in chief of Air ... by Volkov, A.D. / Military Thought
Often parks would have one or more barrage balloons sited on them.
PARKS AT WAR: LONDON, 1939-1945 by JEWELL, DAVID / Parks & Recreation
Based on an actual World War II episode, this historical novel, told in a colorful first-person narration, gets all the details right -- from the barrage balloons overhead like "moonlit elephants browsing" to the local "scouse" dialect ("Shurrup or I'll flatten your phizog for ye").
Wish Me Luck by Sieruta, Peter D. / The Horn Book Magazine
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