Airplanes armed with rockets

[Angiolillo]

Hello!

A few questions about airplanes using anti-balloon rockets. I knows the Le Prieur ones: could they be shoot one at the time/in groups or just all together? Have they ever been effective against enemy planes?

I have a report of an Italian balloon attacked by Austrian planes with incendiary bullets and rockets. Can anybody supply any info about the use of rockets by thw Central Powers?

Italian planes using roickets were mainly SPAD VIIs, Nieuports, Farmans. I have also heard of Camels. Can you tell me on which other models they have been used?

Besides rockets and incendiary ammo, and the occasional ramming from berserker pilots, were there any other ways to destroy an enemy balloon with your airplane?

Thanks a lot to everybody!

Andrea

Just dive your aircraft at the balloon......the observer will jump out...2 hours lost.

["Junior"]

I believe (but I might be very wrong here) that I've read about a pilot who destroyed a balloon early in the War with a grappling hook!

I have an idea he was French or British but like I said don't quote me.

If so quite a feat!

Junior.

[Angiolillo]

I can not remember if it was Ancillotto or Piccio, but one of our aces even destroyed a balloon hitting it with the nose of its plane. Then he landed back on his airfield with enemy fabric piueces hanging from his wings.

But I was looking for more usual ways to destroy balloons...

Anybody knows about malfuncioning of the Le Prieur rockets?

["Junior"]

Buckingham ammo was the more usual method used by the RFC and RNAS I believe.

Only so many ways you can destroy a balloon without getting silly about it

Junior.

[Lufbery]

Andrea,

Here's some information that may prove useful:

http://www.firstworldwar.com/atoz/leprieur.htm

http://www.ctie.monash.edu.au/hargrave/le_prieur.html

From what I can tell, the rockets could be fired one at a time. They were, however, very inaccurate and had an effective range of 150 yards or so -- giving the pilot barely enough time to pull up from his attack run after firing the rockets.

Here's some info on the Pomeroy incendiary bullet:

http://www.firstworldwar.com/atoz/pomeroybullet.htm

Regards,

[ww1 ace]

Yeah, some Russian ace, [top russian ace I think] had a hook on his plane, and hit an airplane with it. I got it in my Fighter ace book.

[Angiolillo]

Yeah! It was Aleksandr Kozakov (or how do you like to spell it), the top scoring Russian ace.

Alas, no victories with his hook and no balloons among his victims. But the first plane downed by ramming it is amazing anyway!

Bye and thanks to everybody,

Andrea

[Dan_San_Abbott]

Gentlemen:
In 1916, the Fliegertruppe set up a Halb.D.I with strut mounted rockets. I don't know if they were tried, most likely. I don't know what the results of their test were. It looked like the prototype D.100.
Blue skies,
Dan-San

[Angiolillo]

Thanks a lot for the info, Dan San! Quite a honor.

By the way, was ever a plane shot down by rockets?