Breguet's 1939-1945 Aircraft ID Challenge #141

[aerohydro]

Even during wartime, the soldiers were expected to take the balloon out for its daily walk.

The scoreboard at the start of Challenge #141:

42.60 Dave_Kent
39.50 Richard B
30.40 Rbailey
************************
10.00 or higher must wait 12 hours
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9.00 Froggy
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5.00 to 9.99 must wait 6 hours
************************
4.99 or lower may start immediately
************************
04.00 YavorD
03.00 Albatros Ace
03.00 DHC2Pilot
03.00 Doc
02.00 Rod_Filan
02.00 Sobrien
01.00 aerohydro

Previous: Breguet's 1939-1945 Aircraft Challenge

The Rules (revised 14 July 2012):

1. The thread title must be "Breguet's 1939-1945 Aircraft ID Challenge #......"
2. The score board, link and rules must be copied to the beginning of each thread, so that we know where we are. The score board and the correct answer to the challenge must also be placed at end of each thread.
3. The completed aircraft must have been either; designed, built or have left the ground during the '39-'45 period and be identifiable by the poster.
4. The photo must show the whole aircraft - from whatever angle, or at least 2 views of a 3 view drawing (photo by preference).
5. Challenges which depict a machine already earlier presented are disqualified (always check the list at Aeroplanes1939 - 1945* -* Breguet -Aircraft Challenge* -- when in doubt !).
6. If there is any doubt as to the eligibility of an aircraft for the challenge details should be PM'd to Breguet BEFORE the aircraft is submitted.
7. Once someone has got 5 correct answers under their belt they become an ACE. Once they become an ACE they must wait 6 hrs after the original post. When someone becomes a DOUBLE ACE (10 or more points) the must wait 12 hrs after the original post to ID the aircraft
8. To be eligible for correct ID an answer must include at least one characteristic of the aircraft that helped in its identification.
9. The first person to ID the challenge correctly gets to post the next challenge. If this can not be done for any reason Breguet himself will post the next challenge.
10. If an ace gives the correct answer too early, the challenge is over, he gets no point but has to post the next one. In lieu of the fact that the "novices" have in effect been "cheated" of their "exclusive" time that next post should be a relatively easy one. Anyone repeating the correct answer at the right time gets neither a point nor the right to post the next challenge.
11. The final arbiter in relation to questions about the rules is Breguet.

[Rbailey]

Looking for Russian barrage balloons, this comes up as serving during the siege of Leningrad. But I think it is actually a gas holder for them - no evident cable connections. Identifiable by the uniforms.

[Dave_Kent]

Based on the size and shape, a Barrage Balloon. Specifically, a Soviet Barrage Balloon during the Siege of Leningrad. As to the manufacturer and model, no idea.

Dave

[aerohydro]

Hello Ron and Dave,

Thanks for your posts. Ron essentially has ID'ed the craft in question. The photo shows soldiers walking a "nurse balloon" along Nevsky Prospekt in Leningrad in October 1941.

A nurse balloon was a way of transporting quantities of lifting gas from the site of a gas generator over a location where the gas would then be transferred over to a barrage balloon. The craft usually had neutral or a slight positive buoyancy to them. I suspect that the envelope's material was selected for toughness and durability, and so was quite heavy in its own right. Nurse balloons were used during WWI by the Americans and the English, and look almost identical to the one used in this Challenge.

Here is the original uncropped version of the photo used in this Challenge:

Barrage balloon being transported

FYI, here are some additional images of nurse balloons, taken during the Siege of Leningrad:

The last image is from the following website, and contains some additional images of nurse balloons:

Siege of Leningrad - now and then photos

Cheers,
Paul

[aerohydro]

Answer: A nurse balloon, used during the Siege of Leningrad, 1941

The scoreboard at the end of Challenge #141:

42.60 Dave_Kent
39.50 Richard B
31.40 Rbailey
************************
10.00 or higher must wait 12 hours
************************
9.00 Froggy
************************
5.00 to 9.99 must wait 6 hours
************************
4.99 or lower may start immediately
************************
04.00 YavorD
03.00 Albatros Ace
03.00 DHC2Pilot
03.00 Doc
02.00 Rod_Filan
02.00 Sobrien
01.00 aerohydro