• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Fu-Go: Fire Balloon

The first recorded intercontinental weapons were the paper balloon bombs launched from the main Japanese island of Honshu from November 1944 through April of 1945. These "balloon bombs" were composed of silk paper filled with hydrogen and small bags of incendiary materials. There was a concern that the enemy might equip these bombs with chemical and biological agents.

On November 3, 1944 [the birthday of former Emperor Meiji, Japan released the first of over 9,300 fusen bakudan, or balloon bombs, into the Pacific jet stream towards North America. Incendiary bombs caused small-scale forest fires, but the forests were covered with snow in winter, making it difficult for the fires to spread, and there are no records of significant military gains.

Although 1,000 of these balloons reached North America, only 342 [also estimated at 285] were ever sighted or found. One made it as far as the outskirts of Detroit, Michigan. Some of those that reached North America, but are not yet found, could conceivably surprise or injure future discoverers.

Sky lanterns, also known as Chinese lanterns, are airborne paper lanterns that are most commonly used in celebrations and festivals in Asian cultures. They consist of a paper shell stretched over a frame, with a candle inside. When lit, the flame heats the air inside the lantern, causing the lantern to rise into the air like a hot air balloon.

The jet stream is a fast, narrow current of air flowing from west to east that encircles the globe (not to be confused with the Gulf Stream which is instead an ocean current of drifting seawater). It was first documented by Wasaburo Oishi, whose regular weather balloon launches from Japan in the 1920s invariably ended up flying out over the Pacific Ocean. In an attempt to reach the widest possible audience, Oishi published his results in Esperanto—an experimental “international” language invented in the late 1800s — and as a result the jet stream remained little known outside of Japan.