Where are they now?

Question

During World War two most towns , cities & prime targets were surrounded by dozens of tethered barrage balloons, even convoys at sea were so protected, When inflated they were about the size of the average whale, even when packed were a sizeable lump, nationwide there must have been tens of thousands of them, Where did they all go? is there a balloon cemetary somewhere, or did they just cut them free to ascend into a balloon heaven, Perhaps someone from the MOD knows

OOps! I forgot the younger generation have no idea what a barrage balloon was' Try WW2 history.

puteri zie 19, most people understood my simple question, I most certainly did NOT understand your answer.

Answer 1

Great question.

One of those balloons hangs near the border crossing south of Columbus, NM, watching for drug or human traffic, most likely.

As for the rest, maybe they got broken up, same as the aircraft. The old air base at Monahans, Texas [Rattlesnake, it was called] was the scene of thousands of aircraft being chopped to pieces.

You can still walk across the ruins of that old base and find interesting artifacts, altimeters, aircraft chunks and pieces. At least you could do that during the 1980s.

Maybe that's what happened to the barrage balloons.

Answer 2

As a kid I actually remember a few of them flying over Logan Airport here in Boston. My mother and father told me that they flew barrage balloons all over Boston during the war.

It seems they just stopped making barrage balloons and the ones that got damaged were just never replaced.

I picked up the expression of using 'barrage balloon' as an insult from my father, yet when I use it today no one gets it; e.g. "You look like a barrage balloon with pants on."

Answer 3

i remember after the war you saw balloon fabric everywhere as today you see plastic so i guess they were sold as army surplus and sold to public for uses of coverings in place of heavy tarpaulins

Answer 4

My mother-in-law used to work with them during the war, maybe she ate them!

Answer 5

was sold as surpluss after the war

Answer 6

think my mate got them all and now makes his clothes out of them.

Answer 7

what are u talking about?capture what? who know i will help u

Answer 8

they make it inot more useful things or put into trash...

Answer 9

recycled