One of the unique services offered by the Solo Wargamers Association is the advisor service. There are a number of members who have volunteered to help answer questions about their special area of interest. If my experience as air warfare advisor is typical, the advisors are not snowed under by a blizzard of questions. In fact during my term I have been contacted just once by a member with a question. I replied that I didn't know the answer. That may explain why I have been asked no further question, do you suppose? But, I did write and ask for more information before I could help with the member's problem. I got no reply. Maybe the member solved his own problem with no further "help." While my primary gaming interest is 1/300 scale World War 11 fighters, I am pretty open minded. I will advise on any era including flying wizards, World War I dogfights, and even the jet age. Failing to find a role as a dispenser of answers, I have decided to try to stimulate interest in air wargames. I have been doing a bit of preliminary research on the aerial forces of the American Civil War. Balloons were pretty well developed by 1861. The first balloon flight took place in 1783. Within a few years people were proposing military uses. Balloons could be used for signaling, to carry mail out of besieged towns, for observation of the enemy, or even to carry French troops across the channel to invade England. Some of these ideas were a bit fanciful but some were done in the Napoleonic wars. By the start of the Civil War there were people in the United States with experience making and flying balloons. The Union used the services of several such experts. Results varied. Operating balloons under field conditions was not easy or cheap. Some of the experts were not able to cope. Some field commanders were eager to use balloons, but others had no interest in a new gadget of no proven use. But balloons were used to perform certain useful tasks for some Union forces. They made observation of terrain easier and helped produce accurate maps. They were used to observe and locate enemy troops. Some generals actually went up in balloons to see the enemy. A balloon was used to spot the fall of artillery shells and make corrections. There was even a ship outfitted to carry balloons (the first aircraft carriers?). Balloons could be linked to the ground by a telegraph line so the commander on the ground could get real time intelligence. There were even some fumbling attempts to use balloons to drop bombs. A balloon could be historically justified as part of a Civil War Union Army. The problem is getting a balloon from suppliers of Civil War figures. For some reason no one has thought of making a lead balloon. Do you suppose that SWA can patent the idea? Back to Table of Contents -- Lone Warrior #125 Back to Lone Warrior List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1999 by Solo Wargamers Association. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com