An extract from Balloon Busting Aces Of World War 1.
In contrast to the fantastic variety of aeroplanes developed during World War 1, virtually all of the gasbags were basically either if the Drachen or Caquot type. In spite of the predominance of Caquot-influenced Type AEs by 1918, Allied troops and airmen often continued to generically refer to all the Central Powers kite balloons as Drachen, whether the sobriquet was technically accurate or not.
Communicating by telephone or wireless with forces on the ground, the balloon observers could detect frontline movements or direct any sort of artillery from a mortar attack on a precise tearget to massive, high-calibre howitzer barrages with murderous accuracy. As such they constituted a very real menace to the other side's ground forces. Destroying enemy balloons, therefore, was a very desirable objective before a major offensive or logistical support operation was to be carried out.
On the face of it, a voluminous bag of hydrogen would seem an easy target for an enterprising figher pilot, but for a number of reasons most airmen regarded balloon-bursting missions as extraordinarily difficult and dangerous. First and formost, the gasbags were located deep within enemy lines, requiring their attackers to go after them while exposed to observation, aerial interception and every enemy soldier carrying a gun. although the balloon floated several thousand feet above the ground, it could be rapidly pulled down by means of a powered winch when attacked, while the balloon company's attached batteries of anti-aircraft artillery and machine guns surrounded it with a descending cone of fire through which the attacking fighter had to dive.
Once he reached his downward-rushing quarry, the fighter pilot found it surprisingly difficult to ignite the pure hydrogen that gave the balloon its buoyancy, even with incendiary bullets. Only by pouring a sustained burst into the gasbag, allowing some hydrogen to escape and mix with the oxygen, could the attacking fighter hope to touch off the fire that, once started, would quickly consume the entire balloon. If he failed to set it alight, the pilot had two options - give up and head for home, or gamble at even less favourable odds by making another firing pass through fully aroused, and consequently more intense, ground fire at even lower altitude.
Once ignited, a burning balloon could be seen for miles, assuring confirmation for the fighter pilot who destroyed it, provided he returned to claim the kill. But the pyre was equally visible to the enemy, and the returning balloon buster faced a gauntlet of anti-aircraft and ground fire, as well as vengeful enemy fighter converging on his most likely escape route. Taken in sum, those factors caused attacking balloons to be widely regarded as a suicide mission. requiring as much luck as skill on the pilot's part.
This to me done correctly as something of a challenge to do, and provide players with an objective in the absence of sufficient player numbers.
