Sunderland, Barrage Balloon

HER Number:
5557

District:
Sunderland

Site Name:
Sunderland, Barrage Balloon

Place:
Sunderland

Map Sheet:
NZ35NE

Class:
Defence

Site Type: Broad:
Anti Aircraft Defence Site

Site Type: Specific:
Barrage Balloon Site

General Period:
Modern

Specific Period:
C20

Form of Evidence:
Documentary Evidence

Description:
Barrage Balloon - in Backhouse Park - these were first used in WW1. They forced enemy aircraft to fly high, preventing an easier target for fighters and anti-aircrafts gunners and reducing the accuracy of bombing. Barrage balloons were either positioned around the perimeter of large vulnerable points or were "field sited" - moored over a circular area. They were an RAF responsibility. Equipment was usually mobile and based on lorries. Today the main evidence of their siting on the ground will be a ring of cylindrical concrete tethering blocks. Regional Balloon Centres, which acted as headquarters for the balloon units and storage depots had two unique buildings - a balloon shed or balloon hangar, where the balloons could be test inflated, and the balloon storage shed with gantries over each of its foor doors.

Easting:
399

Northing:
556

Grid Reference:
NZ399556

Lats/Lons:

Sources:
<< HER 5557 >> Alan Rudd, 1986, List of 20th century defence sites on Tyneside Council For British Archaeology, 1995, Twentieth Century, Defences in Britain - An Introductory Guide Handbook of The Defence of Britain Project, p 63