Helium-filled kite balloons offered important intelligence for forces on the ground. They were tethered to a spot behind the lines and winched up and down. An observer stood in a wicker basket below the balloon to study and photograph the front from hundreds of metres in the air. The ropes hanging from the balloon were used by ground crew to secure the balloon when it was winched down.
George Metcalf Archival Collection
CWM 19920085-117
Canada and the First World War
