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Project 119L was a
The spy balloons would photograph sensitive Soviet sites and either hang in the air or land in the Sea of Japan until either a crew flying the C-119 Flying Boxcar or a naval vessel retrieved them. The project caused a row between the U.S. and Soviet forces when the Soviets discovered the remnants of a U.S. spy camera in February 1956. Other reconnaissance balloon projects from the era included Project Skyhook, Project Mogul, Project Grandson, and Project Genetrix.
The previously conducted "Project Moby Dick" used much smaller balloons launched from what was called a "Covered Wagon". Their payloads were then tracked across the continental United States to map and study high altitude wind trajectories.Peebles, Curtis, 1991. ''The Moby Dick Project: Reconnaissance Balloons over Russia.'' Smithsonian Books,
Project Flying Cloud, Weapons System 124A, was a derived concept to use balloons to deliver
Fairchild C-119 "Boxcar"
Cold War espionage Soviet Union–United States relations Balloons (aeronautics) Aerial reconnaissance Military equipment introduced in the 1950s Violations of Soviet airspace {{mil-aviation-stub
Cold War
The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
reconnaissance
In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...
operation by the U.S. Air Force in which large espionage balloons floated cameras
A camera is an instrument used to capture and store images and videos, either digitally via an electronic image sensor, or chemically via a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. As a pivotal technology in the fields of photograp ...
over the Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
.
Operations
The spy balloons would photograph sensitive Soviet sites and either hang in the air or land in the Sea of Japan until either a crew flying the C-119 Flying Boxcar or a naval vessel retrieved them. The project caused a row between the U.S. and Soviet forces when the Soviets discovered the remnants of a U.S. spy camera in February 1956. Other reconnaissance balloon projects from the era included Project Skyhook, Project Mogul, Project Grandson, and Project Genetrix.
The previously conducted "Project Moby Dick" used much smaller balloons launched from what was called a "Covered Wagon". Their payloads were then tracked across the continental United States to map and study high altitude wind trajectories.Peebles, Curtis, 1991. ''The Moby Dick Project: Reconnaissance Balloons over Russia.'' Smithsonian Books,
Project Flying Cloud, Weapons System 124A, was a derived concept to use balloons to deliver weapons of mass destruction
A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a Biological agent, biological, chemical weapon, chemical, Radiological weapon, radiological, nuclear weapon, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill or significantly harm many people or cause great dam ...
.
See also
* 456th Troop Carrier WingReferences
Fairchild C-119 "Boxcar"
Cold War espionage Soviet Union–United States relations Balloons (aeronautics) Aerial reconnaissance Military equipment introduced in the 1950s Violations of Soviet airspace {{mil-aviation-stub