On the 15th of July, 1849, Austria launched pilotless balloons against Venice during the First Italian War of Independence. This is the first recorded air raid. I have written about aerial warfare before, and about my pilot training, but I hadn’t known about this first air raid. Now, of course we see pilotless drones playing a key role in Ukraine’s defence against Russia. But, back to 1849.
The city of Venice had declared independence from Austrian control in 1848 amidst widespread revolutionary fervour throughout Europe. However, by 1849, Austrian forces under Field Marshal Joseph Radetzky had regained control of much of the region, encircling Venice and preparing for a final siege. The Austrians faced a formidable challenge: Venice was well-defended, surrounded by water, and resistant to traditional siege tactics. Seeking an alternative method to break Venetian morale and force a surrender, Austrian military strategists conceived the idea of using hot air balloons to deliver explosives over the city.
The plan involved launching large, unmanned balloons filled with hot air or hydrogen, each carrying small bombs equipped with time fuses. The intention was for the balloons to drift over Venice, where the bombs would detonate, causing damage to both infrastructure and civilian areas, thereby demoralising the populace and hastening the city’s capitulation. The Austrians launched these balloons from land positions outside the city, relying on prevailing winds to carry them over their targets.
However, the execution of this ambitious plan faced significant challenges. The primary issue was the unpredictability of wind patterns. Although the Austrians attempted to time the launches to coincide with favourable breezes, they had limited means of controlling the balloons once airborne. Many of the balloons drifted off course, some failing to reach Venice altogether. In a twist of irony, several balloons were caught in shifting winds and blown back over Austrian positions, where their bombs detonated—creating unintended hazards for their own troops.
Despite these setbacks, the psychological impact on both the Venetians and the Austrians was profound. For the defenders of Venice, the sight of silent, drifting balloons carrying death from above was both novel and terrifying, introducing a new dimension of warfare. For the Austrians, the experiment highlighted both the potential and the limitations of aerial bombardment, underscoring the need for better control and predictability in future applications.
While the balloon bombardment did not decisively contribute to Venice’s eventual surrender in August 1849, it represented a significant milestone in military history. It demonstrated the feasibility of using aerial platforms for offensive operations, laying conceptual groundwork for future developments in aerial warfare. The event illustrated early military experimentation with new technologies to overcome battlefield challenges—a theme that would recur throughout subsequent conflicts.