# First Aerial Bombardment In 1849?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-aerial-bombardment-in-1849/113464>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 11, 2002, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-aerial-bombardment-in-1849/113464 "2002-06-11T15:19:40Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\
**Post date:** [June 11, 2002, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-aerial-bombardment-in-1849/113464/1 "2002-06-11T15:19:40Z")

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What’s the story behind the world’s first aerial bombardment, which took place in the year 1849? How did they do it?? How successful was the attack???

Thanks.

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**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\
**Post date:** [June 11, 2002, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-aerial-bombardment-in-1849/113464/2 "2002-06-11T15:37:35Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> On August 22, 1849, the Austrians, who controlled much of Italy at this time, launched some 200 pilotless balloons against the city of Venice. The balloons were armed with bombs controlled by timed fuses - they are also said to have used fuses electrically activated via signals fed up trailing copper wires (to be confirmed - Ed.). Some of the bombs exploded as planned but the wind changed direction and blew several balloons back over the Austrian lines. This is, by most accounts, the first recorded action of its type…more about this story

[http://www.ctie.monash.edu.au/hargrave/rpav\_home.html](http://www.ctie.monash.edu.au/hargrave/rpav_home.html)

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**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\
**Post date:** [June 11, 2002, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-aerial-bombardment-in-1849/113464/3 "2002-06-11T17:13:36Z")

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First aerial bombardment results in “friendly fire” incident…

Just the start of a _loooong_ tradition of bombing one’s mates.

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**Author:** ![a\_gherkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f6c823/32.png) [@a\_gherkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a_gherkin)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2002, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-aerial-bombardment-in-1849/113464/4 "2002-06-12T21:40:07Z")

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here, here tranquilis