Allied observation balloon with prominent striping over Joncherey, France, between Belfort and the Swiss border. Trenches are clearly visible below.
Sosage Ballonn over Joncherey
"Thursday, 8th June [Old Style]Enemy aeroplanes had been over about 4 a.m. and awakened us; discontented murmurings came from most beds. We took turns in washing, with as little water as possible. Once or twice we had tried to persuade Rupertsov, our tent-boy, to scrounge another bucketful for us. He would screw his face up and shake his head. . . .Friday, 9th JuneEnemy aeroplanes came over again soon after dawn and a couple of shells were dropped near our bivouac; but no harm was done. But we lost two aerostats that bright June morning; and two valiant Russian aeronauts, who had not had enough time to escape, perished in the flames."
Excerpts from entries for Thursday and Friday, June 21 and 22 (June 8 and 9, 1917 Old Style) from the diary of Florence Farmborough, an English nurse serving with the Russian Red Cross. The Russian Provisional Government formed after the Russian Revolution were preparing for an offensive, and Farmborough and her unit were south of Lemberg in Galicia, Austria-Hungary, now Lvov. An 'aerostat' is a lighter than air aircraft such as the observation balloons used by both sides in the war.
Nurse at the Russian Front, a Diary 1914-18 by Florence Farmborough, pp. 274–275, copyright © 1974 by Florence Farmborough, publisher: Constable and Company Limited, publication date: 1974
1917-06-22, 1917-06-21, 1917, June, observation balloon, Joncherey balloon
