barrage balloon

American  

noun

1. a balloon or blimp, usually one of several anchored around a military area, city, etc., from which wires or nets are hung as a protection against attacks from low-flying aircraft.

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barrage balloon British  

noun

1. one of a number of tethered balloons with cables or net suspended from them, used to deter low-flying air attack

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Etymology

Origin of barrage balloon

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

On D-Day, the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion, an African American unit, became the first barrage balloon battalion to land in France.

From New York Times • Feb. 3, 2023

Typical uses: barrage balloon coatings, gas masks, gasoline hoses, washers, cable sheathing.

From Time Magazine Archive

Solution: float a war-surplus barrage balloon 1,500 ft. above the house and let the jets squall where they may.

From Time Magazine Archive

After German airplanes and anti-aircraft batteries had worked over The Netherlands for two hours to bring down a runaway British barrage balloon, somebody cracked: "The poor thing finally burst from laughter."

From Time Magazine Archive

Reaching the spot, searchers found cool, collected authorities, heard the true explanation: a barrage balloon had broken its moorings, and lest its trailing wires short-circuit power lines a French pursuit plane had shot it down.

From Time Magazine Archive