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

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

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

From Time Magazine Archive

Thus neoprene is an excellent material for coating the 1,000,000 square yards of cotton in every U.S. barrage balloon.

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