Being an aerial lookout is one of the most dangerous positions in the crew of First World War German Zeppelin. As an aerial lookout, one’s job will be to observe the ground for enemy positions and bombing targets while hanging at the end of a long tether which was suspended from the belly of the aircraft.
The lookout sat in an observation car called the spy gondola or spy basket that was lowered from the zeppelin through the cloud, while the zeppelin itself stayed shrouded within the cloud layer and out of enemy view. The aerial lookout then became the eyes for the zeppelin’s pilot instructing the pilot on an appropriate course via a telephone. Although the job was alarming, it was said that many crew members enjoyed lookout duty because it was the only place where they were allowed to smoke.
The spy gondola was later adapted by the US Navy, but they decided that it was too dangerous to use.
I wonder, how did it feel being an aerial lookout?
(Image Credit: Amusing Planet)
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Just take a hangglider and you may understand how it feels to be tehtered with a line to a kind of aerial vehicle. I can fully understand why someone wants to take a ride in the gondola. Just asking myself how long it will take, until some experience agencies willl offer such "cloud rides" for bored-out people...
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