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Show More Information On JapBalloons A government official said Tuesday Tues-day that Japan's bomb-carrying balloons being sent against America Ameri-ca are launched in the home islands and are controlled by an automatic auto-matic ballast-dropping device. Lyle F. Watts, chief of the L'nited ;States Forest service, told in a radio interview how the unmanned un-manned balloons operate. The forest service has been assisting the army in preventing damage from the balloons. The army and navy recently disclosed that some of the balloons have landed in the western part of this country but said they had caused no property damage. Watts said the balloons made of five layers of silk paper and 35 feet in diameter are taken to Japanese Jap-anese war plants where officials "make a lot of speeches, stir up workers to a frenzy and then launch the balloons from the plant for their trip to the United States." The hydrogen-filled balloons ascend as-cend to heights of 25,000 to 35,000 feet where they reach air currents which travel constantly from west to east, he asserted. Each time they descend to 25,000 feet from loss of gas, a barometric pressure switch automatically drops a sandbag. sand-bag. Release of this sandbag causes the balloon to rise again to about 35,000. feet. "If the Japs have figured right", Watts said, "the last sandbag has been dropped only after the balloon has reached this country." A second automatic switch which controls the bombs, then takes over, he continued. When the balloon drops to 27,-000 27,-000 feet a bomb is released. The balloon goes back up, then down again and another incendiary is released and so on as it travels across the United States. When the last incendiary is dropped, n fuse is ignited automatically and sets off a demolition charge which destroys the sballoon if the budk-toothed budk-toothed barbarians' plans workout. The only balloons found on the ground are defective ones which failed to explode. Watts said the balloons travel up to 125 miles an hour, taking front 80 to 120 hours to reach this country. He reported that the forest service ser-vice has increased its air patrol to sight as many as possible in the air and shoot them down. It also has increased the number of parachuting fire fighters. "There is a point I'd like to bring out," the forestry chief said. "We are less worried about this Japanese balloon attack than we are with matches and smokes in the hands of good Americans hiking hik-ing and camping in the woods. Lumber for crating our war goods, going to the Pacific is still a very critical item. We must protect our timber." 7 |