I spoke to my good friend retired Lieutenant Colonel Dave
Underhill, the PSYOP specialist who wrote the book on leaflet size and
weight titled Low, Medium, and High-Altitude leaflet Dissemination Guide.
He told me about balloons missing their targets.
America really did almost nothing with balloons in Korea. However,
Mervyn Edwin Roberts mentions them just slightly all the way at the end in United States Psychological Operations in Support of Counterinsurgency:
Vietnam, 1960 to 1965:
The unit was disbanded in May 1953.
A declassified 1950 Central Intelligence Agency document states that the CIA will provide
sufficient funds and policy guidance to the NTS to enable it to increase its psychological
warfare activities directed against the Soviet Union. It adds that the NTS is located
primarily in Western Germany, where its 800 members are grouped into small cells. The NTS
has branches in Belgium, France, Italy, Austria, England, Argentina and the United States.
The CIA estimates that an initial sum of $3,000 a month will be sufficient to realize the
immediate objectives of this project. The CIA has already given nominal financial
assistance to NTS to help cover the expenses of publishing Possev. It arranged for
the purchase of 1,000 copies weekly for 90 days; and these were then covertly distributed
to the Soviet occupation forces in Germany
East German Communist Leaflet
In place of the portrait of Chamberlain Urmiller that appears on the genuine
currency, he has been replaced by West German politicians. At the left of the leaflet we
find the bright red text:
Beware, Funny Money!
When the leaflet is turned over we find a long German-language attack on the value
of the German currency and the honesty of West German politicians. The propaganda message
says in part:
These are the facts: Instead of starting proper relations with the DDR,
non-recognition and the claim of sole responsibility for German matters.
Instead of accepting the DDR's suggestion to reduce the arms budget by 50%, the
offer has been rejected.
Instead of speaking out against the dirty US war in Vietnam, increased support of
the American war crimes.
Instead of genuine friendship with Eastern Europe, demand for the return of the
borders of 1937.
Instead of an all-encompassing nuclear weapons ban, an attempt to obtain the
right to make decisions concerning the use of such weapons.
Back to the Stone Age?
In this “black” leaflet by the DDR pretending to be from an environmental
organization, A naked man and bare-breasted woman in gas mask are depicted. The fact that
they are naked is simply a "gimmick" to catch the attention of the reader, since
the message is entirely about pollution and the environment. Even that message is false,
since the real agenda of the propagandists is for the Federal Republic to stop spending
money on armaments, something that would make it very vulnerable to the Communist East
Germans and their Russian occupiers. The title and text on the front of the leaflet are:
Back to the Stone Age?
Cities under a dust cover. Rivers and lakes contaminated, foodstuffs poisoned by
DDT - an environmental catastrophe is approaching. What do you intend to do about it.
The back is a long 6-paragraph text. It says in part:
A miserly 0.01 billion marks are spent yearly on environmental research...
We can live safely and in peace if spending on military armament is cut and if
the Federal Republic will work constructively on a European peace arrangement. This is the
best environmental protection!
Edith Sheffer mentions the Cold War balloons in Burned Bridge: How East and West
Germans Made the Iron Curtain:
Both sides launched flashy balloon actions against the other, floating over the
border thousands of anti-communist or anti-capitalist propaganda with each mass release.
The West German “Pieck” Propaganda Leaflet
This leaflet appears to be a postal envelope bearing a Christmas letter written by a
young boy to the President of the German Democratic Republic. These leaflets were sent
over the border into East Germany by balloon and rocket. It is addressed to:
Comrade President Wilhelm Pieck / Schonhausen Castle / near Berlin
Pankow.
On the back we find the return address:
Young Pioneer Klaus Klein, Stalinallee 14
There is a long message inside cleverly written using words and phrases that
contained double-entendre that often was far stronger in its condemnation of the communist
system than plain talk. The letter text is in part:
December 1953
Dear Uncle Comrade President!
Daddy said you are Father Christmas because it is written in the newspaper that
your allies will surely help us. So, you will take care of my list of presents, won't you?
My wishes for Christmas are:
A pair of shoes made from genuine leather like you and the Party bosses wear.
Lots of self-adhesive transfers depicting Soviet soldiers.
A small saber that must be sharp because daddy cannot find any razor blades.
A real permit so mom can bring me a banana from the Western Sector without having
to be fearful.
And you must not be angry when I cannot sing the National Anthem by heart;
Instead, I will sing "The sweetest fruit is eaten by the bosses."
Various Gummed Stickers sent East with the Message
We Want to Vote
May Day was a major Communist holiday so the West Germans liked to send propaganda
eastward as the Communist paraded and celebrated. In 1954, pamphlets were ballooned
eastward urging free elections, and on May Day 1957 as East German troops paraded and
exhibited their Soviet Army equipment, anti-Communist leaflets fluttered down on the
marchers from West German balloons.
Know where!
This 1969 leaflet is made to look like an auto repair manual. It depicts a man
working on his car engine. In fact, on the back it tells East German border guards and
soldiers how to safely cross the border and desert. It explains that those working the
border are in the best position because they know the territory. It explains that only
those that don’t have the knowledge of the situation are in danger.
West Germany also regularly sent miniature books to the DDR. Some of the books were
entitled Detention Camp, A Route March of Life, or The Secret Notes.
German Army propaganda officers stated that many of these books were dispatched by their
balloon units.
A 1968 United Press International report on the West German leaflets flown
into the DDR stated:
The West German Army’s Psychological Warfare Branch has dispatched balloons
carrying more than 5 million propaganda leaflets over Communist East Germany since July
1966.
German Balloon Alarm Clock used for Leaflet drops
This alarm clock developed in the 1960s on behalf of the German
Armed Forces made it possible to use a Propaganda leaflet balloon to drop
propaganda material accurately. The desired flight time was set with the
hands and a plastic strip was pulled off the bottom of the alarm clock. With
a ring you attached the alarm clock to the balloon. There was a hook on the
back that held the packet of leaflets. Once the balloon was in the air and
it was time to drop the leaflets, the hook would come loose, and the package
would fall. The balloon and alarm clock then disappeared unnoticed into the
sky. The so-called “leaflet drop clockwork” was manufactured by the Hauser
Brothers company in Weigheim. The remainder was made available to the Watch
Industry Museum.
The United States vs Cuba
Anti-Cuban Invasion Propaganda Leaflets
Fidel Castro took over Cuba in January 1951 and installed a Communist regime. Cubans
in the United States wanted to recover their country so with the help of the Central
Intelligence Agency a plan was hatched to retake the island in April 1961. President
Kennedy once said that on his inauguration day Eisenhower warned him to avoid the
hair-brained CIA scheme, but he ignored the suggestion. The invasion took place, and
although the U.S. claimed no nationals were involved, U.S. Navy personnel told me that
they took Cuban troops right up to the beach in landing craft.
We do know that on 17 September 1962 a secret memorandum was sent to General
Lansdale on the subject of a request for approval to start a propaganda balloon campaign
against Cuba as part of Operation Mongoose.
Helium inflated balloons were to be flown from a foreign-flag ship located at least
10 miles from Cuba in international waters. To protect U.S. involvement the ship would be
chartered by a Cuban exile that was well-known and acceptable to the Cuban anti-Castro
exiles. The sponsor would be put in touch with a “cleared” balloon facility and
purchase the balloons. The sponsor would contact the Cuban Revolutionary Council and work
with them. Anti-Castro groups could submit propaganda and if found acceptable by the CIA
it would be accepted and disseminated by balloon.
Twenty balloons an hour could be launched from a station into the easterly trade
winds, each carrying four pounds of leaflets (2,000 to 4,000 leaflets). Four such stations
could launch 80 balloons an hour. It was estimated that 2,000,000 to 4,000,000 leaflets a
month could be delivered.
Another secret CIA document entitled Propaganda Action Plan in Support of
Military Forces makes some of the following points:
On D-Day the propaganda campaign will enter its action stage. The two primary
propaganda mechanisms will be radio and leaflet operations.
In Nicaragua, the operations base for Brigade 2506, 11 million brochures were ready
to be dropped over Cuban territory…By the time of the invasion, a total of 12 million
pounds of leaflets had been dropped on Cuba. The CIA estimates for the cost of propaganda
operations was $500,000 in fiscal year 1960 and $1,200,000 in fiscal year 1961.
During the Bay of Pigs the liberation movement used fish symbols. Later, the CIA
decided to use the term “worm” since Castro called all anti-revolutionaries
“worms.” A whole propaganda campaign was planned around Gusano Libre (Free Worm)
leaflets flown over Cuba by helium balloons from ships sailing close to the island. The
CIA produced thousands of leaflets showing a small worm taking part in various sabotage
acts. The balloon operation was to be called “Mongoose”
The United States vs Vietnam
U.S. Propaganda Radios
Usually purchased Cheaply in Japan and preset to only hear Government broadcasts
There was no great need for the United States to use propaganda balloons
during the Vietnam War. It controlled the air and could deliver leaflets by
aircraft or artillery. However, we know of several secret operations to send
radios that could broadcast propaganda sent clandestinely into North Vietnam by balloon. One
was an exotic match of a wooden float-anchor and a double-balloon set up. It was very
ingenious and required members of the U. S. Army 7th PSYOP Group on Okinawa and the United
States Navy submarine force to work in tandem. Dave Underhill told me about this campaign
which he called a “Rube Goldberg operation:”
In addition to dropping radios via two B-52s, we used tethered balloons launched
via submarine. A chemically sensitive encased wire in a plastic tub was attached to a
piece of wood acting as an anchor and float had a cord attached to a plastic tube. Above
this was attached a radio enclosed in Styrofoam. This long cord was attached to two
balloons. One balloon classified as a fast raiser, and a smaller one adequate to support
the long balloon cord when the larger one rose and burst. A chemical was then introduced
into the wire chamber. It was designed to burn through the wire in several hours. The
quickest burn took four hours. The packet was dropped into the water and was floated to
the shore-line by evening offshore winds. The wood held it to the shore-line until the
chemical wire was eaten through thereby releasing the radio to the bottom end of the cord.
The package rose into the air and continued westward until the fast riser balloon burst.
The radio then settled to the ground with an inflated balloon to mark its location. The
idea was that some farmer would be curious enough to investigate and find the radio. We
never knew how well this operation worked because we never heard a peep out of the North
Vietnamese.
I am not aware of any large-scale balloon operations during the Vietnam War but we
do know that the U.S. Army was working on the problem of balloons for disseminating
leaflets. This is mentioned in FM 33-5 Psychological Operations Techniques and
Procedures - 20 October 1966. This field manual was issued during the early days of
the war in Vietnam. It says in part:
Balloon Operations
Leaflet dissemination to long and short-range targets located in denied areas can
be accomplished by using balloons. Detailed meteorological data is necessary to insure
drop reliability of long-range targets. The amount of technical data needed depends upon
the distance to the target area. Target ranges are as follows: short-range leaflet
operations are under 402 km (250 miles); mid-range leaflet operations are between 402 and
966 km (250 and 600 miles); and long-range leaflet operations are from 966 to 2,415 km
(600 to 1,500 miles).
For short-range targets a less comprehensive survey of meteorological data is
adequate; however, as range to the target increases, more research is required to obtain
exacting data concerning optimum leaflet load, optimum aerodynamic properties of leaflets,
best release altitudes, and meteorological data for proposed routes to the target area.
A variety of standard balloons are available for use by U.S. forces. Selection
should be based on meteorological and load considerations as calculated by trained leaflet
personnel.
The following are characteristics of standard balloons:
The J100 Neoprene Meteorological Balloon
The J100 is a neoprene meteorological balloon capable of ranges up to 402 km (250
miles) with payloads up to 2.72 kg; the R-250 and R-400 are plastic (polyethylene)
“pillow” balloons with a range up to 966 km (600 miles) depending on wind
velocity. The payload of the R-250 is 3.63 kg and the R-400 is .91 kg.
The R-250 Plastic (Polyethylene)
“Pillow” Balloon
Other balloons capable of mid-range delivery are the J-9, J-10, J-300, and R-250.
The 170 F is designed for long-range delivery. It can transport 39.92 kg of leaflets up to
2,415 km (1,500 miles). This balloon has a ballast system which permits it to be airborne
for a period up to 3 days.
My files from the 7th PSYOP Group on Okinawa mention the number of
miniature propaganda radios disseminated by the United States over certain
time periods. For instance, during Operation Field Goal from July 1972 to
the cease-fire in January 1973, 12,921 radios were floated into North
Vietnam on rafts, 3,192 radios were sent North by balloon, and 14,419 were
dropped by B-52 bombers.
During Operation Prairie Lightning (formerly Field Goal), C-130
aircraft dropped 8,280 radios while B-52 bombers dropped 2,016. During the
Ho Chi Minh Trail campaign against soldiers coming the trail from North
Vietnam and civilians maintaining the trail in late 1972 and early 1973,
6,432 radios were dropped along the Trail by C-130 Hercules. During the Rice
River Campaign (directed against North Vietnamese troops in Cambodia),
C-130s dropped another 5,496 radios. And during Operation Fountain Pen (directed against North Vietnamese
troops in Laos) in December 1972, 6032 radios were dropped by C-130s.
Vietnamese Army Troops release balloons carrying leaflets and firecrackers.
The Vietnamese Army sometimes used balloons to spread their
leaflets. The British Pathe News depicted such an operation in a 1969
newsreel titled South Vietnam: Balloons and Firecrackers used to
distribute Leaflets to Villagers. A description of the short film says:
Two ordinary children's playthings, the balloon, and the firework,
are being used together in South Vietnam for a much more serious reason than
pleasure - they are incorporated in a novel system to scatter leaflets from
the air over a wide range.
The film depicts a soldier releasing a group of about 20 colorful
balloons with leaflets tied by the string directly underneath and beneath
the leaflets a line of firecrackers. When the firecracker explodes, the
leaflets are scattered far and wide. Vietnamese soldiers are seen making a
Chieu Hoi broadcast and soon a VC is shown surrendering holding one of the
leaflets. The Soldiers congratulate him and shake his hand. The film then
shows the soldiers giving the local villagers rice and other needed
foodstuffs. The food ends as the soldiers give the people patriotic
magazines and pro-government pamphlets. Although there is no sound on the
old film, I suspect these would be the Vietnamese POLWAR troops.
China vs Taiwan
Ever since Mao Tse-tung and his Communist Army drove Chiang Kai-shek and his
Nationalist Army from the land mass of China and onto the island of Taiwan off the Chinese
coast, the Nationalists (Republic of China - ROC) and the Communists (People’s
Republic of China - PRC) have faced off; threatening, cajoling and occasionally opening
fire on each other. The small islands of Matsu and Quemoy (Kinmen), the sole territory
under the jurisdiction of the Republic of China, have played a part in all the bluffing
and psychological operations. In particular, starting about 1954 the two sides sent
leaflets to each other on alternate days by balloon and artillery.
A Cluster of Toy Balloons launched to Mainland China
Perhaps before the 7th PSYOP Group taught more modern methods.
U.S. Army Lieutenant-Colonel Dave Underhill of the 7th PSYOP Group told me about a
class that he taught:
I presented a three week course of instruction to the Chinese on Taiwan (as
requested by the CIA) on leaflet development and dissemination (via balloon). I was able
to show the defect in their program that allowed the balloons to end up in such places as
Okinawa, India and Laos. (I was in Laos when one came down there). The group I taught was
a collection of people involved in leaflet operations. It included printers, artists,
weather forecasters, etc. They were a sharp group. The launch site had a pipeline from an
oil processing plant that piped hydrogen to the sight. They then filled conventional tanks
and arranged them in a bank where they were able to open all valves and fill huge balloons
without stopping.
The Chinese Prepare the 170F Balloon for Launch
88 Pounds of Leaflets to 30,000 Feet
The
Chinese Balloon is launched
The Chinese use a large weather balloon above. At one point they were
offered a “super” balloon costing tens of thousands of dollars. It would carry
the payload above the stratosphere where the earth would rotate under it. When the earth
was in the right position the payload above the stratosphere would be triggered and drop
into the prevailing winds for disbursing. It was too expensive and the Chinese never
seriously considered it.
Souvenir Booklet for the 7th PSYOP Group
The ROC propagandists have not been very talkative about their campaigns. About
1968, the Psychological Warfare Department of the Defense Ministry did admit that the
government had sent 101,614,528 balloons to Mainland China since the start of their
campaign. They said that the load carried by the balloons varied from 35 grams to 4,763
grams. They had two large balloons measuring 10 x 13-feet and 10 x 18-feet that can rise
to 40,000 feet and carry leaflets as far as Tibet and Sinkiang. The total of leaflets and
booklets sent to China was more than 213,000,000 pieces. The balloons also dropped food,
toys, household goods, daily commodities and national flags. They also sent
"passports" promising good treatment to those defectors who made it to Taiwan.
Some of the Nationalist Chinese leaflets attacked Mao; others depicted the happy life of
the Chinese on the island of Taiwan or pictured defectors from Communism living a rich and
secure life.
Berger adds:
In the Formosa straits area in the post-1950s, the Chinese
Nationalists also found the balloon a useful technique for disseminating
anti-Communist propaganda over the China mainland. In addition, the
Nationalists experimented with toy wooden boats, with the sails made of
propaganda leaflets; when the tides were right, these tiny boats were
supposed to drift toward the mainland and into the hands of Chinese
fishermen.
Communist Chinese Kite containing Leaflets for Quemoy
We probably should not mention kites in an article about balloons, but notice how
the Chinese have taped leaflets on the outside of the kite.
This U.P.I. photograph dated 20 November 1965 depicts balloons bearing flags,
ribbons, propaganda leaflets and other items sent from the island of Quemoy to mainland
China.
The Falling Leaf, the Journal of the former Psywar Society, mentioned the Chinese
propaganda campaign in several issues. In their summer 1975 edition, we find in part:
In the 1970s there was a considerable increase in the number of leaflets. In 1971
only 200 million leaflets were dropped on the Chinese mainland; the number increased to
1.6 billion copies by the end of October 1973. Mao’s anti-Confucius campaign was the
main item in their propaganda leaflets; to defend their great cultural philosophies they
poked at the promises of Mao Zedong. Other leaflets deal with the thousands of refugees
coming to Hong Kong. There are miniature newspapers that tell of the western world. The
balloons targeted at central China drift at a height of 40,000 feet and deliver their
cargo of 15 kilograms within 12 hours. The balloons that travel deeper into China drift at
a height of 60,000 feet and carry 100 kilograms of leaflets for 40 hours. Most of the
leaflets disseminated lately have a camouflaged cover with a Communist title. The
prosperity of Taiwan is shown in pictures; some of the booklets contain manuals on how to
build a simple wireless set.
Nationalist Display Depicting the Range of its Propaganda
Balloons
As we stated above, there are millions, and more likely billions of leaflets sent
from Quemoy and Matsu to mainland China. For this article I have selected two
representative leaflets from the Nationalists and from the Communists.
Mainland Compatriots
This leaflet depicts Mao standing near markers labeled with the years 1962-1970. He
looks like a carnival barker or a magician about to pull a rabbit out of a hat. The back
is all text. The message is:
Mainland Compatriots!
Mainland compatriots: in order to live well, to live a free and happy life, you
have to unite as one and make this master trickster Mao Tse-tung go down, go down!
Keep this document to prove your stance against communism and to enjoy various
privileges
Mao Tse-tung's propaganda machine has recently bragged of “achieving good
harvests for nine consecutive years,” which mean there has been a good harvest each
year since 1962, and they even said the output of foodstuffs had exceeded historic levels.
But these propaganda lies are not only unable to deceive the people of the free world;
they cannot deceive you as well. How could there be good harvests under the “Three
Red Banners” movement of Mao's Communists and the turmoil of the Cultural Revolution,
plus natural disasters? If there were good harvests, rations should have gone up. Why do
you still have to “have mild meals at free time?” If there were good harvests,
you should have eat well and be full! Why is there still famine everywhere? Why are the
people whimpering and tormented by hunger and cold throughout the countryside? Mao
Tse-tung can only play tricks and exaggerate, and the trick has failed. What a shameful
thing it is!
Swimmers
Note the Basketball Liner
This leaflet depicts two young Chinese men who defected to the Nationalists by
swimming or floating to freedom. John Chamberlain tells the story in a Kings Syndicate
article of 5 October 1966 entitled “A Cheaper Way to Beat Mao.”
In Red China they are taking Mao Tse-tung's admonition to practice swimming, but
some of the Chinese have been swimming to get away from Mao.
Hsu Wei-hsun made it from Kwantung Province to Portuguese Macao, a distance of
three miles, on his second try. The other, Lin Yung-an, got out from Fukien Province to
the free island of Quemoy by clinging to an inflated inner tube of a basketball through
four miles of buffeting currents.
Hsu first tried to use an inner tire as a float but was caught and released by
the Chinese border guards. He was also approached by guards in a boat at sea on his second
attempt, but since he was already inside Portuguese waters, they did not detain him.
25-year-old Lin says that he swam to get away from the economic crisis and the political
terror caused by the "Cultural revolution."
The Communists Reply
A C-130 master crew chief assigned to the 374th Tactical Airlift Wing as told me:
While living in Taiwan in April, 1972, at Ching Chuan Kang Air Base (CCK), I
noticed floating over the rice field bordering the housing compound what appeared to be a
weather balloon. It came down on the empty playground directly in front of our house. The
curious object touched the ground, bounced up and down once or twice before leaving a
parcel. It was a propaganda balloon launched by Communist China. Leaflets were bundled
inside the dropped package that broke partially open when the balloon hit the ground.
There were four different two-sided color photographs of smiling Red Chinese citizens.
Their message gave a favorable picture of life in China. I immediately called the
Taiwanese military police, but before they arrived, I put a few aside, as I knew that this
was a unique experience and I wanted to be able to say later that I was the recipient of
Communist Chinese propaganda.
The People’s Liberation Army…
A soldier who was stationed on Quemoy in 1971 found a number of Communist Chinese
leaflets. These leaflets are weathered and may have been on the ground for hours, days and
perhaps weeks. The first leaflet depicts two People’s Republic of China soldiers
standing on the beach watching the ocean for Nationalist Chinese (or perhaps American)
invaders. At their left is a quote from Mao:
The People's Liberation Army is always a fighting force.
The text at right, abbreviated a bit, says:
Heroic soldiers who guard the socialist motherland's frontiers keep Mao's dictum
in mind at all times, ready to slay any enemy who dares to encroach.
American Imperialists must get out of Taiwan
A second Communist Chinese leaflet depicts mainland China as a great red wall and
Taiwan as a tiny island with a soldier speaking into a microphone in front of an
overstuffed wealthy American. Some of the text is:
American Imperialists must get out of Taiwan
Taiwan is part of China's territory. The Chinese must liberate
Taiwan
Operation Desert Storm
Sunset – Product 1-W
This CENTCOM leaflet is believed to have been dropped by balloon. Two Arabs hold
hands, with Iraqi and Saudi flags. The Americans hated the “hand-in-hand image. The
Arabs loved it. The text is:
In peace we will always remain united
On 9 August 1990, Saddam Hussein sent seven divisions of Iraqi armor, mechanized
infantry, helicopter forces, and the elite Republic Guard into Kuwait. On 20 August 1990,
President Bush signed National Security Directive 45, the “U.S. Policy in Response to
the Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait." The U.S. objectives included the “immediate,
complete, and unconditional withdrawal of all Iraqi forces from Kuwait,” and the
“restoration of Kuwait's legitimate government to replace the puppet regime installed
by Iraq.”
We will not discuss the American response and the air and ground war. We will
discuss balloons. The 4th PSYOP Group briefing on their actions during Desert Shield/Storm
states that 29 million leaflets (29 tons) were dropped on the Kuwait Theater of Operations
(KTO) by balloon, MC-130, F-16, F/A-18 and B-52. The United States had no real experience
in balloons. Several allies did; the Germans, the Koreans and the Chinese. They all used
propaganda balloons against their Communist neighbor.
German S – Product 3-1
The title above was how the American PSYOP staff titled this leaflet. I assume it
meant “German Surrender,” a surrender leaflet printed in Arabic and sent to the
Iraqis by the German balloonists. Some of the text on this leaflet is:
Safe conduct card.
The bearer of this card is permitted to cross the borders to the Joint Forces,
whether Arab or friendly, in particular American, British or French forces. He will
receive good treatment so that he reaches the nearest Joint Forces headquarters in
complete safety without being exposed to any danger. He will be treated according to the
Geneva Convention.
Commander, Joint Forces and theater of operations
Very quietly and probably illegally, the Germans surreptitiously entered Saudi
Arabia as part of the unlisted Coalition force. The German Federal Constitution frowned on
such military aid outside of the Republic, and in fact it was expressly prohibited.
Everything is of course classified, but the Germans apparently set up their launch pads in
or near Al Quysumah Airfield. From there, southern Iraq was an easy target when the
winds were blowing in the right direction.
German Plaque for members of the 3rd Leaflet Company
850th Psychologische Verteidigung (Psychological Defense) Battalion
Now called: Truppe für Operative Kommunikation (Operational Communication
Group)
Motto: IN LOYALTY
Notice the balloon at right
The number of operations the Germans took part in and the number of leaflets
distributed is still classified. It has been alleged that to meet the “spirit of the
law,” the Germans only sent Army Reservists and no actual Regular Army personnel.
They were identified as “technical representatives,” which gave them more cover.
Some reports state that German operation from Al Quysumah airfield in Saudi
Arabia with the aid of the 6th U.S. Army PSYOP Battalion resulted in six missions between
30 December 1990 and 8 January 1991 totaling 540,000 leaflets. Various documents give
general information on the themes for balloon carried leaflets. We believe that 54,000
leaflets used the theme of surrender, 90,000 stressed that Saddam was the blame for the
war, and there were 186.000 dropped with themes described as “other.” A second
source states that 330,000 leaflets were disseminated by balloon.
Invitation Card – Product Saudi
According to a 5th Special Forces Group Reconnaissance Team on the ground, one
Coalition 12-foot balloon with an aluminum deployment canister that came down near them
was packed with leaflets 50-29-2 (Invitation card) and 60-01-2 (Tidal wave). Some of the
text on this leaflet is:
Invitation card.
From HQ Joint Forces and Theater of Operations.
You are invited to join the Joint Forces and enjoy full Arab hospitality,
security, safety, and medical care. You will return to your homes as soon as the situation
Saddam has placed us in has ended. My brother Iraqi soldier...this invitation is open to
you and your comrade soldiers. We hope you will accept this invitation as soon as you have
an opportunity.
Commander, Joint Forces in the Theater of Operations
Handbook of Leaflet Dispersion via Balloons
100 pages of balloon and leaflet calculations and instructions
This book explains the J-100 balloon Delivery system (range up to 250 miles, load
2-6 pounds), the J-9-10-300 Balloon Delivery system (range up to 400 miles, load 5-10
pounds), and the 170F Balloon Delivery System (Altitude 30,000 feet, load 88 pounds).
One of the American reference books in my library is Handbook of Leaflet
Dispersion via Balloons, and Curiously, one PSYOP officer told me that at just about
the time of the Iraqi invasion he had refigured all of the formulas in the Handbook. He
said:
The formulas for leaflet calculations given in this book are wrong. A sergeant
and I worked out the correct formulas just before the gulf war in 1991, to within around
99.991 percent accuracy of the tables in the book.
When I asked this expert why the Germans were called in when the United States
apparently had the knowledge to do the balloon dissemination is said:
I guess it was a case of all the Allies pitching in. I think the Koreans could
have done the job just as well or better. Korea and Taiwan were good at that, both sending
millions of leaflets by balloon against their Communist adversaries.
The U.S. Special Forces learns about PSYOP
The cover of this lesson depicts leaflet aircraft, leaflet balloons, a
loudspeaker tank, leaflets, a leaflet bomb, and artillery shell.
They have the whole field covered.
South Korea vs North Korea
Korea – The Bad Old Days
Anybody Can Come over to North Korea
Almost from the end of the Korean War in 1953, North and South Korea started sending
leaflets by balloon to each other. Both sides retreated 2 kilometers from the border
establishing a 4 kilometer demilitarized zone. In theory, military activity is strictly
prohibited, but the DMZ is littered with propaganda leaflets from the North. This
literally went on for decades until 2004 when a kind of propaganda truce was made between
the two nations. In the bad old days I had friends in the U. S. Army 2nd Infantry Division
based in South Korea and I would ask them to send me some of the enemy leaflets they
picked up as they walked along the demilitarized zone. They did so and I still have a bag
of those leaflets in my den. The above leaflet depicts a South Korean defector standing by
a map and explaining how he got to the North. The text is:
Anybody Can Come Over to North Korea!
You can come across the DMZ during daylight.
Private Cho Dae-hum’s route when he crossed over. Summer is a good season
for camouflage due to the thick forests. Electric trip wires can be overcome by rubber or
leather gloves. Snowy, rainy or foggy days are good, even clear days are fine.
Private Cho Dae-hum describes how he got to North Korea – He was a former
Private with the 12th Division, South Korean Army.
The photo shows the possessions he brought with him.
The main motivations of the South Korean balloon campaigns were a desire to support
democratization and to incite a regime change in North Korea. The North Korean leaflets
wanted a unified nation on their terms, and attacked the United States, Japan and the
leaders of South Korea while praising their own political system and their supreme leader.
A fancy Emollient
Soap Packaged with a Propaganda Leaflet
A Pair of Fancy
women’s Panties with a Propaganda Leaflet
A gift for our
Northern Compatriots
A camouflaged handbag
of rice with propaganda leaflet
Rice for our
cherished unification
Skin Medicine
A Toothbrush with
Propaganda Leaflet
These balloon items were sent north in the late 1980s or early
1990s. At that time leaflet operations were run by the Agency for
National Planning (NSP), the new name for the Korean Central Intelligence
Agency. It is clear that the South Koreans sent many different types
of gifts northward in their balloons and sea floats. Above, we depict some
items that were individually packed and then placed inside a larger plastic
bag. Other gifts within this particular load were some material that the
women could make clothes from and a toothbrush. The South Korean Government
stopped Leaflet operations when Noh Mu Yong was elected President,
but defector groups continued sending propaganda and gifts north. At this
time the U.S. was not actively engaged in PSYOP against North Korea. But,
they were tracking the leaflets and themes. The U.S. was mostly working
contingencies for war.
Lieutenant Colonel Dave Underhill told me about teaching the South Koreans balloon
techniques as a member of the 7th PSYOP Group.
I was asked to instruct a Korean Balloon Team on our techniques. The Koreans were
using the J-100 weather balloon, old as the hills. It was designed to carry a six pound
load. They said it only held one pound. It would burst if inflated further. I told them to
boil the balloons for twenty minutes. The boiling makes the rubber like new. I advised
them to use a wooden stick to gently stir the water and keep the balloon from expanding
during the boiling. It was important that they use a wooden stick rather than a metal item
which could easily damage the rubber during the stirring. If this was done correctly it
reconstituted the rubber and returned the balloon to almost the day it was made.
I covered the floor with newspaper so that the rough sand would not burst the
balloon. We were gathered in a ring around the balloon as we started up an air compressor
to inflate it. As the balloon inflated, the Koreans moved their chairs further back,
fearful of an explosion. As the balloon reached four or five feet in diameter, they
started covering their ears. The balloon got bigger and bigger until it was about eight
feet in diameter. You could read a newspaper through the thin skin of the balloon.
Finally, with a gentle puff, it split from top to bottom and fell to the floor. The
Koreans were impressed. They now knew that with the proper treatment and technique they
could launch six pounds of leaflets against North Korea.
Secretary Kim Jong-il
I could have selected a hundred leaflets with wonderful images to show, but because
of the cult of personality in North Korea I thought this one would be interesting to the
readers. This praises their great leader and says:
Secretary Kim Jong-il who takes care of all North and South Koreans with
limitless generosity and understanding, is the light for all Koreans.
Text on the back is:
Let us all take pride in the supreme honor of serving Secretary Kim Jong-il, our
nation’s leader, a great man who has mastered both the pen and the sword.
I Didn’t Dream the South Koreans Lived this Well
Above, we depict a North Korean telling soldiers how to defect and go north. Here
the South Koreans retaliate and show a North Korean soldier defector and tell how happy he
is. The text is:
I Didn’t Dream the South Koreans Lived this Well
Receiving a gift wrist watch – A bul go ki pork dinner
The other side of the leaflet depicts a press conference and says:
Press Conference for Cho Byung Chan, Soldier who defected from
North Korea.
I came to enjoy life with freedom and happiness!
Corporal Chan from the People’s 2nd Army, 15th Infantry, defected 27 July
1984 at 0700 hours through Dang San Li on Kang Wha Island.
A group of North Korean Leaflets sent to the South
Korea – The Bad New Days
The 20 September 2015 Balloon Launch
South Korean activist Park Sang-hak of the Fighters for Free North Korea
launched 10 giant balloons from the South Korean border city of Paju. The balloons carried
200,000 anti-Kim Jong-un, anti-missile and anti-weapon leaflets. The balloons also carried
1,000 one dollar bills, and 500 flash drives and 500 DVDs with videos.
In 2015, after several years of relative peace, the paper war between the two Koreas
heated up once again. For many years the two sides ballooned propaganda at each other
across the demilitarized zone (DMZ) but that was so common that it was hardly noticed.
There were always civilian anti-North Korean leaflets being ballooned from the south by
religious and defector groups, but for the most part the government took no part in that
leafleting. After a series of Communist provocations, the south finally reacted after the
North Koreans exploded a mine in the demilitarized zone.
Konstantin Asmolov mentioned provocations and the ballooning in an article entitled:
The Korean Peninsula: On balloons and leaflets. He said in part:
On 10 June 2010, 150,000 leaflets and 300 DVDs detailing the sinking of the
Cheonan, [A South Korean gunboat] plus 200 portable radios and 2000 one-dollar bank
notes were sent to the North.
After the barrage against the island of Yeonpyeongdo by North Korean artillery,
special balloons delivered 400,000 leaflets to the North during the night of the 23
November from four points in the Gyeonggi and Gangwon Provinces.
Against the background of the Arab Spring, leaflets describing the revolutions
and unrest in the Middle East were sent to North Korea, as well as food, medicine and
radios. As one of the initiators of the action, Member of Parliament Son Yon Son,
declared, these actions are intended to make North Koreans start thinking about changes.
A South Korean military spokesman said:
We keep a database of some 1,300 leaflets and about 470 materials for broadcast
programs in preparation for wartime PSYOP against the North. U.S. personnel of the
Combined Forces Command are participating in producing leaflets and the chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff and the CFC commander review and approve them.
On 17 January 2016, North Korea began leafleting South Korea. The Associated Press
announced that North Korea has launched an estimated 1 million propaganda leaflets by
balloon into South Korea amid increased tension between the rivals following the
North’s recent nuclear test. The North’s military has been sending the balloons
on a near-daily basis and the leaflets have reached Seoul in addition to areas close to
the border.
The Prostitute Park Geun-hye
This North leaflet dropped in mid-January 2016 depicted South Korean President Park
Geun-hye as a prostitute entertaining U.S. President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe. In the upper leaflet President Park says to Obama and Abe:
We raised government funding to support the US troops and opened up the rice
markets. You'll treat us well, right? We'll follow the Tokyo time zone just like how my
father did and label Dokdo as Takeshima so you won't vote against us, right?
The text ends with:
Punish the flunkyist prostitute Park Geun-hye in the name of the people!
Note: The rice markets have to do with the rice market deal in the Free Trade
Agreement. The North Korean time zone is different than that of South Korea. Regarding the
leaflet comment, Syngman Rhee established a Korean standard time which was different from
Japan. Park Chung Hee changed this during his regime so it was the same as Japan. The term
“flunkyism” [sadaejuui] has little meaning in the United States but to
the Koreas it can mean “Loving and admiring the great and powerful.” So, Park is
prostituting herself to the powerful leaders of other nations. Dokdo is a disputed Island
claimed by Korea and called Takeshima by Japan.
The North Koreans seemed to enjoy attacking the South Korean President. Here is a
particularly nasty image.
Insane Ramblings…
Insane Ramblings of a Half-Corpse: “DMZ Peace Park,” “Family
Reunions,” “Progress,” “Welfare,” “Economic Equality,”
“August 15 Speech.”
We will bring horrifying consequences to the fanatics who call for the invasion
of the North.
A North Korean Slogan Slip – The Second Message Below
Many of the leaflets are short text messages like the Communists used during the
Vietnam War, sometimes called a “slogan slip.” Some of the not very subtle
propaganda messages are:
Park Geun-hye and her clan are dogs that have gone crazy. We should beat them
down for using psychological warfare and worsening inter-Korean relations!
Psychological warfare against the North is lighting the fuse of war. Stop the
loudspeaker broadcasts immediately!
Stop with any further hostilities or stupid actions that can threaten your
security!
The United States should surrender its anachronistic hostile policy against the
North immediately!
North Korean Balloons to Seoul
On 30 May 2016, South Korean Soldiers and police were sent to retrieve balloons
carrying North Korean propaganda leaflets to Seoul. Two large white balloons carrying a
box were hung across electrical wires near Yeokchon Elementary School in Eunpyeong-gu. The
box contained 59 CDs, 154 leaflets and 77 envelopes containing dirt and excrement.
$50,000,000 Reward
On 6 August 2016, The Association of North Korean Defector Organizations ballooned
100,000 leaflets across the border, putting the North Korean leader on a wanted list and
offering a 50-million dollar reward for his arrest. The leaflets called Kim Jong Un a
“murderer and oppressor of the people.” The leaflets included color photograph
of Kim Jong Un and strong denouncements of his rule. The actual text on the front is:
Wanted
Reward: 50,000,000 USD
For: Murder and oppressing the people
This bastard needs to die for the people to live better!
This Korean leafleting will go on forever. Readers should remember that the Korean
War never ended, it just stopped. The two nations are theoretically still at war. Until
such time as the two sides come together in peace we expect the leafleting to continue.
This balloon carried propaganda leaflets with the news of
Yoon Suk-yeol's
election as the new
South Korean president.
The Smart Balloon
I think we all
know that leaflet dissemination is changing. In the Russo-Ukraine war we see
leaflets being dropped from drones, sometimes over individual soldiers. In
the North Korea-South Korea political debate we have seen balloons sent by
both sides. We have seen nothing new until June 2024, when Ju-min Park,
Adolfo Arranz, Han Huang, Jackie Gu and Jitesh Chowdhury wrote an article
titled "Balloon offensive" for Reuters.
The Balloon Distribution System
It can distribute as many leaflets as you like, when you like
They talked
about a smart balloon designed by the political group, The Committee for
Reform and Opening up of Joson [North Korea], that has altitude and
distance controls, can distribute leaders where programmed, like a polka
dealer in Las Vegas, and can carry a loudspeaker. Some of the comments are:
Built using 3D
printers and components sourced online and sometimes equipped with
GPS-tracking, these so-called "smart balloons" can cost up to $1,000 each.
The aim is to drop cargoes deeper into North Korea, including over the
capital Pyongyang, with the longer ranges now possible. One balloon has
flown as far as China. The balloon payload may include leaflet dispenser,
speakers, or other items. It can weigh up to 7.5 kilos.
Balloon paths
Another key
technical advancement made over the past two years has been altimeter-linked
valves that automatically prevent the balloons from going too high, making
for a more stable flight, though the balloons are still at the mercy of the
weather and their flight paths cannot be controlled.
How effective
the balloons are is a matter of debate, with no independent verification
possible of where they land or what average North Koreans might think about
the contents.
The group's
members declined to be identified, worried about harassment from South
Koreans critical of such activists, a potential crackdown by South Korean
authorities or reprisals by North Korean agents.
The Balloon Loudspeaker System
They mention
the loudspeaker onboard the balloon that can blare 15 minutes of North
Korean songs and messages recorded in a North Korean accent and pause for 30
minutes before beginning again. The batteries can last for 5 days. part of
the recording says, “Get rid of the Workers' Party, then North Korea can
survive. Kim Jong Un is a traitor that opposes unification.”
Ukraine vs Russia
In February
2021, thousands of Russian military personnel amassed near the
Russo-Ukrainian border, while President Vladimir Putin explained that this
was just maneuvers that had been planned much earlier. In September 2021,
the Russian troops started to build up once more, with about 100,000 troops
surrounding Ukraine on three sides. The United States watched carefully from
satellites and said over and over that an invasion was imminent.
On 21 February
2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the independence of the
two republics in the Donbas region of Ukraine that he had invented and
already occupied called the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's
Republic. Russian troops and tanks moved into the region to allegedly keep
the peace and “De-Nazify” Ukraine. His argument was like Hitler’s in 1939
when the Germans claimed that the Poles were murdering Germans in the street
and needed to be protected. The only thing Putin did not do was dress some
convicts in Ukraine uniforms and attack a Russian radio station as a premise
to war.
The war has
dragged on as Ukraine amazed the world and fought Russia to a standstill.
Most of us that thought we knew Russia’s strength and thought like Putin the
war would be over in three days.
Ukrainian Launched a Massive Flag over Russian-occupied Donetsk 9
September 2023
In the second
year of the war, the Ukrainian military launched the giant flag attached to
helium-filled balloons and sent it over the country’s third-largest city.
The flag was released in Avdiivka, about 15 miles north of Donetsk,
to celebrate its 245th anniversary on 9 September. Vitaliy Barabash, the
head of the Avidiiv city military administration told Suspilne, Ukraine’s
public broadcasting company:
We can hear
the Russians; they are a little mad about it. They tried to shoot it down.
But the state the flag is already flying over the Kyiv district of Donetsk.
Meanwhile, in
Donetsk and other Moscow-occupied territories, Russian authorities were
holding elections that have been denounced as a sham by Kyiv and the West.
Other Balloon Operations
There were other numerous operations around the globe that used balloons to
disseminate propaganda leaflets. The decades-long paper war between West and East Germany
comes to mind as does several anti-Communist organizations that regularly leafleted the
Soviet Union all through the Cold War. I reserve the right to add sections on these
battles in the future. For the moment, I remind the reader that this story was meant to be
just a quick look at the use of balloons in psychological operations. I am sure that I
will add more data as time goes by.
Balloon Training Operations - 2011
We have shown the reader how balloons were used to carry propaganda
all the way back to WWI. The U.S. Coalition again used leaflets during
Operation Desert Shield before the shooting phase of Operation Desert Storm.
Here, on 25 June 2011, Sergeant First Class Evan C. Paulsen deploys leaflets
as part of a training exercise as a member of the 7th Psychological
Operations Group at Moffett Field in San Jose, California. It is important
to remember and practice the old skills from previous wars.
The German Army Trains with Leaflet Balloons - 2021
My friends on the website PSYOP Reference Material first
depicted these pictures. During the Cold War West Germany took part in a
propaganda war with the DDR. Years later, the German Army was asked to send
Coalition leaflets into occupied Kuwait before the shooting phase of
Operation Desert Shield/Storm began. They still practice that specialty
today.
German soldier prepares helium-filled balloons to send information and
propaganda leaflets
Balloon with an Attached Radiosonde
The German Army sometimes trains on launching balloons from a
military training area in Upper Lusatia. They first test the weather
conditions by sending up a test balloon with an attached radiosonde that
measures wind direction, air pressure, and wind speed. This radiosonde
continuously transmits the weather data to the computers on the ground
during its ascent. The computer below shows the ideal points on the map
where a balloon can be launched to be able to drop leaflets from a specific
height on the target area. Once the launch site and altitude has been
determined, the large balloons are filled with helium. They must be able to
carry 4-kilogram packages containing over 2,000 leaflets. Below the balloon
is a timer that triggers the dropping of the leaflets after a selected time
at the proper altitude. This is manually dialed in before launch by the
squad leader.
Thanks to the use of modern technologies, it is possible to achieve high
accuracy.
The BAST (Ballonauflaststellung – balloon inflation
position) can be clearly seen on the monitor.
The computer shows the ideal
points on the map where a balloon can be launched in order
to be able to
drop the leaflets at a certain height in the target area.
The packages, which weigh around 4 kilograms and containing over 2,000
leaflets, are attached to the balloons.
Below the balloon is a timer that
triggers the dropping of the leaflets after a certain time and altitude.
The Training Leaflets
German leafleting is mainly done in countries with difficult to
reach or dangerous areas. Messages can be sent from the military to the
population over long distances without endangering soldiers. The dropping
height of the balloon is between 800-5000 meters, depending on the wind
speed. In this exercise, the German-language leaflets were marked with a
purple circle so that it could be determined where each type of leaflet has
landed. The back of the leaflet is in Polish because the military training
area is in the border area, and some could fall on Poland. The sheets are
printed on 60-gram heavy environmental paper will dissolve in the rain after
a while
(Photos: German Army / Weinrich)
Conclusion
We seldom think of how balloons might interfere with Air Force Operations. The Air
Force does. The Weekly Pegasus, number 16, 2018 - The E-newsletter of professional
readings supporting the Air Force PSYOP Working Group says:
PSYOP planners working in the air operations center need to be cognizant of
whether allied governments or non-government organizations (NGOs) intend using balloons
for leaflet dissemination. If so, the PSYOP planner needs to report the times and dates
these launches are going to occur (as well as their estimated drift route and altitude) to
the Airspace Management Team (AMT) within the air operations center. The AMT is
responsible for coordinating, integrating and de-conflicting airspace and procedures
within the joint coalition area of operations. Leaflet balloon launches (especially those
conducted by NGOs) constitute a flight hazard and may require changes to the Airspace
Control Plan and or Airspace Control Order. If allied governments are using leaflet
balloons, hopefully they will submit the necessary air space control measure request to
the Airspace Management Team; but don’t count on this. If there is a PSYOP Task Force
operating in theater, you begin your quest to obtain information on leaflet balloon
launches from them. If there is no PSYOP Task Force, then begin by asking the PSYOP
planner at the Theater Special Operations Command.
With all the
modern techniques of leafleting, drones, etc., one does not think of
balloons as a serious method of dissemination today. Yet Army Manual FM
3-05.301 (FM 33-1-1) Psychological Operations Tactics, Techniques, and
Procedures, December 2003, adds this comment about current ballons:
Balloon
operations. These operations are useful for penetrating denied areas and can
be conducted up to a range of 2,400 kilometers (1,500 miles). Balloons are
made of paper, rubber, or polyethylene. The weather, wind, air currents, and
gas pressure determine flight patterns. Although the maximum payload is 9
kilograms (about 20 pounds), balloons are an inexpensive means of
disseminating leaflets.
