Fordson WOT 1 Barrage Balloon Winch

Here you see the Fordson winch, with the balloon packed in the canvas bag on the back of the truck. The cage was for the operator to protect them from cable injury, or in certain circumstances, eletric shock from currents building up along the balloon and cable. The truck had 6X4 drive and was built on surplus American-built chassis. Right-click and choose "view image" to enlarge.

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A lot of barrage balloon operators were women volunteers. Here you see another version of the barrage ballon winch, the Fordson E917T, deploying balloons during an exercise in England in 1941:

 

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