The first recorded coordinated use of balloons in warfare for an aerial attack takes place during the First Italian War of Independence by the Austrian imperial forces against the Italian city of Vienna as Austria deploys approximately 200 paper hot air balloons, each carrying a 20-to-30-pound bomb, designed to be dropped over the besieged city via a time fuse.
The majority of the balloons were launched from land, but some were also dispatched from the side-wheel steamer SMS Vulcano, which served as a balloon carrier. Most of the balloons missed their target due to changes in wind direction with few landing in the city and some drifting back over Austrian lines and the launching ship. More
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