Appendices
1. Weather Balloon Characteristics
The following meteorological balloons were used by the Americans in the Korean War. This data was included in report IR-4-52, page 2 dated 7 June 1952.
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Weight Size Color Rate of climb* Altitude
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10 gram 18 inches red or black 400 25,000 ft.
30 gram 24 inches red, white 600 60,000 ft. or black
100 gram 40 inches red, white 990 100,000 ft. or black
350 gram 12 ft cream 1100 120,000 ft.
500 gram 25 ft cream 1200 140,000 ft.
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* ft. per minute
Times of Release
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GMT Local Time
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0600 1200 (noon)
0900 1800 350 gram balloons flown
1500 2400 during daylight hrs. 750
2100 0600 gram balloons flown during darkness.
Thirty and 100-gram balloons are released from all USAF pibal stations.
Ten or 30-gram balloons may be released from any station listed, whenever the ceiling is below 5,000 ft. Thirty and 100-gram balloons are occasionally released on an unscheduled basis.
Five candle-power battery-powered lights are sometimes attached to ten, thirty, and one hundred gram balloons during hours of darkness. “No instance of a balloon burning in the air has ever been reported in this theater.”
A chart of South Korea gives the 14 launching stations.