that the lateral scattering of the leaflets, dropped from a height of 4,000 feet and upwards, was considerable. The length of the track varied with the strength of the wind.
The unit for distribution consisted of two motor lorries, which took the men, the cylinders of hydrogen, and the propaganda loaded on releases to a sheltered position selected in the morning by the officer in charge after consultation with the meteorological experts. The vans were drawn up end to end, separated by a distance of about ten feet, and a curtain of canvas was then stretched on the windward side between the vans, thus forming a three-sided chamber. The balloon was laid on the ground, rapidly filled, the release attached and lighted, and the balloon liberated, the whole operation taking only a few minutes.
The load of the balloons was chosen according to the direction of the wind. If it was blowing towards Belgium, copies of Le Courrier de l’Air were attached; if towards Germany, propaganda leaflets for enemy troops. The experimental improvement of the "dope" with which the paper was treated in order to prevent loss of gas by diffusion, and the manufacture of balloons of double the standard capacity, had placed runs of upwards
