Swansea's deflated 1802 record hot air balloon flight attempt

Swansea's deflated 1802 record hot air balloon flight attempt

With a cat and a dog as passengers, 20,000 people watched as the first hot air balloon was launched in Wales.

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But the balloon, made of tissue paper, was engulfed by fire on lift-off from Swansea in October 1802.

It was one of numerous attempts by travelling showman Francis Barratt to become the first in Wales to fly a hot air balloon.

But many of his efforts to soar above Wales ended in deflation.

The first attempt in 1802 came 19 years after the world's first manned balloon flight soared into the air from Chateau de la Muette in Paris.

Historian Rosemary Chaloner said the failure to launch the balloon in Swansea was not unexpected given Mr Barratt's previous efforts.

"Mr Barratt had already achieved a measure of notoriety when on 13 August 1802, after an unsuccessful attempted ascent from Greenwich, he had to release an unmanned balloon to save it from rioting spectators," she said.

"His woven fabric balloon hadn't arrived in Swansea by early October, so he was forced to entertain the crowds with a demonstration of atissue paper balloon measuring 18m in diameter, under which he slung a cat and small dog in a cage."

High wind and a jammed release line resulted in the balloon being destroyed by fire on lift-off.

Local reports are conspicuously muted as to the fate of the passengers.