(click on thumbnail to expand)
These photographic prints, arranged in chronological order, depict radiosondes (and the occasional pilot balloon) and related preparation, launch, tracking, and data-collection activities. Some of these prints are from newspaper archives, some I bought on eBay (often without any provenance), and some were printed from negatives I purchased.
The photos are displayed in chronological order. Click any photo to see a larger image.
1919--USDA Employee Measuring "Free Lift"
1928 (?)--German (?) Soldiers with Balloon
1929--About To Launch Recording Meteorograph to Height of 10 to 15 Miles – Cincinnati OH
1929--Measuring Fog, England
1930--Fergusson Balloon Meteorograph
1930s--Man With Radiosonde
1930s--Molchanov Radiosonde
1930s?--Dual Balloon Radiosonde Launch
1931 circa--Tracking Pilot Balloon With a Theodolite
1931--Molchanov Radiosonde in Graf Zeppelin on Arctic Expedition
1931--Preparing for radiosonde release from Graf Zeppelin (with Professors Molchanov and Weickmann), Arctic
1931--Launching Molchanov Radiosonde from Graf Zeppelin
1931--Ralph Wensinger, Weather Bureau Pilot Cleveland OH
1931--Ralph Wensinger, Weather Bureau Pilot w/Plane Cleveland OH
1932--Jaumotte and Dines Recording Meteorographs Sweden
1933--Aerometeorograph, Salt Lake City, UT
1933--Weather Bureau Pilot Balloon Release
1934--Early US Radiosonde Chicago IL
1934--Hydrogen-Release Valve for Explorer Balloon
1935--Howard T. Orville (left) and Raymond F. Tyler, Navy Balloon Race Team
![1935--10,000th Weather Balloon Release [PIBAL] at Chicago Municipal Airport, Chicago IL](https://radiosondemuseum.org/wp-content/gallery/photolabel/1935-10000th-PIBAl-Release-Chicago-IL-Combo.jpg "1935--10,000th Weather Balloon Release [PIBAL] at Chicago Municipal Airport, Chicago IL")
1935--10,000th Weather Balloon Release [PIBAL] at Chicago Municipal Airport, Chicago IL
1935--Harvard Radiometeorograph
1936—Preparing a Radiosonde for Launch – Cambridge MA
1936--Aero-meteorograph-equipped aircraft San Francisco CA
1936--Dr. Krick with Radio-Meteorograph, Chicago
1936--NBS Radiosonde Launch Washington DC
1937--Dr. L. V. Astin Monitors Radiometeorograph Signals, Washington DC
1937--Karl O. Lange of Blue Hills Meteorological Observatory Launches Radiosonde at Columbia University, New York.
1937--Navy Radio Meteorograph Wash. DC
1937--NBS Radiometeorograph Check Wash. DC
1937--NBS Radiometeorograph Launch Wash. DC
1938--Pilot balloon inflation - Burbank CA
1938--Launching-'Cosmic-Ray'-Balloons-Philadelphia-PA
1938--Radiosonde release - Anacostia MD
1938--Closeup of Meteorological “Robot Observer” - Anacostia, MD
1938--Dr. Krick, Capt. Maier & Mr. Easton Ready to Launch Radiosonde, Pasadena
1938--TWA/CalTech Radio-meteorograph Launch Burbank CA
Franklin Institute Balloon Launch To Determine Altitude, Temperatures, and Cosmic Ray Densities – Philadelphia PA
1939--Coast Guard Radio Meteorograph Launch Aboard USCGC Chelan
1939--Launching a Weather Bureau Radiosonde
1940--Coast Guard radio meteorograph launch aboard USCGC Chelan
1940 circa--Night WB Radiosonde Launch
1940--(or before) Receiver/Recorder for Radiometeorograph
1940--Prepping WB Ballast Bag Joliet IL
1940--Prepping WB Radiosonde Joliet IL
1940--Checking WB Recorder for Reception Joliet IL
1940--Moving Inflated WB Balloon Joliet IL
1940--WB Radiosonde Ready for Launch Joliet IL
1940--WB Computing Data from Radiosonde Joliet IL
1940--PIBAL Release, USS Duane, NY
1940/1942--Launching Radiosonde from USS Duane, mid-Atlantic
1940/1942--Preparing for Radiosonde Launch, USS Duane, mid-Atlantic
1940s?--Tracking a Radiosonde
1941--Army Pilot Balloon Launch Fort Meade MD
1941--CGC Sebago With Aft Balloon Shelter
1941--Man Holding a Helium-Filled Radiosonde Balloon, Spokane, WA
1941--Meteorologist with Radiosonde and Recorder, Spokane, WA
1941--100th Radiosonde Release at West Base – Antarctica
1942--Navy Aerologist and Marine Prepare Balloon on Guadalcanal
1942--Pilot Balloon Launch U. of Chicago
1942--Radiosonde Crew, Port Hardy, B.C.
1942--Radiosonde Preparation U. of Chicago
1943--Launching a Weather Bureau Pilot Balloon, Waco, TX
1943--Releasing Balloon US Army Airfield Presque Isle, ME
1943--Woman Army Air Corps (WAAC) PIBAL Release
1944--Marine Readying for PIBAL Release, Marshall Islands
1944--Radiosonde Launch
1944--WB Balloon and Radiosonde Boulder CO
1945--Preparing-Balloons-for-Flight-at-Sea
1945--Army/Farnsworth Mechanical Antenna Switch Fort Wayne IN
1945--Army/Farnsworth Radiosonde Recorders Fort Wayne IN
1945--Army/Farnsworth SCR658 Radiosonde Tracking Radar Fort Wayne IN
1945--Checking an Army Air Forces Radiosonde
1945--Friez Instruments Division Rockettes, Probably Baltimore
1945--New Weather Prognosticators U of Chicago
1945--Radiosonde Launch
1945--WB Balloon Inflation Joliet IL
1945--Woman Meteorological Aide Releases Pilot Balloon, Detroit MI
1946--Preparing To Launch a Radiosonde Aboard the USS Brownsville off San Francisco
1946--Radiosonde Launch at Sea
1947--Launching a Radiosonde from the OWS Weather Observer – London
1947 (or earlier)--ML-310A/AMT-1 Modulator (AAF) on (possibly) T-69A-AMT-1 Radiosonde.
1947 (or before)--Army Air Force Radiosonde Launch Chanute Field IL
1947--Preparing for Radiosonde Launch on Mount Olympus, Bay of Whales, Antarctica
1947--Weather Balloon Launch from Kon-Tiki, Lima, Peru
1948--Dr. Krick with Meteorological Charts
1948--Launch Preparation on USCGC Northwind, Arctic Region
1948--Radiosonde Prelaunch
1949--Radiosonde-Launch,-Cornwall-England
1949--Weather balloon launch - Eniwetok
1949--Weather Balloon Launch
1949--Herbert Drechsler Displays Radiosonde Setup
1949--Train Conductor/Weather Man, Great Britain
1950 circa--Howard T. Orville with Radiosonde.
1950--Howard T. Orville, Director of Engineering, Bendix/Friez, Baltimore, MD
1950--Radiosonde Launch, International Falls, MN
1950--USCG US WB Radiosonde Launch Aboard US CGC Pontchartrain - North Atlantic
1950--Closeup of Sonde-Track Radiosonde used on Pontchartrain
1950--Royal Meteorological Society Centenary Pre-Release, London
1950--Royal Meteorological Society Centenary Release, London
1951--Preparing to Track Weather Balloon, Orlando, FL
1951--Meteorologist with Northeastern Engineering Radiosonde and Recorder
1952--Cosmic Ray Study Balloon Prelaunch From USCGC Eastwind, Off Greenland
1952--Cosmic Ray Study Balloon Release From USCGC Eastwind, Off Greenland
1952--Attaching Mk2B to Train Bracknell England
1952--Signal Corps RAWIN radiosonde ready for launch, Fort Monmouth, NJ
1953--Richard Widmark Launching Radiosonde in "Destination Gobi," Fallon, NV
1954--72.8-Foot Balloon At 92,000 Feet, Probably Minnesota
1954--Army Radiosonde Launch Fort Custer
1954--Balloon Launch Aboard USS Hornet, off Formosa
1954--Howard T. Orville (right) Explaining Radiosonde, Probably Baltimore
1954--Soviet Radiosonde Launch in the Arctic
1955--Launching a Radiosonde at Albany Airport, Albany NY
1955--Women in the Air Force (WAF) Staff Sergeant Martha N. Williams Displays Radiosonde, Washington, DC
1955-11-15--Army Radiosonde Launch, Fort Meade, MD
1955-11-16--Army Radiosonde Launch, Fort Meade, MD
1956--Comparison of 14 Radiosondes, Switzerland
1955--Project Transonde Launch – Opamma, Japan
1955--Reading a Radiosonde Recorder Printout
1956--Transonde balloon launch, Iwakuni, Japan
1956--E. Wilbur McCollum with Balloon and Radiosonde, by Walter McCardell Baltimore MD
1956--WAVEs Launching Pilot Balloon
1957--Indian Meteorological Team Launching Radiosonde
1957--Rocketsonde in Nuclear Test
1958--Pilot Balloon Release O'Hare AP IL
1960--Result of Weather Balloon Payload Accident – Bogalusa LA
1960--Investigating Weather Balloon Payload Accident – Bogalusa LA
1960--Operation Skyhook Winzen balloon launch from USS Valley Forge
1960 circa--High Altitude Sounding Projectile (HASP), White Oak, MD
1960 circa--Meteorologist Sue Ann Bowling and Weather Balloon, Fairbanks, AK
1960--High Altitude Sounding Projectile (HASP), White Oak, MD
1960--Skyhook Sideshot Views
1960--Balloon Release and Tracking Radar Marin County, CA
1960--NOL Engineers Examine HASP Payload, White Oak, MD
1960s--BBC Crew Photographing a Radiosonde Balloon Nairobi, Kenya
1960s--Boys Inflating Balloon with Shop VAC USA
1960s--Tracking a Radiosonde Delhi, India
1961--Aborted Balloon Launch, Liberal, KS
1962--Preparing-To-Launch-from-SS-Cirrus
1962--Boy Struck by Radiosonde, New Orleans, LA
1962--Radiosonde Prelaunch Check Miami, FL
1963--Ozonesonde Launch Prep, Tallahassee, FL
1964--Early Jimsphere, Northfield, MN
1964--Preparing for AMT-4 Radiosonde Launch, Task Force 43, McMurdo Station, Antarctica
1965--Found Radiosonde Denver CO
1965--NCAR Dropsonde Boulder CO
1965?--Adjusting Radiosonde Signal Bracknell England
1966--Ernest Lichfield and Neil Carlson with GHOST balloon payload, Boulder CO
1966--Ozonesonde Launch Preparation Tallahassee FL
1967--Sy Ullsperger Releases Balloon, Greenbay, WI
1967--Assembling a Skua Meteorological Rocket, Outer Hebrides, Britain
1967--Japanese MT-135 and U.S. Arcas Meteorological Rockets, Wallops Island, VA
1967--Radiosonde Training Launch Panama
1970 circa--AN/UMQ-7 Meteorological Data Sounding System
1971--Radiosonde Prelaunch Discussion, Denver CO
1971--Radiosonde Prelaunch, Denver CO
1974--Found NWS Balloon and Radiosonde Chicago IL
1976 circa--Radiosonde Release, Barentsburg, Norway
1977--Launching a Radiosonde, Greenbay, WI
1980 circa--Found French radiosonde, Greensboro, NC
1980s?--Radiosonde Launch Point Mugu CA
1985--Meteorologist Ken LaPenta explaining radiosonde to tourists, Albany NY
1986--Radiosonde in Tree
1990--Video Camera Launch
1990s--Pilot Balloon Release, Idaho
1992--Balloon Prep and Launch Area, Felts Field, Spokane WA
1992--About To Launch a Radiosonde, Del Rio, Texas
1993--Hemsby Met Office Scientist Chris Wilkinson about to launch Radiosonde, Yarmouth England
2002--Radiosonde Launch China Lake CA