Aerial Firefighting 05
Aerial Firefighting 05 : Equipment: Airtankers: Or water bombers are fixed-wing aircraft fitted with tanks that can be filled on the ground at an air tanker base or, in the case of flying boats and amphibious aircraft, by skimming water from lakes, reservoirs, or large rivers. Various aircraft have been used over the years for firefighting. In 1947, shortly after World War Two ended, the United States Air Force and United States Forest Service did an experiment in which World War Two aircraft dropped water bombs similar to those used in wartime napalm attacks. It was not found successful, and internal water tanks were found the solution. Though World War II and Korean War-era bombers were for a long time the mainstay of the aerial firefighting fleet, and are still in use newer purpose-built tankers are coming online. The smallest are the Single Engine Air Tankers (SEATs). These are agricultural sprayers that generally drop about 800 US gallons (3,000 l) of water or retardant. An example is the Airtractor AT-802F, which can deliver around 800 US gallons (3,000 l) of water or fire retardant solution each drop. Another is the Ukrainan Antonov An-2 biplane which can be fitted with floats that can scoop water from the surface of a body of water
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