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Published: October 15, 2006 12:00 am    print this story   email this story   comment on this story  

Quenching the roaring monster:A short history of air fire control

The Norman Transcript

John Robertson, retired from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service and now employed by the Oklahoma Agriculture Department, relates some high points of using aircraft for fire control.

1915 -- In Wisconsin, first use of aircraft to detect fires.

1930 -- Spokane, Wash., first attempt to drop water on fires. Wooden beer kegs were kicked out the door of a low-flying plane. Some of the keg drops wreaked damage.

1947 -- David Godwin, "Rocky the Ranger," toyed with dropping water out of a B-29 bomber.

1953 -- In Palm Springs, Calif., "Project Firestop" employed the first free-fall of water from planes to control the spread of wildfires.

1955 -- The "Borate Bombers" using B-26 planes began using borate in fire drops to starve fires of oxygen and fuel.

1956-60 -- Surplus military aircraft were equipped with water-filled wingtip tanks to release (tanks and all) on raging fires. Much collateral damage resulted when the heavy metal missiles impacted. There were many accidents with single-engine water tanker planes.

1970s -- Surplus C-119s (The old "Flying Boxcar") were pressed into aerial firefighting service. The excessive weight of their water loads created tremendous stress on the aircraft. In several instances, the C-119's wings snapped off in flight.

Helicopters

1922 -- An "autogyro" the primitive version of the helicopter, performed fire service in California.

1947 -- The government's first extended use of helicopters on fires.

1948 -- Helicopters first used to drop and retrieve "smoke jumpers" who fought wildfires.

1949 -- The government begins training smoke jumper crews for operations throughout the country.

1954 -- Helicopters used in conjunction with tanker planes for Project Firestop in California.

-- Randall Turk

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