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40-483: Designed initially for service on Midway -class aircraft carriers , early production F7Fs were land-based variants. The type was too large to operate from older and smaller carriers, and only a late variant (F7F-4N) was certified for carrier service. Based on the earlier Grumman XP-50 that was eventually canceled, the company developed the XP-65 ( Model 51 ) further for a future "convoy fighter" concept. In 1943, work on

80-604: A Bambi bucket. 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 without needing to land. Various aircraft have been used over the years for firefighting. In 1947, the United States Air Force and United States Forest Service experimented with military aircraft dropping water-filled bombs. The bombs were unsuccessful, and

120-661: A combined fleet of 23 aircraft. Borate salts used in the past to fight wildfires have been found to sterilize the soil and be toxic to animals so are now prohibited. Newer retardants use ammonium sulfate or ammonium polyphosphate with attapulgite clay thickener or diammonium phosphate with a guar gum derivative thickener. Fire retardants often contain wetting agents , preservatives and rust inhibitors and are colored red with ferric oxide or fugitive color to mark where they have been dropped. Brand names of fire retardants for aerial application include Fortress and Phos-Chek . Some water-dropping aircraft carry tanks of

160-418: A guar gum derivative to thicken the water and reduce runoff. Helicopters can hover over the fire and drop water or retardant. The S-64 Helitanker has microprocessor -controlled doors on its tank. The doors are controlled based on the area to be covered and wind conditions. Fixed-wing aircraft must make a pass and drop water or retardant like a bomber. Spotter (Air Tactical Group Supervisor) aircraft often orbit

200-608: A hanging snorkel. Popular firefighting helicopters include variants of the Bell UH-1H Super Huey, Bell 204 , Bell 205 , Bell 212 , Boeing Vertol 107 , Boeing Vertol 234 , Sikorsky S-70 "Firehawk" and the Sikorsky S-64 Aircrane helitanker, which features a snorkel for filling from a natural or man-made water source while in hover. Currently the world's largest helicopter, the Mil Mi-26 , uses

240-406: A maximum payload of about 12,000 litres (3,200 US gal) of water, making "scoops" in suitable stretches of water in 14 seconds. Bombardier's Dash 8 Q Series aircraft are the basis of new, next-generation air tankers. Cascade Aerospace has converted two pre-owned Q400s to act as part-time water bomber and part-time transport aircraft for France's Sécurité Civile , while Neptune Aviation

280-509: A naval version of the de Havilland Hornet . Beginning in 1949, F7Fs were flown to the then-U.S. Navy storage facility at Naval Air Station Litchfield Park , Arizona. Although the vast majority of the airframes were eventually scrapped, a number of examples were purchased as surplus. The surviving Tigercats were primarily used as water bombers to fight wildfires in the 1960s and 1970s and Sis-Q Flying Services of Santa Rosa, California , operated an F7F-3N tanker in this role until retirement in

320-576: A number of Convair 580 and Fokker F27 Friendship turboprop airliners to air tankers. The largest aerial firefighter ever used is a Boeing 747 aerial firefighter, known as the Global Supertanker , that can carry 19,600 US gallons (74,200 L) fed by a pressurized drop system. The Supertanker was deployed operationally for the first time in 2009, fighting a fire in Spain. The tanker made its first American operation on August 31, 2009, at

360-614: A second seat for a radar operator was added and these aircraft were designated F7F-2N . A second production version, the F7F-3 , was modified to correct the issues that caused the aircraft to fail carrier acceptance, and this version was again trialled on the USS ; Shangri-La . A wing failure on a heavy landing caused the failure of this carrier qualification as well. F7F-3 aircraft were produced in day fighter, night fighter, and photo-reconnaissance versions. The final production version,

400-423: Is converting a pre-owned Q300 as a prototype to augment its Lockheed P-2 Neptune aircraft. The Sécurité Civile also operates twelve Canadair CL-415 and nine Conair Turbo Firecat aircraft. Neptune Aviation also currently operates converted British Aerospace 146 jetliners as air tankers. The BAe 146 can carry up to 3,000 gallons of fire fighting retardant. Air Spray USA Ltd. of Chico, California has also converted

440-531: Is the use of aircraft and other aerial resources to combat wildfires . The types of aircraft used include fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters . Smokejumpers and rappellers are also classified as aerial firefighters, delivered to the fire by parachute from a variety of fixed-wing aircraft , or rappelling from helicopters . Chemicals used to fight fires may include water, water enhancers such as foams and gels , and specially formulated fire retardants such as Phos-Chek . The idea of fighting forest fires from

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480-405: Is used in official documentation. The term " waterbomber " is used in some Canadian government documents for the same class of vehicles, though it sometimes has a connotation of amphibians . Air attack is an industry term used for the actual application of aerial resources, both fixed-wing and rotorcraft, on a fire. Within the industry, though, "air attack" may also refer to the supervisor in

520-666: The Cessna 337 . The Beechcraft Baron was long used as a leadplane or air attack ship, but most were retired in 2003; more common now is the Beechcraft King Air and the Twin Commander 690 . A Cessna Citation 500 jet owned by Air Spray (1967) LTd. was used by the British Columbia Ministry of Forests beginning in 1995 and used for two fire seasons to lead the very fast Electra L188 air tanker to

560-748: The F7F-4N , was extensively rebuilt for additional strength and stability, and did pass carrier qualification, but only 12 were built. The F7F Tigercat was produced too late to serve in its intended role in WWII; however, early F7F-1 models saw service in the Pacific Theatre before the end of the war. One Marine Corps photographic reconnaissance squadron equipped with the F7F, VMP-354 , arrived in Guam in June 1945, and

600-798: The Oak Glen Fire . It has since been replaced by a Boeing 747-400 . Another wide body jetliner that is currently being used as an air tanker is the modified McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 operated by the 10 Tanker Air Carrier company as the DC-10 Air Tanker . It can carry up to 12,000 US gallons (45,400 L) of fire fighting retardant. The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations operates convertible-to-cargo Ilyushin Il-76 airtankers that have been operating with 11,000-US-gallon (41,600 L) tanking systems, and several Beriev Be-200 jet powered amphibian aircraft . The Be-200 can carry

640-933: The B747 Supertanker. Other former military aircraft utilized as firefighting air tankers in the U.S. in the past included the B-17 and the PB4Y-2 , a version of the B-24 . The Lead Plane function directs the activities of the airtankers by both verbal target descriptions and by physically leading the airtankers on the drop run. The leadplane is typically referred to as a "Bird Dog" in Canada or "Supervision" aircraft in Australia. The O-2 Skymaster , Cessna 310 and OV-10 Bronco have been used as spotter and lead plane platforms. The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources has also used

680-623: The BAe 146 jetliner to the role of air tanker. Another modern-era passenger aircraft that has now been converted for aerial firefighting missions in the U.S. is the McDonnell Douglas MD-87 jetliner operated by Erickson Aero Tanker. The MD-87 can carry up to 4,000 gallons of fire fighting retardant. Coulson Aviation unveiled a Boeing 737-300 firefighting conversion in May 2017. Six aircraft have been purchased from Southwest Airlines for

720-475: The Erickson AirCrane, are also outfitted with a front-mounted foam cannon. Buckets are usually filled by submerging or dipping them in lakes, rivers, reservoirs, or portable tanks. The most popular of the buckets is the flexible Bambi Bucket . Tanks can be filled on the ground (by water tenders or truck-mounted systems) or water can be siphoned from lakes, rivers, reservoirs, or a portable tank through

760-564: The Grumman Tomcat, this name was abandoned, because it was considered at the time to have excessively sexual overtones; (from the 1970s, the name Tomcat became commonly associated with, and officially used by the Navy for, another Grumman design, the F-14 twin-jet carrier-based interceptor). The first production variant was the single-seat F7F-1N aircraft; after the 34th production aircraft,

800-605: The RADS system conversion which was planned to enter service in December 2017. The 737 aircraft is smaller than the C-130Q which allows for a wider range of airfields to be utilized. Britt Coulson further stated the aircraft will be able to retain the current seat and galley configuration for tanker operations. On 22 November 2018, the 737 was used for the first time to fight a fire near Newcastle, Australia. In July 2022, Airbus tested

840-1021: The S-2T) as used by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), as well as the Conair Firecat version developed and used by Conair Group Inc. of Canada, while the Douglas DC-4 , the Douglas DC-7 , the Lockheed C-130 Hercules , the Lockheed P-2 Neptune , and the Lockheed P-3 Orion – and its commercial equivalent, the L-188 Electra – have been used as air tankers. Conair also converted

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880-614: The United States, most of these aircraft are privately owned and contracted to government agencies, and the National Guard and the U.S. Marines also maintain fleets of firefighting aircraft. On May 10, 2004, The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced that they were cancelling contracts with operators of 33 heavy airtankers. They cited liability concerns and an inability to safely manage

920-459: The XP-65 was terminated in favor of the design that would eventually become the F7F. The contract for the prototype XF7F-1 was signed on 30 June 1941. Grumman's aim was to produce a fighter that outperformed and outgunned all existing fighter aircraft, and that had an auxiliary ground attack capability. Performance of the prototype and initial production aircraft met expectations; the F7F was one of

960-617: The aerial firefighting capacity of the A400M using a roll-on/roll-off kit comprising a 20-tonne water tank and piping allowing the load to be expelled from the end of the cargo ramp. All links, citations and data sources are listed in the paragraph above. For accident and grounding citations, see paragraph below table. Category legend: Light: under 1,000 US gallons (3,800 L), Medium: under 10,000 US gallons (38,000 L), Heavy: under 20,000 US gallons (76,000 L), Super heavy: over 20,000 US gallons (76,000 L) – currently only used for

1000-708: The aerial firefighting fleet, newer purpose-built tankers have since come 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. Examples include the Air Tractor AT-802 , which can deliver around 800 gallons of water or fire retardant solution in each drop, and the Soviet Antonov An-2 biplane. Both of these aircraft can be fitted with floats that scoop water from

1040-437: The air (usually in a fixed-wing aircraft) who supervises the process of attacking the wildfire from the air, including fixed-wing airtankers, helicopters, and any other aviation resources assigned to the fire. The Air Tactical Group Supervisor (ATGS), often called "air attack", is usually flying at an altitude above other resources assigned to the fire, often in a fixed-wing plane but occasionally (depending on assigned resources or

1080-484: The air dates back at least as far as Friedrich Karl von Koenig-Warthausen 's observations on seeing a blaze when overflying the Santa Lucia Range , California, in 1929. A wide variety of terminology has been used in the popular media for the aircraft (and methods) used in aerial firefighting. The terms airtanker or air tanker generally refer to fixed-wing aircraft based in the United States; "airtanker"

1120-472: The availability of qualified personnel) in a helicopter. Depending on the size, location, and assessed potential of the wildfire, the "air attack" or ATGS person may be charged with initial attack (the first response of firefighting assets on fire suppression), or with extended attack, the ongoing response to and management of a major wildfire requiring additional resources including engines, ground crews, and other aviation personnel and aircraft needed to control

1160-586: The fastest piston-engine fighters, with a top speed significantly greater than single-engine USN aircraft — 71 mph faster than a Grumman F6F Hellcat at sea level. Captain Fred Trapnell , one of the premier USN test pilots of the era, stated: "It's the best damn fighter I've ever flown." The F7F was to be heavily-armed — four 20 mm cannon and four 50 caliber ( 0.50 in ; 12.7 mm) machine guns, as well as underwing and under-fuselage hardpoints for bombs and torpedoes. This speed and firepower

1200-500: The fire and establish control lines or firelines ahead of the wildfire. A wide variety of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft are used for aerial firefighting. In 2003, it was reported that "The U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management own, lease, or contract for nearly 1,000 aircraft each fire season, with annual expenditures in excess of US$ 250 million in recent years". Helicopters may be fitted with tanks (helitankers) or they may carry buckets. Some helitankers, such as

1240-434: The fire at a higher altitude to coordinate the efforts of the smoke jumper, helicopter, media, and retardant-dropping aircraft, while lead planes fly low-level ahead of the airtankers to mark the trajectory for the drop, and ensure overall safety for both ground-based and aerial firefighters. Water is not usually dropped directly on flames because its effect is short-lived. Fire retardants are not typically used to extinguish

Grumman F7F Tigercat - Misplaced Pages Continue

1280-595: The fire, but instead are used to contain the fire, or slow it down to allow ground crews to contain it. Because of this, retardants are usually dropped in front of or around a moving fire, rather than directly on it, creating a firebreak . Aerial firefighting is most effectively used in conjunction with ground-based efforts, as aircraft are only one weapon in the firefighting arsenal. However, there have been cases of aircraft extinguishing fires long before ground crews were able to reach them. Some firefighting aircraft can refill their tanks in mid-flight, by flying down to skim

1320-700: The fires. This was the first time a jet aircraft was used as a lead plane or "bird dog". The Department of Parks and Wildlife in Western Australia operates a fleet of nine American Champion Scouts 8GCBC during the summer months as spotter aircraft and Air Attack platforms. The Provinces of Alberta and British Columbia and the Yukon Territories contract to supply Twin Commander 690 as bird dog aircraft for their air tanker fleets. Air Spray owns 9 Twin Commander 690 for use as bird dog aircraft. In

1360-516: The fleet after the wing failure and resulting crash of a C-130 A Hercules in California and a PB4Y-2 in Colorado during the summer of 2002. Both aged aircraft broke up in flight due to catastrophic fatigue cracks at the wing roots. After subsequent third-party examination and extensive testing of all USFS contracted heavy airtankers, three companies were awarded contracts and now maintain

1400-754: The late 1980s. Data from Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II General characteristics Performance Armament Avionics Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists Midway-class aircraft carrier Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.226 via cp1108 cp1108, Varnish XID 255826252 Upstream caches: cp1108 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 10:46:02 GMT Aerial firefighting Aerial firefighting , also known as waterbombing ,

1440-688: The surface of a body of water. Similar in configuration to the World War II–era Consolidated PBY Catalina , the Canadair CL-215 and its derivative the CL-415 are designed and built specifically for firefighting. The Croatian Air Force uses six CL-415s as well as six AT 802s for firefighting purposes. Medium-sized modified aircraft include the Grumman S-2 Tracker ( retrofitted with turboprop engines as

1480-487: The use of internal water tanks was adopted instead. The Mendocino Air Tanker Squad formed by Joseph Bolles Ely in 1956 was the first such unit in the United States to drop water and retardant on fires. Based at the Willows-Glenn County Airport it soon led the way for other agencies to form similar squads. Though World War II- and Korean War-era bombers were for a long time the mainstay of

1520-457: Was bought at the cost of heavy weight and a high landing speed, but what caused the aircraft to fail carrier suitability trials was poor directional stability with only one engine operational, as well as problems with the tailhook design. The initial production series was, therefore, used only from land bases by the USMC, as night fighters with APS-6 radar. While the F7F was initially also known as

1560-658: Was quickly transferred to Yontan Airfield in Okinawa in July 1945. In July and August 1945, VMP-354 used the F7F to photograph potential invasion beaches for Operation Downfall in Southern Kyushu. Marine Corps night fighter squadron VMF(N)-513 flying F7F-3N Tigercats saw action in the early stages of the Korean War, flying night interdiction and fighter missions and shooting down two Polikarpov Po-2 biplanes. This

1600-473: Was the only combat use of the aircraft. Most F7F-2Ns were modified to control drones for combat training, and these gained bubble canopies over the rear cockpit for the drone controller. An F7F-2D used for pilot transitioning also had a rear sliding, bubble canopy. In 1945, two Tigercats, serial numbers TT346 and TT349 , were evaluated, but rejected by the British Royal Navy in favour of

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