FIREBOMBERS! (cover story)
- Resource Type
- Article
- Authors
- WILKINSON, STEPHAN; Powell, R. R.; Mertz, Erick
- Source
- Aviation History. Mar2018, Vol. 28 Issue 4, p32-41. 10p. 14 Color Photographs, 2 Black and White Photographs.
- Subject
- *HISTORY of aeronautics
*FIREFIGHTING
*CHEMICAL systems for firefighting
*FIREFIGHTING equipment
*WILDFIRES
*HISTORY
- Language
- ISSN
- 1076-8858
The article discusses the history of firebombers, aerial firefighters which assist ground firefighters in controlling wildfires. The first successful use of an airplane was a converted 1939 Boeing 75 used by Willows Flying Service, which released 170 gallons of water in Mendocino National Forest in 1955. Topics include the 1954 Operation Firestop, a multi-agency collaborative effort to develop effective ways to battle wildfires in California; adding chemicals to water to avoid evaporation; and the motion picture "Always" featuring firebombers.