Tankers Fight the Azalea Fire, Vandenberg AFB, September 27, 1997

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A fire broke out on Vandenberg Air Force Base on Friday, September 26, 1997. The Forest Service named it the Azalea Fire. These pictures were shot on Saturday, September 27 as tankers fought the Azalea Fire.

The view from Lompoc of the Azalea Fire Azalea Fire at Vandenberg Air Force Base.

Tanker 162 is dropping DC-4 #162 makes a retardant drop fire retardant between the fire and Vandenberg Village, just east of the Air Force base.

Tanker 162 is a Douglas C-54, DC-4 #162 makes a retardant drop seen here finishing an air drop on the fireline.

Tanker 162 is powered by DC-4 #162 over the Azalea Fire four 1,290 horsepower R-2000-7 radial engines.

The operations of the DC-6 makes a retardant drop on the Azalea Fire tankers and the fire fighters on the ground were coordinated by "White Net" on 154.28 mc.

This view of the underside of DC-4 #162 over the Azalea Fire Tanker 162 reveals the doors of the retardant tanks.

Tanker 162 heads back DC-4 #162 over the Azalea Fire to the Goleta Forest Service Tanker Station for another load.

Tanker 01 is a converted Lockheed P-2 Neptune P-2 #01, N901AU over the Azalea Fire anti-submarine patrol bomber.

Aero Union Neptunes on P2VNeptune.org Visit the Aero Union Page on the P2VNeptune.org web site.

P-3A #22, N922AU over the Azalea Fire Tanker 22 is a converted Lockheed P-3 Orion anti-submarine patrol bomber. Its four 5,000 horsepower T56 turboprops give it a significant margin of power over the C-54 and P-2

Tanker 194 is a Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane CH-54 Skycrane #194, N44094 cruising to Lompoc equipped with a snorkle to draw water from creeks or lakes near the fire.

Tankers spotted over the Azalea Fire on September 27, 1997 included:

Number Type Registration Operator c/n military serial
01 SP-2H N701AU Aero Union 726-7190 BuNo 145920
22 P-3A-45 N922AU Aero Union 185-5100 BuNo 151387
119 C-54G-1/DC-4 N406WA ARDCO 35944 45-491
152 C-54D-15/DC-4 N9015Q EMI Services 22178 43-17228
194 CH-54A N44094 Heavy Lift Helicopters   67-18421

More Tanker Photos

Aerial tankers Aerial tankers

Associated Airtanker Pilots web site Visit the web site of the Associated Airtanker Pilots

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A dozen photos of aerial tankers:

Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress N17W Tanker 04, Santa Barbara, September 12, 1979
Douglas DC-7C N5903 Tanker 35, Santa Barbara, November 28, 1980
Douglas C-54E Cargomaster N460WA Tanker 151, Santa Ynez Valley, July 30, 1990
Air Force Reserve Lockheed C-130E Hercules 62-1081, Reno Stead, September 15, 1991
California Air National Guard C-130E Tanker 6, NAWS Pt. Mugu, April 25, 1998
Douglas C-54E Cargomaster N8502G Tanker 65, Santa Barbara Airport, May 5, 2004
Evergreen S-64E Skycrane N6979R Tanker 707, Santa Ynez Valley, May 7, 2004
Siller Brothers Sikosky S-61N N15456, Santa Ynez Valley, May 7, 2004
McDonnell-Douglas DC-10-10 10 Tanker Air Carrier Tanker 910, Goleta, November 4, 2005
Evergreen International Boeing 747 Supertanker, San Bernardino, May 31, 2006
Grumman S-2T Tracker N439DF Tanker 74, Santa Barbara Airport, June 19, 2006
Lockheed P2V-5 N1386C Tanker 44, Santa Barbara, June 19, 2006

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