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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 at Vandenberg Air Force Base.
Tanker
162 is dropping 
fire retardant between the fire and Vandenberg Village, just east
of the Air Force base.
Tanker
162 is a Douglas C-54, 
seen here finishing an air drop on the fireline.
Tanker
162 is powered by 
four 1,290 horsepower R-2000-7 radial engines.
The operations of the 
tankers
and the fire fighters on the ground were coordinated by
"White Net" on 154.28 mc.
This view of the underside of 
Tanker
162 reveals the doors of the retardant tanks.
Tanker
162 heads back 
to the Goleta Forest Service Tanker Station for another load.
Tanker
01 is a converted Lockheed P-2 Neptune 
anti-submarine patrol bomber.
Visit the Aero Union
Page on the P2VNeptune.org web site.
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 
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 |
Aerial tankers
Visit the web site of the Associated
Airtanker Pilots
You can buy a 2012 Calendar featuring my photographs of aerial tankers in flight and fighting fires.
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
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
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
Coulson Flying Tankers Martin JRM Hawaii Mars, Lake Elsinore, October 27, 2007
McDonnell-Douglas DC-10-30 10 Tanker Air Carrier Tanker 911, Mesa, Arizona 2011
Put a copy of the Aerial Tankers: 2012 Calendar in your Lulu.com shopping cart for $16.95.
You can buy a 2012 calendar featuring my photographs of Day Fire Tankers at Santa Barbara.
Aerial tankers fought the Day Fire from the Santa Barbara Air Attack Station for ten days, from Monday, September 18 to Wednesday September 27. Three Lockheed P-2 Neptunes and four Lockheed P-3 Orions visited the Air Attack Station during the fire. This calendar includes a dozen photos of those tankers:
Neptune Aviation Lockheed SP-2H Neptune, N4235T Tanker 09
Neptune Aviation Lockheed P2V-5F Neptune, N96264 Tanker 12
Neptune Aviation Lockheed P2V-5 Neptune, N1386C Tanker 44
Aero Union Lockheed P-3A-25 Orion, N920AU Tanker 20
Aero Union Lockheed P-3A-45 Orion, N921AU Tanker 21
Aero Union Lockheed P-3A-45 Orion, N922AU Tanker 22
Aero Union Lockheed P-3A-40 Orion, N925AU Tanker 25
Put a copy of the Day Fire Tankers at Santa Barbara: 2012 calendar in your Lulu.com shopping cart for $16.95.
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Go to home page of the Goleta Air and Space Museum.