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Three aerial tankers and a pair of Air Attack planes came to the Santa Barbara Air Attack Station to fight the Perkins Fire in the Los Padres National Forest on Monday, June 19. Firefighting operations are continuing on Sunday June 25 as the Perkins Fire is 85% contained. Update: As of Monday, June 26, the Perkins fire is 100% contained, having burned just under 15,000 acres.
Lockheed P2V-5 Neptune N1386C Tanker 44 departing from Runway 25. Tanker 44 served the U.S. Navy as BuNo 128422. It is operated by Neptune Aviation Services, of Missoula, Montana.
Tanker 44 departing from Runway 25.
Tanker 44 departing from Runway 25.
Tanker 44 departing from Runway 25.
Tanker 44 departing from Runway 25.
Tanker 44 on approach to land on Runway 25.
Tanker 44 on approach to land on Runway 25.
CDF Grumman S-2F 3AT Turbo-Tracker, N436DF Tanker 76 landing on Runway 25. Tanker 76 served the U.S. Navy as BuNo 152337. It was retired to the Military Aircraft Storage and Disposition Center (MASDC) at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base as 1S0526 on April 18, 1975. It was transferred to Royal Australian Navy as N12-152337. It received its current registration on October 9, 2003.
Tanker 44 taxiing out of the Santa Barbara Air Attack Station.
Tanker 76 taxiing out of the Santa Barbara Air Attack Station.
Tanker 44 taking off from Runway 25.
Tanker 44 taking off from Runway 25.
Tanker 76 taking off from Runway 25.
California Department of Forestry (CDF) Grumman S-2F 3AT Turbo-Tracker, N439DF Tanker 74 on approach to land on Runway 25. Tanker 74 was delivered to VS-33 as BuNo 149854 in April 1963 and deployed to WestPac aboard USS Bennington (CVS-20). The U.S. Forestry Commission registered it as N509DF on August 21, 1996. It received its current registration on February 14, 2003, after it was re-equipped with turboprop engines.
Cessna T337D N2337, Air Attack 337 on approach to land on Runway 25.
Tanker 76 on approach to land on Runway 25.
Tanker 74 on approach to land on Runway 25.
Tanker 44 departing from Runway 25.
Tanker 76 departing from Runway 25.
California Department of Forestry (CDF) Grumman S-2F 3AT Turbo-Tracker, N439DF Tanker 74 on approach to land on Runway 25.
Lockheed P2V-5 Neptune N1386C Tanker 44 on approach to land on Runway 25.
Tanker 44
CDF Grumman S-2F 3AT Turbo-Tracker, N436DF Tanker 76 taxiing out to Runway 25.
Tanker 44 taxiing out to Runway 25.
Tanker 44
Tanker 74 on approach to land on Runway 25.
Tanker 76 on approach to land on Runway 25.
Tanker 76 taxiing out to Runway 25.
Tanker 44 on approach to land on Runway 25.
Tanker 74 taxiing out of the Santa Barbara Air Attack Station.
Refueling Tanker 44
Tanker 74 taking off from Runway 25.
CDF North American OV-10A Bronco, N403DF Air Attack 500 taxiing out of the Air Attack Station.
Tanker 76 taxiing out of the Air Attack Station.
Air Attack 500 taking off from Runway 25.
Air Attack 500
Air Attack 500
Grumman S-2F 3AT Turbo-Tracker, N436DF Tanker 76 taking off from Runway 25.
Tanker 76 taking off from Runway 7.
Rockwell 690B Turbo Commander, N700PQ Air Attack taxiing into the Air Attack Station. It is operated by Rogers Helicopters Incorporated of Fresno, California.
Tanker 44 starting its starboard R-3350 radial engine.
Tanker 44 taking off from Runway 7.
Tanker 74 taking off from Runway 7.
Aerial tankers
You can buy a 2010 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: 2010 calendar in your Lulu.com shopping cart for $16.95.
The National Interagency Fire Center.
The National Incident Information Center.
The SSD Fire Detection Program.
Wildlandfire.com's Air Tankers Photo page..
Send a message to Brian.