Air Tankers at Fox Field
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I read a report on Inciweb that 13 tankers, including the DC-10 and two SuperScoopers, fought the Corral Fire near Malibu on Saturday, November 24. I went to Fox Field near Lancaster on Sunday morning to photograph the tanker operations. When I arrived there were two Butler Aircraft Douglas DC-7s and four Neptune Aviation Services Lockheed P-2 Neptunes parked at the tanker station. The Santa Ana winds had died down, and the tankers were not flying.
The Fox Field Tanker Station.
Butler Aircraft Douglas DC-7 N401US Tanker 62 was delivered to United Airlines as N6331C Mainliner Kansas City on February 13, 1957. Its construction number 45145. C & J Aircraft Leasing bought it and gave it its current registration on January 21, 1964. It was leased to U.S. Overseas Airlines. Stanley D. Weiss bought it in 1965 and sold it to Nathaniel Hawthorne College in January 1968. Pacific Coast Airlines leased it in July 1969. Porter Aircraft Services bought it in January 1970 and sold it to A. W. McDonnell in December 1970. Hemet Valley Flying Service bought it in April 1973 and sold it to Butler Aircraft Company in March 1976.
Butler Aircraft Douglas DC-7 N6353C Tanker 66 was delivered to United Airlines as Mainliner Lincoln on April 11, 1958. Its Douglas construction number is 45486. Acme Aircraft Inc. bought it on May 27, 1964 and sold it to International Aerodyne in 1965. Ports of Call Travel Club leased it in May 1966. TBM Inc. of Tulare, California bought it in March 1975. Butler Aircraft Company of Redmond, Oregon was a subsidiary of TBM Inc. until October 1. 2006
DC-7 N401US Tanker 62 and DC-7 N6353C Tanker 66 and a really big Smokey the Bear hat.
DC-7 N401US Tanker 62
Lockheed P2V-5H Neptune N443NA Tanker 43, DC-7 N401US Tanker 62, DC-7 N6353C Tanker 66, and Lockheed P2V-5F Neptune N96278 Tanker 05.
Neptune Aviation Services Lockheed P2V-5H Neptune N443NA Tanker 43 was delivered to the U.S. Navy as P2V-7 BuNo 145906 in 1958. It departed to the northwest at about 10:45 in the morning.
DC-7 N401US Tanker 62, DC-7 N6353C Tanker 66, and Lockheed P2V-5F Neptune N96278 Tanker 05.
Lockheed P2V-5 Neptune N1386C Tanker 44 and SP-2H Neptune N14447 Tanker 11
Neptune Aviation Services P2V-5 Neptune N1386C Tanker 44 served the U.S. Navy as BuNo 128422.
Neptune Aviation Services Lockheed P-2H Neptune N14447 Tanker 11 was delivered to the U.S. Navy as P2V-7 BuNo 135587 in 1955. Its Lockheed Company construction number is 826-8010. It It was delivered to the Royal Canadian Air Force as 8010.
P-2H N14447 Tanker 11
P-2H N14447 Tanker 11
Neptune Aviation Services Lockheed P2V-5F Neptune N96278 Tanker 05 served the U.S. Navy as BuNo 131459. It departed to the northwest at about 11:45 in the morning.
P2V-5F N96278 Tanker 05
P2V-5F N96278 Tanker 05
P-2H N14447 Tanker 11 departed to the northwest just after noon.
The Milestones of Flight Air Museum is located at the east end of the airport, next to Apollo Park.
Sikorsky UH-19D Chickasaw, 55-4943 flew for the U.S. Forest Service.
North American B-25C Mitchell, N3968C flew for the Army Air Corps as 41-13251. Its North American construction number is 82-5886. After retirement from the military, it entered the civil registry as N75635. It was once owned by Howard Hughes.
Aerial tankers
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.
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