Et is a novelty: For the first time, fire-fighting boats are used in a German forest fire. In the case of the large fire in impassable terrain near the Brocken in the Harz Mountains, the two fire-fighting aircraft that took off in Rome on Sunday support the five fire-fighting helicopters that have been used so far. Germany made use of the so-called rescEU emergency plan in Brussels for this purpose.
An EU country activates the EU Civil Protection Mechanism to fight forest fires. Up to four aircraft and crew from the rescEU fleet will then be temporarily assigned to the new location from southern Europe or Sweden. This mechanism was set up around 20 years ago. The EU Commission coordinates the operations and bears three quarters of the transport and operating costs.
Two Canadair 415 aircraft from Italy are now being used in the Harz Mountains. They were built by Canadian manufacturer Bombardier until 2016. Since that time, these special aircraft have also been produced by Viking Air in Canada.
Start both on land and on water possible
These flying boats, the basic features of which were already developed in the late 1960s, are powered by two Pratt&Whitney PW123AF propeller turbines, each with an output of 2380 hp. The 415 has four firefighting tanks and is the only aircraft in the Western world specifically designed for aerial firefighting. With its amphibious chassis, it can take off and land on both land and water.
Unlike pilots of ground-based firefighting aircraft, who land at an airfield, have their water tank refilled and can take a break during this time, a Canadair crew is usually on non-stop duty until landing to refuel kerosene for their turbines. Because immediately after dropping 6000 liters of water over the fire, it is set down again on the nearest possible lake or in the sea and extinguishing water is taken up. The machine glides on the water like a hydrofoil.
Canadair’s liquid intake takes only twelve seconds, but is demanding for its pilots. Because the flying boat is still 130 kilometers per hour fast during this maneuver on the water. The water is pressed into the extinguishing tanks within seconds through a hatch at the bottom of the hull. A distance of 410 meters on the sea, a river or a lake is enough to fill the extinguishing tanks.
However, it is not yet known whether the two Canadair flying boats are actually allowed to collect their fire-fighting water on a lake or river near the Harz Mountains with a special permit, or whether they always have to return to Braunschweig Airport to collect the extinguishing agent.