Water bomber facts for kids

French's Sécurité Civile Bombardier CL-415 water bomber.

A water bomber is an aircraft dedicated to firefighting, and in particular for forest fires. It can be a helicopter or a sea plane. Generally it is a conversion of a former military or cargo aircraft, but some were designed and built at the beginning like water bombers. It is the case of Canadian Canadair CL-215. Water bombers are used both by air forces, administrations, and private societies.

Images for kids

A DC-10 Tanker operated by a private contractor for the U.S. Forest Service demonstrates a water drop during "Thunder Over The Empire Air Fest" at March Air Reserve Base, Calif. (2012)
State Emergency Service of Ukraine (MChS) Mil Mi-8MTV picking up water near Nezhin
A Consolidated PBY Catalina amphibious flying boat air tanker
Lockheed P-3A Orion operated by Aero Union
Beriev Be-200 filling water tanks in the Mediterranean Sea while in operation against the 2010 Mount Carmel forest fire in Israel
An Antonov An-32 of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine dumps water on a forest fire.
Boeing 737-300 operated by Coulson Aviation
A helicopter dips its bucket into a river to drop water on a wildfire in California
Kaman K-Max K-1200 used for aerial firefighting in Idaho
Kern County (California) Fire Department Bell 205 dropping water during a training exercise at the Mojave Spaceport
Los Angeles County Fire Department's Sikorsky S-70C Firehawk during a water drop demonstration at Station 129 in Lancaster, California
U.S. Airmen with the 129th Rescue Wing, California Air National Guard drop water on the Rim Fire near Yosemite, CA, Aug. 26, 2013