The summer of 2026 was a summer to remember because of major forrest fires all over Europe, and therefore a raised interest for aerial firefighting. Over the years I’ve seen a few firefighting aircraft, either dedicated firefighters, or aircraft that had the firefighting capability installed.
Here’s the ones that come to mind, although I may have forgotten a few, in chronological order.
1021/F-ZBAR, Canadair CL.215, Securite Civile, Le Bourget, June 1st 1985C-GSFS, Fokker F-27-500, Conair, Paris-Le Bourget, June 19th 1987C-FAWQ, Canadair CL.215T, Quebec Gvmt, Paris Le Bourget, June 15th 1991N322FA/115, PBY-5A Catalina, Airborne Fire Attack, Orange County-John Wayne, April 22nd 1997N299MA, Lockheed P-2V-7 Neptune, Avra Valley, April 23rd 1997N96451/111, Douglas C-54S, Avra Valley, April 23rd 1997N7251C/112, Lockheed PV-2D Harpoon, Chandler Memorial, April 24th 1997N117TG, Lockheed C-130A Hercules, Securité Civile, Chandler Memorial, April 24th 1997N4887C/33, Douglas DC.7B, Chandler Memorial, April 24th 1997Canadair CL.215, Ejército del Aire, Cuatro Vientos, October 28th 2007Canadair CL.415, Hrvatsko ratno zrakoplovstvo i protuzračna obrana, Zadar, July 8th 2009Sikorsky S.64 Skycrane, Erickson Air-Crane, Oshkosh, August 1st 2009Canadair CL.215T, Ejército del Aire, Playa de Muro, May 6th 2010F-ZBCZ/23, Grumman S-2 Firecat, Securité Civile, Marseille-Marignane, June 30th 2011Canadair CL.415, Securité Civile, Marseille-Marignane, Juni 30th 2011UP-MI858, Mil. Mi.8MTV-1 Hip, Orman, Marmaris, August 17th 2014I-DPCZ/21, Canadair CL.415, Vigili del Fuoco, Roma Ciampino, April 22nd 2018D-663, Boeing CH-47D Chinook, KLu, Volkel, June 13th 2019F-ZBMI/76, De Havilland canada DHC.8, Securité Civile, Paris-Nanterre, July 14th 2021OO-WGW, Aerospatiale AS.350B3e Ecureuil, Sapeurs Pompiers, Perpignan Tecnosud, August 10th 2021EC-LTN, Air Tractor AT-802F Fire Boss, Mutxamel, July 20th 2023EC-IPU, Air Tractor AT-802F, Trabajos Aéreos Martínez Ridao, Mutxamel, July 20th 2023N615HX, Sikorsky S.64E Skycrane, Helicopter Express, Dekelia, October 11th 2026