Supertanker, the unique wonder of the fire department is trying to save the Amazon forest

The beautiful country of Bolivia is located close to the southern border of the Brazilian state of Amazonas - one of the places where the wildest wildfires occurred, in their territory there is also part of the Amazon forest; Bolivia is also one of the countries directly affected by the dust emitted from the forest fires. One can imagine the level of air pollution in Bolivia, when we see São Paulo is thousands of kilometers away from the fire and the smoke is still black.

Bolivian President Evo Morales relied on the help of one of the leading firefighters: the Boeing 747 Supertanker. It can carry 70,000 liters of water or flame retardant, the first "fighting" was in 2009 in Spain, during a major fire in Cuenca.

At the present time, only one Supertanker is in operation.

At the present time, only one Supertanker is in operation. Obviously such a big character will have to appear in the fire that is most concerned at the moment. Global SuperTanker, the group that manages the large fire fighter, officially sent a Boeing 747-400 to Amazon last weekend. According to what Global SuperTanker claims, the large aircraft has successfully made three firefighting trips, and is preparing for its fourth flight.

The effort and its use are clear. But where does the Supertanker come from?

The fire engine was born in tragedy: it was the fire season in 2002 in the United States. After two other firefighters, Lockheed C-130 Hercules and Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer, were killed and killed five people, the US Department of the Interior issued a request to install a new generation fire engine.

Evergreen International Aviation was the first to develop large firefighting aircraft, they planned to turn four Boeing 747-200s into Supertanker, and had their first success on February 19, 2004: the Boeing 747 (model number N470EV) became the Supertanker and for the first time in the air.

Firefighting supertanker in Israel in 2010.

But in June 2006, Evergreen spent up to US $ 40 million on this project, pending FAA approval from the Federal Aviation Administration, while waiting for a fire contract from one side. It was not until October 2006 that they got a license to 'install and dismantle' the water discharge system for Supertankers.

According to official information from Evergreen, the Supertanker is equipped with a pressure-release system, which can bring fire fighting water down to the same speed as the rainfall. Supertanker can fly at an altitude of only 120-240 meters, with a speed of 260 km / h to discharge fire water.

The state of the art sprinkler system, combined with its enormous water capacity, allows Supertanker to continuously release fire hydrants for up to 4.8 km, with the width of the 'artificial rain' of up to 46 meters.

Supertanker can fly at a maximum speed of 970 km / h, allowing it to be anywhere in the United States in 2.5 hours and appear in any airspace on Earth in less than 20 hours. It 'resides' at Sacramento McClellan airport, located in California.

Supertanker can fly at an altitude of only 120-240 meters, with a speed of 260 km / h to discharge fire water.

By 2013, Evergreen was in financial trouble, unable to continue caring for Supertanker. In late 2013, Evergreen officially ceased operations, they signed a new contract, allowing a third party, Jet Midwest Aviation, to dismantle the Supertanker to make waste.

But as of August 2015, Global SuperTanker Services (the organization that inherits the legacy of Evergreen Supertanker Services) has bought all the old equipment as well as all the intellectual properties that were part of Evergreen's Supertanker project (except for frame of the 747-100).

The fire extinguishing system was mounted on the frame of the Boeing 747-400, making it the only working Supertanker.

The long (and troubling) history of the Supertanker cannot overshadow the past victories of a fire engine: it has appeared in Iraq, Chile, and Israel to put out the biggest fires in history. It also made a big contribution to the California fire last year and now, Supertanker is once again helping in the Amazon forest fire.

In the midst of compliments for ground firefighters, look up to admire the wonders of the fire department: the Supertanker, capable of carrying 70,000 liters of water to save Earth's green lungs.