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The Sikorsky S-70 family played an important role in the battle against the fires. Navy Seahawks and Army Black Hawks were highly effective in their adopted role as firebombers, being responsible for saving much property from near certain destruction, (Defence PR)
ADF Fire Bombing Helps Quell NSW Fires
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Adf Bombing Helps Stem Nsw Fires
It has gone little noticed that Australian Defence Force efforts in combating last January’s New South Wales bushfires are believed to be the largest ADF involvement in natural disaster relief work since Cyclone Tracy hit Darwin in 1974.
Much of the ADF aid was aviation related, with Army and Navy helicopters performing a number of transportation, spotting, and fire bombing tasks, while RAAF transports ferried bush firefighters from throughout the country. In all 30 defence helicopters ranging from Squirrels and Kiowas through to Iroquois, Black Hawks, Seahawks and Sea Kings were in action, while RAAF Hercules and Caribou and further Army Black Hawks were on standby throughout the crisis.
At the forefront of the defence effort were the Army Black Hawks and Iroquois, and Navy Sea Kings and Seahawks used for fire bombing. Initial airborne firefighting capabilities were supplied by small civilian helicopters such as Jet Rangers and Squirrels utilising buckets of only a few hundred litres capacity and Lloyd Bell 212s and 412s fitted with conformal tanks. The use of larger ADF helicopters with their far greater and much needed lifting abilities during the NSW fires was initiated on Sunday January 9 when Navy Sik- orsky Seahawks were trialled in the firebomber role fitted with 600 and 1600 litre “Bambi” buckets. The buckets were connected to the Seahawk’s external hook, while a control line to operate the bucket was linked up via the helo’s winch. Successful testing took place in the Terry Hills, Gosford and Richmond areas. Operational testing of Navy Sea Kings fitted with 600 litre Bambi buckets had already been performed.
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