PICTURES: Helicopters deployed to put out forest fires in Macedonia

The air forces of Slovenia, Croatia, Turkey and Germany sent specialised firefighting aircraft to the Republic of Macedonia in response to an urgent request by NATO's Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre for help to put out a wave of forest fires ravaging the country's woodland in July.

Following the Macedonian appeal,  Croatia sent one of its four Bombardier CL-415 fire-fighting aircraft (serial number 866, c/n 2046), operating with Croatian Air Force's 855 firefighting squadron from its home base at Zemunik, near Zadar. The aircraft operated with two crews plus four mechanics.
 

© IGOR BOZINOVSKI Macedonian Air Force's Mi-17

Slovenia's Air Force sent a Bell 412EP (serial H2-35) helicopter that arrived Petrovec air force base in Macedonia on 24 July at 22.00 local time after a ferry flight from Brnik air base. The Bell was equipped with water dropping device, the firefighting Bamby Bucket.

Canadair CL-215 firefighting aircraft (registered I-SRME) and operated by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality arrived from Turkey on 25 July with another Turkish flagged helicopter which arrived later in the day.

Turkish flagged helicopter was a Bamby Bucket-equipped Kamov Ka-32AO helicopter (registered LZ-MRK), owned by Skorpion Air from Bulgaria.

© IGOR BOZINOVSKI Germany's contingent of NATO-led international Kosovo Force (KFOR), operated the Heeresflieger UH-1D 71

The build up of a firefighting fleet continued with two Bell UH-1D Huey helicopters (serials 71+36 and 72+46), part of Germany's contingent of NATO-led international Kosovo Force (KFOR), which arrived from its base in the neighbouring UN-controlled south Serbian province of Kosovo.

Meanwhile, the Canadair CL-215 left for Turkey on 27 July, leaving behind its Ka-32AO helicopter to continue its work to extinguish the forest fires.

© IGOR BOZINOVSKI Slovenian Air Force's Bell 412EP

The Macedonian Air Force was put into action with two Mi-17 helicopters, one of which called for the return from Bosnia and Herzegovina where it serves a EUFOR mission to be deployed in the effort.

© IGOR BOZINOVSKI Bulgaria's Bamby Bucket-equipped Kamov Ka-32AO

Macedonia used its UH-1H and Zlin-242 aircraft as well as the Macedonian Police Bell 206B-3, Bell 212 and Bell 412EP helicopters normally used as transport and aerial surveillance platforms.

Boni Er, a company funded by the government of Macedonia used in firefighting operations, operated its three An-2 aircraft to help quell the fires.

Source: FlightGlobal.com