The 747 Supertanker is an aerial firefighting aircraft based on a Boeing 747 widebody aircraft. Initially developed by Evergreen International Aviation, the first Supertanker was based on a 747-200 (N470EV, tanker/tail number 947), and never entered service. The second Supertanker (N479EV, tanker/tail number 979) was based on a 747-100 originally manufactured by Boeing in 1971 for Delta Air Lines. It entered service for the first time in 2009, fighting a fire in Cuenca, Spain, and made its first American operation on 31 August 2009 at the Oak Glen Fire.

The 747 Supertanker can carry up to 19,600 gallons (74,200 liters) of retardant or water for 4,000 miles (6,400 km), and is the largest aerial firefighting aircraft in the world.

SUPERTANKER AT CHILE
On 25 January 2017, the Global Supertanker was deployed to Santiago, Chile, to help the local authorities to combat one of the biggest series of wildfires in the country's history. The wildfires in the south of the country, at the time of the arrival of the 747-400, had burnt more than 494,000 acres of forests and hundreds of houses. The operation of the aircraft was the initiative of philantropist Lucy Avilés and her husband Benjamin Walton, who funded the costs.


SOURCE: Evergreen 747 Supertanker
by Wikipedia (CC BY SA) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evergreen_747_Supertanker