Tanker 12 moves to National Museum of Forest Service History

By Kelly Andersson
Fire Aviation
May 16, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

MISSOULA, Montana — Neptune Aviation and the National Museum of Forest Service History in Missoula have announced a partnership to provide Tanker 12 a new permanent home. Neptune Aviation retired its Lockheed P2V airtankers in September of 2017, closing the final chapter on the world’s last active fleet of former maritime patrol aircraft, dating back to the Cold War era, which served for years as national aerial firefighting assets. …Before Tanker 12 began its history as an aerial firefighting aircraft, the P2V served the U.S. Navy in anti-submarine warfare missions. From 1993 Neptune operated a fleet of Lockheed Martin P2V aircraft, and its ships put in about 47,000 firefighting missions, dropping a total of 97 million gallons of retardant. …The National Museum of Forest Service History is a nonprofit organization with a mission of sharing the history of America’s conservation legacy. 

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