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Catalina Tankers.

Thu Aug 03, 2017 3:05 am

Hope that someone here can help me with this.

I have been looking for many years for a photo of Catalina PBY-6A, Bu46644 as N6458C when it flew with
Liston Aircraft, Klamath Falls, OR, 1963-1966 as Tanker F46.
In addition, one of Canso A, ex. RCAF11040 as N9752Z when it flew for B. B. Burson & Assocs. Columbia Calif. In 1962-64 as Tanker E48.
I will be more than happy for any help.
Why I´m interesting in photos of Catalina/ Canso is that I flew as a Flight Engineer on Catalina’s in RDAF in the 60s mostly on Greenland.

Thanks in advance!
Kind regards.
From Denmark.
Erik.

Re: Catalina Tankers.

Mon Aug 07, 2017 4:42 am

Hi Erik,

Best post your question in the main forum (WIX Hangar). As for Catalinas, David Legg is the expert. He posts here regularly.

Re: Catalina Tankers.

Mon Aug 07, 2017 7:40 am

Fouga23 wrote:Hi Erik, Best post your question in the main forum (WIX Hangar). As for Catalinas, David Legg is the expert. He posts here regularly.

Aargh - I don't like the 'e' word Fouga 23 :-) There are many out there who know a great deal.

Erik and I have in fact corresponded for years and I have not been able to help him with this query. Let's hope someone else can.

Re: Catalina Tankers.

Mon Aug 07, 2017 8:53 am

FWIW......I do not have a Newspaper.com acct, however there is a Klamath Falls newspaper from 1963 that has an article about Liston Aircraft. There is a pic of some gentleman standing in front of a PBY. I do not know if it is the airframe in question but the time frame and location is correct....July 21st, 1963. The pic is in the lower left corner of the news paper page.

https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/93010713/

Re: Catalina Tankers.

Mon Aug 07, 2017 9:58 am

Erik, have you asked Larry Kraus? He's our resident Tanker guy...if he doesn't know, he may have contacts he can check with?

Re: Catalina Tankers.

Mon Aug 07, 2017 3:14 pm

Hello Erik,
I'm afraid that I can't help with a photo of Tanker F46 N6458C when it flew with those markings for Liston Aircraft. You probably already have apicture of that airplane as Tanker E83 when it was owned by Hemet Valley Flying Service. This was posted by Tom Stein in his Airtanker Memories post on WIX. This isn't of the highest quality, but the images on the Airtanker thread seemed to have disappeared from photobucket and this is one that I downloaded some time ago.

Image

This picture of PBY-5A Tanker E48 N9752Z at Columbia, California is also from Airtanker Memories.

Image

This might be a good time to explain the numbering system used for Air Tankers by the US Forest Service and the US Department of the Interior. Prior to 1975 each Forest Service region assigned tanker numbers to operators according to the location of the owner/operator. This was done in a simple alpha/numeric transfer.

Image

Region 1 = A
Region 2 = B
Region 3 = C
Region 4 = D
Region 5 = E
Region 6 = F

There were no tanker operators in other regions at the time, although any of these tankers could bid on contracts in any region. By 1974 there were a large number of tankers in the system and they often either had contracts in a region other than that of their operators or they crossed regional boundaries to respond to large fires. Therefore, it wasn't unusal to have more than one tanker in an area with a similar tanker number. There was an extreme case in 1974 at a fire near Lake Isabella in Kern County, California where three Tanker 15's arrived over the fire at the same time (C15, E15 and F15). To prevent this sort of confusion in the future, a national numbering system began in 1975. This eliminated the regional letters and caused a number of tankers to change numbers. For instance, the B-17 that I flew in as co-pilot in 1975 was N5237V and owner by Butler Aircraft from Redmond, Oregon. It had been Tanker F15 and became Tanker 65 in the national system.

According to Frederick A. Johnson's excellent book "Fire Bombers in Action" ISBN 978-1-58007-147-5, N6458C began as Tanker F46 and later became E33, E83 and Tanker 84. I can't verify all of that information.

I'll keep searching for a picture of F46, but I have serious doubts that I'll have much luck. I hope that this is of some help.

I ran across this superb site while searching for information. I hope that Geoff can complete the list in the near future.

http://www.goodall.com.au/warbirds-dire ... ersa1.html

Larry Kraus

Re: Catalina Tankers.

Mon Aug 07, 2017 4:52 pm

Erik Thingbo wrote:Hope that someone here can help me with this.

I have been looking for many years for a photo of Catalina PBY-6A, Bu46644 as N6458C when it flew with
Liston Aircraft, Klamath Falls, OR, 1963-1966 as Tanker F46.
<>.

http://ronsarchive.com/oou04/pages/60m7402ck32_1865.htm

Re: Catalina Tankers.

Mon Aug 07, 2017 8:20 pm

FWIW....N9752Z is now showing as....

Summary

1982 CESSNA U206G
Fixed wing single engine
(6 seats / 1 engine)


Owner

BROOKS SEAPLANE SERVICE INC
COEUR D ALENE , ID, US
(Corporation)

Re: Catalina Tankers.

Wed Aug 09, 2017 3:35 am

Larry Kraus wrote:Hello Erik,
I'm afraid that I can't help with a photo of Tanker F46 N6458C when it flew with those markings for Liston Aircraft. You probably already have apicture of that airplane as Tanker E83 when it was owned by Hemet Valley Flying Service. This was posted by Tom Stein in his Airtanker Memories post on WIX. This isn't of the highest quality, but the images on the Airtanker thread seemed to have disappeared from photobucket and this is one that I downloaded some time ago.

Image

This picture of PBY-5A Tanker E48 N9752Z at Columbia, California is also from Airtanker Memories.

Image

This might be a good time to explain the numbering system used for Air Tankers by the US Forest Service and the US Department of the Interior. Prior to 1975 each Forest Service region assigned tanker numbers to operators according to the location of the owner/operator. This was done in a simple alpha/numeric transfer.

Image

Region 1 = A
Region 2 = B
Region 3 = C
Region 4 = D
Region 5 = E
Region 6 = F

There were no tanker operators in other regions at the time, although any of these tankers could bid on contracts in any region. By 1974 there were a large number of tankers in the system and they often either had contracts in a region other than that of their operators or they crossed regional boundaries to respond to large fires. Therefore, it wasn't unusal to have more than one tanker in an area with a similar tanker number. There was an extreme case in 1974 at a fire near Lake Isabella in Kern County, California where three Tanker 15's arrived over the fire at the same time (C15, E15 and F15). To prevent this sort of confusion in the future, a national numbering system began in 1975. This eliminated the regional letters and caused a number of tankers to change numbers. For instance, the B-17 that I flew in as co-pilot in 1975 was N5237V and owner by Butler Aircraft from Redmond, Oregon. It had been Tanker F15 and became Tanker 65 in the national system.

According to Frederick A. Johnson's excellent book "Fire Bombers in Action" ISBN 978-1-58007-147-5, N6458C began as Tanker F46 and later became E33, E83 and Tanker 84. I can't verify all of that information.

I'll keep searching for a picture of F46, but I have serious doubts that I'll have much luck. I hope that this is of some help.

I ran across this superb site while searching for information. I hope that Geoff can complete the list in the near future.

http://www.goodall.com.au/warbirds-dire ... ersa1.html

Larry Kraus


Hi Larry Kraus, thanks for your response and all the information’s about Tanker numbers!
Kind regards Erik

Re: Catalina Tankers.

Wed Aug 09, 2017 3:40 am

CoastieJohn wrote:FWIW......I do not have a Newspaper.com acct, however there is a Klamath Falls newspaper from 1963 that has an article about Liston Aircraft. There is a pic of some gentleman standing in front of a PBY. I do not know if it is the airframe in question but the time frame and location is correct....July 21st, 1963. The pic is in the lower left corner of the news paper page.

https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/93010713/


Hi John.
Thanks but I´m not able to open it!
Kind regards Erik

Re: Catalina Tankers.

Wed Aug 09, 2017 5:39 am

Erik Thingbo wrote:
CoastieJohn wrote:FWIW......I do not have a Newspaper.com acct, however there is a Klamath Falls newspaper from 1963 that has an article about Liston Aircraft. There is a pic of some gentleman standing in front of a PBY. I do not know if it is the airframe in question but the time frame and location is correct....July 21st, 1963. The pic is in the lower left corner of the news paper page.

https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/93010713/


Hi John.
Thanks but I´m not able to open it!
Kind regards Erik

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