Hawkins and Powers Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer
MODEL BY:
L. Fattor
Model Scale:
1/72
MODEL ADDED:
N/A
historical significance
First Albuquerque Visit: 1976
Additional Information:
The Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer is a World War II and Korean War era patrol bomber of the United States Navy derived from the Consolidated B-24 Liberator. The Navy had been using B-24s with only minor modifications as the PB4Y-1 Liberator, and this type of patrol plane was proven successful. Consolidated developed a dedicated long-range patrol bomber for the US Navy in 1943 and designated it the PB4Y-2 Privateer The Navy eventually took delivery of 739 Privateers, the majority after the end of World War II.
A limited number of refitted PB4Ys and P4Ys continued in civilian service as airtankers, dropping fire retardant on forest fires throughout the western United States. On 18 July 2002, one such refitted P4Y, BuNo 66260 operated by Hawkins and Powers Aviation of Greybull, Wyoming broke up in flight while fighting a wildfire near Rocky Mountain National Park. Both crew members were killed in the accident, and the Federal Aviation Administration temporarily grounded all large air tankers in the region. Despite the fact that the crash was the result of poor maintenance, all remaining Privateers were retired.
Hawkins & Powers Aviation was an aerial firefighting company founded by Dan Hawkins and Gene Powers in 1969 after purchasing Christler-Avery Aviation. It was based in Greybull, Wyoming and the company operated for nearly 40 years before declaring bankruptcy in 2005 after a series of fatal accidents. Hawkins & Powers operated a fleet of mostly former military aircraft, including the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, Fairchild C-82 Packet, Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar, Lockheed P-2 Neptune, Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter, Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer, and a number of helicopters.
Hawkins and Powers Aviation was the contractor to the US Forest Service for the Priest Canyon Fire in New Mexico. On June 22, 1976, the company used this Consolidated PB4Y-2, N-2872G #124, a former Coast Guard search aircraft converted to a Borate bomber to fight the fire. The aircraft was serviced with fire retardant at the Kirtland Air Force Base Cibola Borate station while fighting the fire.
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