Sécurité Civile Water Bomber

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Next door to the Circuit Paul Ricard at Le Castellet is a small airport that is used for a variety of purposes. Yesterday we saw one of the Sécurité Civile water bombing aircraft practicing the water scoop approaches using the runway instead of the sea. This area of France is prone to forest fires in the summer months and these aircraft are a vital line of defence for the local population.



 Sécurité Civile aircraft operate for the Rescue operation and civil-military cooperation branch under the Groupement des Moyens Aériens Sécurité Civile (Aerial Group). Aircraft carry the title SECURITE CIVILE on the fuselage sides, together with the international civil defence symbol. The aircraft are divided into the Groupement des Helicopteres de la Securite Civile (Helicopter Group) and the Groupement des Avions Bombardiers d'Eau (Water Bomber Group).

 Water Bomber Group: 12 Bombardier CL-415s are currently operated by the Sécurité Civile, each able to drop 5,800 L of sea water that the aircraft is able to scoop up from the Mediterranean. France was the first nation to commit to the CL-415 "Superscoop" in 1992, so that it could phase out its CL-215s.




Images taken on a Fujifilm X-Pro1 and Fujinon 55-200mm f3.5/f4.8

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