Each one can carry about 8,000 liters of water in their ‘Bambi Buckets’
Spain continues to receive foreign aid to combat the devastating wave of forest fires ravaging the northwest of the country.
External reinforcements for the Spanish ‘Corsairs’ of the 43rd Group due to the wave of fires
The Spanish firefighting aircraft of the 43rd Group seen in detail inside and out
This aid is being channeled largely through the European Civil Protection Mechanism, which is incorporating aerial resources from other countries to fight the fires in several Spanish provinces.
This afternoon two CH-47F Chinook heavy helicopters of the Royal Netherlands Air Force arrived at León Air Base. According to @AvistamientosA, the aircraft in question are the D-480 (M7480, NAF298A) and the D-604 (M7604, NAF298B).
The Dutch Ministry of Defense announced the deployment of these aircraft yesterday, at the request of Spain: “The Netherlands will provide two Chinook transport helicopters to combat the forest fires ravaging the area. Extinguishing work is expected to begin on Tuesday and continue until September 1.”
“The aircraft are equipped with water bags, known as Bambi Buckets, capable of supplying approximately 8,000 liters of water per flight”, the Dutch Ministry of Defense said.
Along with these two heavy helicopters, several dozen soldiers are also arriving, according to the Dutch Ministry of Defence: “A detachment of approximately 60 soldiers from the Defence Helicopter Command is supporting the deployment from a forward base near León. The Chinooks are being deployed under the direction of the Spanish civil authorities and are supported by advisors from the Security Region North and East Gelderland (VNOG), a key partner in the firefighting operations.”
Our allies in the Netherlands add: “With the deployment of the Chinooks, the Netherlands demonstrates its commitment to responsibility, the protection of lives and the preservation of nature. It is a concrete example of European cooperation and solidarity in practice. A Chinook transport helicopter will remain available from Gilze-Rijen Air Base for national firefighting operations, thus ensuring continued support for the security regions’ requests.”
The Royal Netherlands Air Force (KLu) published today in the early afternoon a series of photos of these helicopters, which you can see in this article.
The Dutch Air Force, as the Dutch Air Force is known, has 20 CH-47F Chinook helicopters. It is the largest military helicopter in the country, which uses it for personnel and equipment transport, air assault operations, special operations, casualty transport and medical evacuations, firefighting, and search and rescue operations. The Dutch Chinooks are of the CH-47F MYII CAAS version, which is the standard US Army version.
In 1995 the Koninklijke Luchtmacht began operating 13 CH-47Ds, losing two of them in military operations in Afghanistan. Between 2008 and 2013 the KLu received six CH-47Fs. Between 2015 and 2023 the original 11 CH-47Ds were replaced by 14 CH-47F MYII CAAS, with the six CH-47Fs purchased years ago being upgraded to this version. The Netherlands has deployed these helicopters in the Balkans (1999), Eritrea (2000-2001), Croatia (2001), Bosnia (2001-2004), Iraq (2003-2005), Afghanistan (2005-2010), Mali (2014-2017) and again in Iraq (2024-2025).
From Spain, many thanks to our Dutch allies for this help! Right now, aircraft like these are sorely needed in our country, and it’s precisely in a situation like this that having good allies is most appreciated.