French President Macron recently called for more fire-fighting aircraft for the European Union in view of the forest fire horror reports from the Atlantic coast, but also because of the fires in the Mediterranean.

But that's easier said than done.

Because there is not much choice of such special aircraft.

Nothing works in the Mediterranean region or, as is currently the case, on the French Atlantic coast without the use of fire-fighting aircraft.

In the often inaccessible and sparsely populated regions in the hinterland of the coasts, these and helicopters are often the only chance to contain the source of a fire and to effectively support the fire brigades on the ground.

That is why in France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal and Turkey firefighting planes are a common sight in the sky.

In the western world there is actually only one provider of firefighting boats.

These are the Canadair 215 T or 415 aircraft from the Canadian manufacturer Bombardier.

Since 2016, Viking Air has also been building these special aircraft in Canada.

These flying boats, which were basically developed at the end of the 1960s, used to have two radial engines and now have two Pratt & Whitney PW123AF propeller turbines.

They each produce 2380 hp.

As the most modern version, the 415 has four instead of two extinguishing tanks, unlike the 215 T.

The Canadair 215T/415 is also the only aircraft in the Western world specifically designed for aerial firefighting.

With its amphibious chassis, it can take off and land on both land and water.

Viking Air is currently attempting to generate interest from government agencies for a larger version of the Type 515, which is set to go into mass production in the coming years.

This variant, based on the 415, is designed to hold 7,000 liters of extinguishing agent, around 15 percent more.

Unlike pilots of ground-based fire-fighting aircraft, who land at an airfield, get their water tank filled and can take a break during this time, a Canadair crew is constantly on duty until landing to fill up kerosene for their turbines.

Because immediately after about 6000 liters of water ballast has been dropped over the fire, the aircraft is set down on the nearest possible lake or in the sea and the fire-fighting water is taken up.

The machine glides on the water, comparable to a hydrofoil.

Liquid intake with the Canadair only takes twelve to 14 seconds, but it is demanding for the pilots.

Because the flying boat is still about 130 kilometers per hour fast during this maneuver on the water.

The water is pressed into the extinguishing tanks within seconds through a hatch at the bottom of the hull.

A distance of 410 meters on the sea or a lake is enough to fill the extinguishing tanks.

This phase of the flight is just as dangerous as over the seat of the fire because the crew has to watch out for waves, changing winds or boats and objects floating in the water.

A collision with flotsam at 130 km/h could destroy the plane.

In addition, the twin-engine suddenly weighs six tons more after take-off and flies correspondingly more sluggishly.

But there are also smaller machines that are specially built for firefighting.

For example the American AT-802 Fire Boss.

This is a turboprop firefighting aircraft developed by the American manufacturer Air Tractor based on an agricultural aircraft.

This single engine features amphibious floats with retractable wheels.

It can therefore operate from both land and water and is specially designed to fight fire from the air.

The Fire Boss can therefore, just like a Canadair, take on extinguishing water on a lake or the sea while gliding over the water surface.

As a result, it is not necessary to land at an airfield to pick up the extinguishing agent, which is time-consuming.

The Fire Boss is significantly more manoeuvrable and cheaper than a Canadair, but can only drop a fraction of the amount of extinguishing agent over the fire.