helitanker

English

Etymology

From heli- +‎ tanker.

Noun

helitanker (plural helitankers)

1. A helicopter used in firefighting, especially against forest fires, which drops water or other fire retardant on the fire.
   • 2009 January 28, Sarah Wotherspoon, “Mercury rising as firefighters battle grass blaze”, in Herald Sun‎^[1], archived from the original on 4 March 2009:

     MORE than a dozen fire crews and two helitankers are battling a grass fire west of Geelong as temperatures across the state hit 40C.