What was the FDNY Super Pumper?

It started with a idea

Although it isn't known to many, the "Super Pumper" (pictured above) concept dates back to 1910 when Mr. William Francis Gibbs - an internationally renowned naval architect - came up with the idea for a "land fire boat" utilizing two (2) Zeppelin (dirigible/blimp) engines while designing the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) fire boat "Firefighter". Still, he couldn't get the idea of a "land fire boat" out of his mind penning down designs as well as presenting practical reasons for his idea including: the ability of the land-based fire boat to act as a portable pumping station to deliver water from lake ponds and other inland water sources. Mr. Gibbs understood that such an apparatus would produce greater water pressure than existing fire apparatus at the time could produce, however, he also knew that such a vehicle was only a dream because of engineering limitations. Still, he held on to the idea.

Mr. Gibbs went on to become America's foremost ship designers as he designed seventy-four percent (74%) of the U.S. Navy's fleet utilized during World War II as well as designing the passenger liner S.S. United States (pictured above). Even with his success as a ship designer, he never gave up on his concept for a land-based fire boat. Two major development made him even more keenly aware that his vision could soon become reality. Those two developments were lighter weight diesel engines that were developed for the British navy as well as high-pressure hoses that were developed by the United States Navy.

In 1962 Mr. Gibbs invited Mack Trucks to take part with him in the design of what is known today as the SUPER PUMPER and its companion Tender; this continued with studies by both Gibbs and engineers from Mack into engineering feasibility, design, and ultimately construction. DeLaval Turbine, Inc (now Siemens-DeLaval) was commissioned to design a multi-stage centrifugal pump to be powered by a Napier-Deltic T18-37C diesel engine. Gibbs along with Cox, Inc. would provide the necessary services acting as design agents freeing up Mack to serve as the general contractor.

April 20, 1963 - The turning point

On 20 April 1963 the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) experienced one of the single busiest days in it's 98 year history. A combination of several dry spells combined with a prolonged water shortage resulted in a large fire in the borough of Staten Island. Staten Island in 1963 was, for the most part, thick brush as well as oak and pine trees with a smattering of homes. As the day continued, a series of small brush fires committed all of Staten Island's engine companies. Add to that the fact that there was almost no water available due to the drought conditions and poor water mains in the area. Additional units were dispatched from both the borough of Brooklyn and the borough of Manhattan. Response of these additional companies were delayed due to the fact that these units had to be ferried to the island. As a result of that delay, the total loss that day was in excess of $2 million. Elsewhere in the city, firefighters were likewise kept busy that shift with over 2000 alarms of fire transmitted.

Gibbs watched the events of that day and, after analyzing the statistics, came to the conclusion that his land-based fire boat could have had a great effect on the outcome of the fire on Staten Island. He surmised that it could have pumped water from the Tottenville (the southernmost neighborhood on Staten Island) water front thereby providing an unlimited supply of water to the companies battling the blaze.

The time had come for his idea to become a reality in the modern day fire service. When he approached the FDNY, department officials were enthusiastic about the idea of a large, high-pressure pumping appliance. There was still one major hurdle to overcome and that was the fact that the department's funding for the next year had already been budgeted. Still, Gibbs was determined to sell this idea to the city of New York He attended several hearings (related to the budget) and, after providing testimony to justify the expense, the approval he sought was finally given. At 10:00 am. on 3 December, 1963, Fire Commissioner Edward Thompson signed a contract to allow Mack Trucks to build the Super Pumper and its Tender at a cost of $875,000.00. Said he: "This will be the most powerful firefighting equipment the world has ever known."

Some facts about the Super Pumper

The tractor for the Super Pumper was a commercial Mack assigned model # F715FSTP. The engine used to power the apparatus was a 255 Horsepower (HP) Mack diesel engine with an Allison CLT 4460 semi-automatic transmission. Mounted on the rear of the trailer was a six stage DeLaval pump which was designed to provide either pressure or volume. To supply water to the pump, there were four (4) unchecked inlets at the rear of the Super Pumper. Two of these inlets are 4 1/2" while the other two are 12" with 4 1/2" inlets set into their caps. In addition, there are two 4 1/2" checked inlets on each side of the apparatus at the rear. Directly coupled to the pump is a 18-cylinder, two-cycle Napier-Deltic engine. This engine is equipped with an exhaust silencer to reduce the overall noise from the engine within a six-foot (6') distance of the rig.
Some facts about the Tender

The primary tender was a flat hose bed trailer rather than indented hose reels as called for in the original design. A manifold system utilizing gauged discharge outlets was also included in the original design. The Tender utilized the same basic Mack cab over tractor as the Super Pumper with one difference - modifications had been made to fit an operating platform designed to support the high pressure monitor. At the time of delivery, the Tender had a large McEntyre monitor similar to those seen on fire boats. This was later with a large Stang "Intelligiant" monitor which had an eight-inch (8") barrel operated by hand wheels. This behemoth utilized interchangeable tips of 3", 3 1/2", 4", 5", and 2000 Gallon Per Minute (GPM) fog tip. The monitor was supplied by four (4) 4 1/2" checked inlets with two (2) located on each side of the tractor. The Tender was also equipped with hydraulically operated out-riggers which were located on each side of the tractor. Their purpose was to stabilize the rig as well as to counteract the nozzle reaction of back pressure.