Water cannon salute Ryanair RJK 15042011

Brooklyn Bridge 125 anniversary celebration -b

Southwest Airlines honor flight receives water salute at AUS

A water salute occurs for ceremonial purposes when a

vehicle A vehicle (from la, vehiculum) is a machine that transports people or cargo. Vehicles include wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles (motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, mobility scooters for disabled people), railed vehicles (trains, trams), wa ...

travels under plumes of

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...

expelled by one or more fire fighting vehicles. At an airport, typically an even number of vehicles will line up perpendicularly on the sides of the

taxiway A taxiway is a path for aircraft at an airport connecting runways with aprons, hangars, terminals and other facilities. They mostly have a hard surface such as asphalt or concrete, although smaller general aviation airports sometimes use gravel ...

apron An apron is a garment that is worn over other clothing to cover the front of the body. The word comes from old French ''napron'' meaning a small piece of cloth, however over time "a napron" became "an apron", through a linguistics process cal ...

, and the plumes of water will form a series of arches. Symbolically, the procession looks similar to a bridal party walking under a wedding arch or the

saber arch A saber arch is a wedding tradition in which sabers or swords are used to salute a newly married couple. The bride and groom pass under an honorary arch of sabers, typically when exiting the building in which the wedding ceremony took place. Th ...

at a military wedding. Water salutes have been used to mark the retirement of a senior pilot or air traffic controller, the first or last flight of an airline to an airport, the first or last flight of a type of aircraft, as a token of respect for the remains of soldiers killed in action, or other notable events. When the

Concorde The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde () is a retired Franco-British supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France an ...

flew its last flight from

John F. Kennedy International Airport John F. Kennedy International Airport (colloquially referred to as JFK Airport, Kennedy Airport, New York-JFK, or simply JFK) is the main international airport serving New York City. The airport is the busiest of the seven airports in the Avia ...

, blue, white and red coloured plumes were used. Water salutes are also used for ships and other watercraft, with water being delivered by

fireboat A fireboat or fire-float is a specialized watercraft with pumps and nozzles designed for fighting shoreline and shipboard fires. The first fireboats, dating to the late 18th century, were tugboats, retrofitted with firefighting equipmen ...

s. This is often done for the first or last visit or retirement of a senior captain, the first or last cruise of a ship, the visit of a

warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster a ...

, or other ceremonial occasions.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Water Salute Firefighting Greetings Salutes Fire service awards and honors

See also

References