REVIEW NUMBER 4
Q1.
Describe the primary purpose of decoy flares.
Q2.
What means are used to launch the Mk 46
Mod 1C decoy flare?
Q3.
What cartridges are used to fire the decoy
flares from chaff dispensers?
Q4.
What practice bomb signal cartridge is used
primarily for night operations?
Q5.
What practice bomb signal produces white
smoke for day missions?
HANDLING AND SAFETY
PRECAUTIONS
LEARNING OBJECTIVE:
Recognize
the
safety precautions to follow when working with
pyrotechnics.
Pyrotechnic ammunition is one of the most widely
used types of ammunition in naval aviation.
Pyrotechnics of one type or another are carried in
almost every Navy aircraft, including unarmed
transport and training aircraft.
All pyrotechnic and screening devices, while
designed and tested to be safe under normal conditions,
are subject to accidental ignition. A general rule for the
handling of pyrotechnic devices is as follows:
NOTE
You
should
be
constantly
aware
that
pyrotechnics contain chemical components
that are intended to burn with intense heat,
and you should act accordingly.
Pyrotechnic and screening devices are normally
equipped with some type of safety pin, lock, or tape that
is designed to prevent accidental activation of the
initiation mechanism. Do NOT tamper with such
equipment. Do NOT strike, bend, or otherwise remove
the safety equipment until just before the device is
launched. Any devices that show signs of damage to the
safety features are considered unserviceable; carefully
put them to one side and promptly dispose of them
according to current directives.
If a pyrotechnic device should accidentally ignite,
it will result in a fire hazard. In a confined area, the
gases generated by this combustion could present a
serious toxic hazard. Signaling charges that contain
propellant charges, designed to propel the pyrotechnic
candle into the air, create an extremely dangerous
missile hazard.
Pyrotechnic
compositions
characteristically
contain their own oxidants; therefore, they do not
depend on atmospheric oxygen for combustion. For
this reason, exclusion of air, by whatever means, from a
pyrotechnic
fire
is
usually
ineffective.
Many
pyrotechnic mixtures, particularly illuminating flare
compositions, burn with intense heat (up to 4,500?F).
Normally, extinguishers are not useful in this kind of
fire. Carbon dioxide extinguishers, in addition to being
ineffective, are potential sources of danger because
they tend to produce oxygen, which supports the
combustion. Foam-type extinguishers are equally
ineffective because they work on the exclusion-of-air
principle.
NOTE
Water, in flooding quantities and at low
pressure, should be used to cool the
surrounding area and to prevent the spread
of the fire. Properly controlled and directed,
water is the best fire-extinguishing agent for
aircraft parachute flares burning in the
open.
Pyrotechnic hazards are frequently increased by
such factors as age, improper storage conditions, rough
handling,
moisture
penetration,
excessive
tem-
peratures, damage to shipping containers, and other
mishaps
that
causes
the
devices
to
become
unserviceable. In most cases, immediate danger does
not exist. Unserviceable pyrotechnic and screening
devices on ships at sea are put to one side for normal
return to an appropriate shore station for disposition
according to the instructions and regulations contained
in NAVSEA OP 5, volume 1.
Conditions may develop that demand emergency
disposal of potentially hazardous devices. In such
cases,
disposition
is
the
responsibility
of
the
commanding officer. Under NO circumstances, other
than an extreme emergency, should ammunition,
explosives, or other related hazardous materials be
dumped at sea by a Navy vessel, aircraft, or activity
without prior approval of the CNO. If, in the
commanding officer's best judgement, immediate
disposition is necessary to protect lives and property,
the commanding officer should order such disposition
by the most appropriate means available. In all cases,
the commanding officer must notify Naval Sea Systems
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