Handling ammunition requires detailed planning,
precise execution of details, and strict compliance with
safety regulations. When handling ammunition aboard
a ship, these requirements can't be overemphasized.
The working space is limited, and there are a large
number of personnel contained within the ship. All
personnel (both military and civilian) who handle
ammunition must be qualified and certified in their
areas of responsibility.
INSTALLED HANDLING EQUIPMENT
Aboard ship, weapons elevator service most large
magazine and weapons assembly areas. These areas
have provisions for the use of hoists. A brief description
of handling equipment and its purpose is discussed in
the following text.
Hoists
You use hoists in magazine stowage areas to stack
or relocate ammunition within the magazine. You also
use them to decan weapons. Hoists are used during
weapons assembly to lift a weapon from the handling
equipment or pallets to the assembly stands and from
the assembly stand to the handling equipment.
There are three basic types of hoists—manually
powered, electrically powered, and pneumatically
powered (fig. 11-9). A hoist may be attached to the
overhead by a stationary fitting, or it may be mounted
onto an overhead monorail to move the load laterally.
You must use the correct sling, hoisting beam, and
bomb carrier when connecting the hoisting cable to the
load. Hoists have an established safe working load
(SWL) that you must consider when selecting a hoist
for a particular job. Also, consider the SWL of the
interfacing equipment (bomb carrier, sling, etc.). For
example, you have selected a hoist with an SWL of
4,000 pounds and a bomb carrier with an SWL of 2,000
pounds. The maximum weight this configuration can
safely lift is 2,000 pounds.
Inspect hoists before you use them. Hoist must be
periodically
load
tested.
Equipment
that
has
satisfactorily passed periodic load tests is marked to
indicate its SWL. As a minimum, the marking includes
the following information:
11-16
Figure 11-8.—High-security locking devices—Continued.
Figure 11-8.—High-security locking devices.
