Better safe than sorry![ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When dealing with ammunition This article is largely based on the article in the out-of-copyright 11th edition of the Encyclopdia Britannica, which was produced in 1911. It should be brought up to date to reflect subsequent history or scholarship (including the references, if any). or explosives, it's much better to be very safe or you could end up very sorry. A case in point with the M260/M261 rocket launcher: A helicopter crew in Iraq had replaced the right launcher without first downloading downloading - download all the rockets in the left-side launcher. They were conducting electrical checks on the newly-installed right-side launcher when a rocket .red from the left one. The rocket blasted blast·ed adj. 1. Used as an intensive: I hate these blasted flies. 2. Slang Drunk or intoxicated. 3. Blighted, withered, or shriveled. into a concrete wall 10 feet away. Warhead fragments damaged a Kiowa on the other side of the wall. It doesn't take much to imagine how easily this negligence could have turned into a fatal accident. If a few soldiers had been standing in the wrong place, several lives would have been lost in an instant. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] All that was necessary to prevent this incident was to do it by the book--in this case, Para para (par´ah) a woman who has produced one or more viable offspring, regardless of whether the child or children were living at birth. 4-6 on helicopter safety procedures in the Kiowa's TM 9-1090-214-23&P. If the crew had done the testing by the book, they would have made sure both launchers were completely unloaded before they did any maintenance or testing. Doing it by the book is important not only with rocket launchers, but also with all small arms small arms, firearms designed primarily to be carried and fired by one person and, generally, held in the hands, as distinguished from heavy arms, or artillery. Early Small Arms The first small arms came into general use at the end of the 14th cent. and missile systems. Always make sure the weapon is not loaded before doing anything else. |
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