Forklifts? Still doesn't overcome the need for lots and lots of trucks.
Posted on 10/26/2004 6:28:23 PM PDT by BobKrumm
As a former armor officer I’ve had the opportunity to supervise the loading of large amounts of ammunition and explosives on and off trucks. But never have I tried to move 380 tons, or three-quarters of a million pounds, of ammunition from one location to another. So I did a little math to see what it would take for a highly-organized and well-trained unit to move the quantity of explosives that was allegedly moved out of the Iraqi ammo depot 18 months ago.
It requires 30,400 armloads, at 25 pounds per armload, to move this amount of explosives. If you assume that one trip to the truck and back takes one minute (I timed myself from my living room to the end of my driveway and back at 59.6 seconds), then one man could load 1,000 pounds into a pickup truck every 40 minutes. That one man, assuming he worked 24 and 7 could load those trucks in slightly over 21 days.
It requires 30,400 armloads, at 25 pounds per armload, to move this amount of explosives. If you assume that one trip to the truck and back takes one minute (I timed myself from my living room to the end of my driveway and back at 59.6 seconds), then one man could load 1,000 pounds into a pickup truck every 40 minutes. That one man, assuming he worked 24 and 7 could load those trucks in slightly over 21 days.
If we increase the number of people to 10 and double the load of the pickups to 2,000 pounds, then it would take 51 hours of non-stop labor to move the explosives out of the ammo dump. But this assumes a never-ending supply of pickup trucks arriving at the facility every 8 minutes for over two straight days. 100 people could haul off the ammo in a little over five hours, but it would require a fresh truck every 48 seconds. Neither of the latter two scenarios is very plausible.
Let’s assume instead of carrying the ammunition to the trucks, the terrorist convey it “fire brigade style.” If the distance from ammunition to truck is 100 feet, then it would require 20 people passing 25 pounds of explosives at a time down the line from person to person. At the rate of one load every 5 seconds, it would take only three minutes and 20 seconds to fill a truck with 1,000 pounds of explosives. At that rate the entire stash could be carried off in 42 hours. But, again, it’s implausible because it would require 18 fresh trucks per hour for almost two days straight.
Keep in mind all these numbers only consider the loading of the ammunition. You have an equally labor-intensive task at the off-loading site. In short, it’s inconceivable that this amount of ammunition was spirited away undetected in an area where US troops were operating in the time that the UN, the New York Times, and CBS would have us believe. Something is fishy about this whole story.
Duck feathers?
Forklifts? Still doesn't overcome the need for lots and lots of trucks.
Ask John Edwards.
If the men loading the trucks are union, you're gonna have to redo your numbers.
Maybe one huge forklift driven by a camel driver and a really beeeeeg truck?????
I heard the stuff has the consistence of corn starch maybe the Iraqis used it for coffee creamer or to make gravy. LOL
So 380 tons of explosives could disappear, but WMD's could not? [That's directed at the ABB crowd - not you]
We generally used forklifts which we hauled with us. All looters have 40 ten ton tractor trailer rigs, a couple of fuel tankers, a few wheeled forklifts and 100 islamofascists when looting behind enemy lines with helos, fixed wing and satellite constantly scanning the battlefield.
Smith....bob is negligent in not using union rules, have to redo the whole thing.
Gravel trucks haul 20 tons at a time. That makes 19 trucks.
Got to agree with you... being on the working end of a loading work party in the Navy.. (Moving ammo around the boat by hand)
The speed, weight, and distances moved are all good factors that you pointed out in your piece... the other factor of which I am sure that you are aware.. is the man power doing the job..in fact you do state it too in you writing...
Highly trained profesional soldier can do it quickly... a group of terrorist former saddam reqieme members and forgien fighter moving this hardly constitutes well trained military personal.... go piece.
I just did some math. It would take over 300 pickup trucks to haul all those explosives. Somehow they did all that completely UNDETECTED.
Britt Hume said 38 semi-truck loads.
The "typewriter" element has been found.
Well done 'Effin, you 'effed up a'gin.
It may take a few days but this is going to blow up big time in Kerry's face.
Abdul, Ahmed, Chirac and a lot of camels?????
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