European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 5, 1968, Darmstadt, Hesse                              By Ray Wrights a Ramstein Bureau chief As somewhere in underground caches in the Rhineland Pfalz Forest around the Village of Miessau is stored a Quarter of a billion dollars Worth of am munition earmarked for the soldiers of the . Army in  watch on the lethal Load Are the men of the . Army ammunition depot who not Only store the explosive safely but also make sure thai the ammo continues to pack its needed  depot is currently largely concerned with replacing the fuse Headson 81mm Mortier shells. The new Nad is a relatively simple its and incorporates a mar safety Factor by which the round does not become armed until it has gone a Safe distance from the mortar. The old typer became Armeda few feet after leaving the mortar  depot also performs other maintenance and renovation work for us a eur soldiers but its chief customer is the 7th  depot is spread Over several Sites in the palatinate. Under depot control Are 2,500 acres of storage at Miessau another 2,500 acres at Weil Erbach and200 acres within 50 Miles of Miessau. Shipping and receiving is divided be tween Miessau and Weierbach. Ammunition from army units is rotated to the depot for checks account ing for much of the traffic. Shells that have outlived their usefulness Are demilitarized by specialists. Some Are fired at an artillery Range some taken apart and the parts salvaged and some go through me Sau s Deacul Patlon Furnace. The Furnace is in an isolated building with 12-Inch-thick Concrete reinforced Walls. The 30-foot Furnace itself look somewhat like a sewer pipe with delusions of  is made of sections of three Inch thick steel pipe with an inner diameter of 36 inches and is heated to Between 900 and 1,400 degrees  Are fed on a conveyor Belt into a rotating steel detonation chamber. The propellant explodes the Lead melts from the Bullet. Brass Lead and steel Are separated and come out their separate ways onto a conveyor Belt. Once the Furnace is fired up Entrance to the building or to the rear where the Salvage material spews out is forbidden. There s always a Chanc that a Shell might still explode. At the front of the Furnace men Load shells into a Hopper which conveyor Belt. The pc none main Furnace room is ban enough to admit the convey the Furnace explodes and Caliper shells at the rate of hour and .30-caliber at 40,0001separated and when sold better Price to Uncle Sam scrap. Sales of brass have paid for the Furnace. Ammunition in the Field led length of time Requil Raj checks is tracked Hack to method of inspection of la. Is fluoroscopy. An exacting ing tension making Job t work no More than is Mil clip. In addition some ammo my rockets Are inspected sonic vibrations. Sound forced to travel the length of i if they Are reflected Back towing Point a flaw is indicate serious enough to cause theto rupture when fired. The the i Large Belt-.50 Feo Anas is is Alired than sped social one shells train news at a 66-Lultra Abecket. I Start chaps Case flawed shells Are san Lime am munition Boneyard but sound Are renovated. The cases Are Dea andr lettered fins checked and laced when  a flawed Shell is Oass As ammunition it is possible Debco Hersome of the investment by aging practically everything except  necessarily Tabo be handled with More care than acs of boots. Trained packers Brace s8, Hunter inspectors make sure machine gun ammo is in top condition for Issue to troops. Is Damon technician deftly readies 81mm mortar round with new and safer fuse. Sol 3, Hunter larger rounds get Check on conveyor for easy handling. 12 a. The stars and stripes 1 Ril 5, 1968 the stars and stripes Page 13