USS HARPERS FERRY LSD 49
SLCP
SECTION II
LOADING, STOWAGE, AND OFF-LOADING INFORMATION
1. General Cargo Stowage
a. The mission is to combat load, transport and launch amphibious craft, or vehicles,
together with their crews and embarked personnel, and to render limited docking and repair
services to small ships and craft.
b. HARPERS FERRY has a wet well deck, vehicle stowage area, ammunition stowage
compartments, cargo stowage compartment, vehicle turning area (VTA), 01 level vehicle tunnel,
and a raised 01 level (flight deck). HARPERS FERRY lift capacity includes 405 fully equipped
combat troops and attached Naval Support Elements with surge accommodations for an
additional 101 troops.
c. Ramps are provided to allow vehicles to be driven aboard ship from the well deck to
the flight deck. Ramps are located in the following locations:
(1) Flight Deck to Boat Deck
(2) Flight Deck to Vehicle Stowage Area (VSA)
(3) Truck Tunnel to Vehicle Turning Area (VTA)
(4) VTA to VSA
(5) VSA to Well Deck
d. The well deck will accommodate one (1) LCU or two (2) LCACs (see Section 1
Chapter 3). HARPERS FERRY has one hoist with a 2.5 ton capacity and three monorails to aid
in limited LCAC maintenance.
e. HARPERS FERRY has one (1) cargo hold 4-81-0-A with a lift platform to the VSA,
and a flammable stowage room 3-21-2-K with elevator access to the VTA. Palletized cargo can
be stowed on the forward position of the flight deck, 01 level (boat deck, grating and, tunnel),
VTA, or the VSA. Stowage in these areas is at a loss of vehicle stowage. Forward flight deck
height limitation is fifteen (15) feet.
2. Heavy Lift, Outsized Cargo, CONEX, TEU Container Handling and Stowage
a. Heavy lift, outsized cargo, CONEX, and TEU containers may be stowed on the
forward position of the flight deck, grating, boat deck, truck tunnel, well deck within the landing
craft, or the vehicle stowage area. All cargo must be within the deck load limitations of 250 lb.
per square foot or landing craft deck load limit.
b. Cargo may be lifted from craft alongside or from pier side and spotted in either the
VSA, boat deck, grating, or flight deck by the ship's 30 ton capacity crane.
c. Units embarking heavy lifts and outsized cargo must provide slings if cargo weight is in
excess of the ship's CHE or if special slings are required.
d. Weight of CONEX boxes, quadcons, or TEU containers stowed in the ammo
magazines/cargo holds must be less than 4000 lbs to allow ship's forklifts to move them into
stowage positions. All other containers must not exceed 6,000 lbs. Containers in cargo holds/
ammo magazines must not exceed 4,000 lbs. Arrangement for heavier containers must be made
with the Combat Cargo Officer.
3. Ammunition Stowage
a. General. Only ammunition certified as HERO-safe may be stowed on exposed
deck areas.
b. High Explosives. High explosives are allowed to be stowed in any of the four troop
ammunition magazines. Three are located below the vehicle stowage area and one is located
under the ramp from the VSA to the flight deck.
c. Demolition's (TNT, dynamite, etc.). Demolitions and other Coast Guard Class IXB
ammunition will be stowed in the high explosive magazine located in compartment 1-116-2-M.
d. Chemical
(1) Thermite grenades will be stowed in the jettisonable locker located on the main
deck starboard side aft.
(2) White phosphorous will be stowed in troop magazine #4 compartment 2-78-2-M.
e. Blasting Caps. Blasting caps will be stowed in a blasting cap locker located in a
dedicated ship's magazine compartment 1-115-4-M.
f. Pyrotechnics. Pyro (CG Class IIC) may be stowed in the ship's Pyro Magazine located
in compartment 1-109-2-M.
g. Small Arms. Facilities for stowing limited amounts of small arms ammunition are
available in the troop armory (compartment 02-14-1-M) or in the troop small arms magazine
(compartment 1-98-4-M).
h. Bombs, Mines, and Torpedoes. No bombs, mines, or torpedoes are authorized to be
stowed.
4. Nuclear Weapons Stowage . HARPERS FERRY is not certified to stow nuclear weapons.
5. Dangerous Cargo (less Class III and V) Stowage
a. Flammable Liquid Stowage. To avert danger of shipboard fires, flammable liquids
carried by embarked troops must be stowed in the Troop Flammable Liquid Storeroom on the 3rd
deck (3-21-1-K).
b. Lithium Battery Stowage. Lithium batteries will be stowed in dedicated lockers
located at frame 64 (starboard) on the 01 level.
6. Petroleum Oil Lubricants (POL)
a. Packaged/Drummed POL Stowage. Packaged/drummed POL, excluding gasoline, is
stored in the Troop Flammable Liquid Storeroom on the 3rd deck (3-21-1-K).
b. POL Stowage (bulk). HARPERS FERRY carries 50,000 gallons of bulk of JP-5
aviation or ground fuel. Further, 4% (31,910 gallons) of the ships DFM propulsion fuel is
intended for landing craft and USMC/NBG vehicles.
c. POL (bulk) Carrying Vehicles (Full or Unpurged) Stowage. Full or unpurged fuel
carrying vehicles will be stowed along the deck edge on the FWD helo spot.
d. POL Transfer (ship to shore). HARPERS FERRY does not have the capability to
transfer bulk POL products ashore.
7. Vehicle Stowage (Less Full Bulk Fuel Carriers)
a. The deck diagrams, Section XI , show vehicle stowage areas. Vehicles maybe stowed
on the forward position on the flight deck, boat deck grating, tunnel, vehicle turning area, vehicle
stowage area, and on landing craft in the well deck. Vehicles must be stowed allowing for 30
inch fire lanes. The cat walks located port/starboard in the VSA and well deck act as fire lanes.
b. Wheeled vehicles can be embarked/debarked via three methods: pier crane, ship's
crane, or the well deck. Pier cranes may be used while the ship is inport. The ship has one 30 ton
crane located on the starboard side. This allows for on/offloading of vehicles and cargo while pier
side or while landing craft are alongside the ship. Both may be used in loading to the raised 01
level or the VSA through the removable grating (measuring 11' x 24') on the boat deck. Vehicles
may be onloaded/offloaded via the well deck by either landing craft while the ship is ballast down
or by dropping the stern gate and backing up to a quay wall.
8. Aircraft (Non-operational) Stowage. Non-operational aircraft may be placed in available
vehicle stowage areas. HARPERS FERRY is not outfitted with aircraft slings nor special aircraft
tie downs or chocks.
9. Aircraft (Operational) Stowage
a. Operations. Lighting, visual landing aides, and flight deck facilities are provided to
allow launching / landing, and VERTREP/hover under minimum conditions of day and night
VFR. The two landing spots allow for operation of aircraft as large as the CH-53E. The
following facilities support aircraft handling, servicing, and stowage: deck installed aircraft
tie-down fittings, fuel storage and refueling system, servicing fluids, DC power system, and
freshwater wash down system.
b. Fueling. The system provides filtered JP-5 to the helicopter fueling station at a rate of
50 gal per min. (3,000 gal per hr). Two JP-5 service tanks at 3,190 gallons are provided.
10. Landing Force Operational Reserve Material (LFORM). Although designed to carry
LFORM, HARPERS FERRY has not had an LFORM Package identified as of date of
publication.
11. Landing Craft/Amphibian Vehicle Stowage. The Well Deck is 184' long and 50' wide
with a minimum clearance height of 30' 10". Well deck space can accommodate two (2) LCACs,
or one (1) LCU, or 4 LCM-8s (nest of two), or nine (6) LCM-6s (three (3) abreast nest of two),
fifteen (15) AAVP7A1s (three (3) abreast).
12. Troop Weapon Stowage Area(s). The Troop Armory is located in compartment
02-14-1-M and provides sufficient space for weapon stowage and maintenance. This
compartment has a high security lock on the armory door. The armory contains the following:
Low pressure air outlet (125 psi)
1 - Rifle rack key lockers
456 - Rifle bins
2 - 50 cal. MG lockers (8 MGs ea)*
2 - Rifle / shotgun lockers (16 ea)*
2 - Pistol lockers (36 ea)*
1 - Mortar / 5.56 MG locker *
1 - M60 MG locker (16 ea)*
2- Stowage racks for sighting devices
Stowage racks for tripods
Work bench w/2 drawers
* Lockers have high security locks on doors.
13. Ship's Cargo Handling Equipment (CHE)/ Facilities
a. A material handling suite (including topside crane, cargo elevators, cargo lifts) is
available for embarkation and debarkation.
b. The ship has one (1) fixed B&A crane (30 ton, starboard side) on the 01 level. The
ship's B/A crane has a 65' reach. This crane is electronically operated; permanently mounted to the
ships structure; and is a rotating king post type. It has two hoist units with hooks located near the
outboard end of its boom.
CRANE CHARACTERISTICS
Capacity Main Hoist 60,000 lbs.
Working Zone Main Hoist 23' - 48'
Capacity Aux. Hoist 10,000 lbs.
Working Zone Aux Hoist 26' - 65'
Rotation of Boom 270 degrees (+/- 135 degrees/360 degrees
of centerline)
c. The ship has two (2) electronically operated cargo elevators and three (3)
electro-hydaulic lift platforms. The forward elevator is located at frame 27 starboard side, and
serves the Main Deck, Second Deck, and Third Deck. The midship elevator is located at frame
67, portside, and serves the 01 level, second deck, and the fourth deck (Ammo Stowage Mag #2).
The first lift platform is located at frame 43 (Ammo Stowage Mag #1), the second at frame 53
(Ammo Stowage Mag #3), and the third at frame 81 (Cargo Stowage Compartment #1). Refer to
section XI pages 9 and 13 for diagram of space and lift platform access. Each lift platform serves
the second deck to the fourth deck.
d. The ship is equipped with (2) two diesel, rough terrain forklifts TAMCN B2560 (6,000
lb. capacity); three (3) diesel forklifts TAMCN B2565 (4,000 lb. capacity); two (2) electric
forklifts (sit down) (4,000 lb. capacity); seven (7) electric forklifts (stand up) (4,000 lb. capacity);
and two hydraulic pallet trucks (hand operated) (6,000 lb. capacity).
e. All HARPERS FERRY load plans need to incorporate the following ships MHE data:
Amount TAMCN Name L W H Weight
2 B2560 MC6000 RTL 251" 87" 116" 19,520 lbs.
3 B2565 MC4000 198" 83" 86" 8,200 lbs.
1 Z0000 Scissors Lift 160" 99" 107" 6460 lbs.
2 Z0000 Electric Forklift (4K) 102" 42" 66" 7135 lbs.
7 Z0000 Electric Forklift (4K) 126" 48" 81" 9300 lbs.
f. The lashing gear used for tie down of vehicles, tanks, cargo, and landing craft are as
follows:
245 - 35K lb capacity (vehicle & LCAC use) wire rope
80 - 70K lb capacity wire rope
80 - 35K lb capacity (LCAC use) chain
40 - 35K lb capacity (LCAC use) lashing assembly
250 - 10K lb wire cargo nets
14. Ramps and Stern Closures
a. HARPERS FERRY is equipped with five ramps, all are fixed. All ramps have 15
degree inclines. Vehicles may not be stowed on any of the ramps. Ramps are provided to allow
vehicles to be driven aboard ship from the well deck to the flight deck. Ramps are located in the
following locations:
(1) Flight Deck to Boat Deck
(2) Flight Deck to Vehicle Stowage Area (VSA)
(3) Truck Tunnel to Vehicle Turning Area (VTA)
(4) VTA to VSA
(5) VSA to Well Deck
b. HARPERS FERRY is equipped with a hydraulically-operated stern gate. This system
has a watertight hinged closure located at the stern which swings out and down to permit entry of
landing craft and vehicles into the well deck. The port and starboard hydraulic rams raise or
lower the gate in approximately (5) minutes and provide positive control of the gate during travel.
Emergency operation is available. The operating mechanism on either side is capable of raising,
lowering, and holding the stern gate. The stern gate can support the weight of two (2)
AAVP7A1 Amphibian Vehicles, an M60A1 or M1A1 Main Battle Tank, or two (2) M923 5 ton
trucks simultaneously.
c. HARPERS FERRY is equipped with a wave absorbing beach at frame 90, this also acts
as a ramp so vehicles may enter landing craft (afloat) while the ship is ballasted down.
15. Causeways and Warping Tug Embarkation/Debarkation
a. The ship is capable of transporting 4 pontoon causeways, or a mix of pontoon causeways, warping tugs, and pusher boats.
16. Ship Docking/Berthing Information
a. The water depth at the pier must be of sufficient depth to allow ballasting of the ship
during loading/off-loading via the stern gate. The various methods of loading/unloading via the
stern gate will be discussed in Section III (Embarkation/debarkation procedures). If insufficient
water depth is available pier side, vehicles/cargo may be craned aboard by shore crane to the stern
gate or flight deck, or by the ship's crane to the flight deck or VSA.
01 LEVEL page II-7
01 LEVEL (BOAT DECK) page II-8
Flight Deck (Raised 01 Level) page II-9
Main Deck (Forward) page II-10
2nd Deck (Forward) page II-11
2nd Deck (Aft) page II-12
Main Deck and Well Deck w/LCAC Stowage page II-13
Main Deck and Well Deck page II-13
USS HARPERS FERRY LSD-49 (CV)
SHIP’S LOADING CHARACTERISTICS PAMPHLET