TM 5-5420-278-10
0040 00
0040 00-1
RECOVERY BY HELICOPTER
WARNING
All bridge personnel must wear approved life jackets
while on the bay. Failure to comply may result in injury
or death to personnel.
Do not place fingers under transverse upper couplings
when opening them, or serious injury to personnel may
result.
NOTE
Unit commanders are cautioned of the necessity to
anticipate requirements for an airlift operation and
arrange for timely delivery.
Recovery by helicopter is performed under conditions
where it may be advantageous to use helicopters to
recover and transport bays or where site conditions
make it impossible to recover bays by any other means.
Use IRB lifting sling only to lift IRB bays.
IRB-Is can be flown at air speeds up to 80 knots and
IRB-Rs up to 100 knots, but must have a drogue
parachute attached to prevent the bay from spinning.
When transporting bay at air speeds greater than
40 knots, a 15 ft (4.6 m) diameter drogue parachute
(NSN 1670-01-052-1548), 60 ft. (18 m) extraction line,
and 3 ft (91 cm) adapter are required. Drogue
parachutes are readily available from the GM Rigging
Unit (Parachute Maintenance), Area Resupply Co., all
Airborne units, and all Air Force Cargo Wings.
Use the roadway tool and crowbar to close the gap
between inner pontons when upper couplings cannot be
fully closed in receptacle blocks.