Ammunition Depot US AFB Ramstein

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An ammunition depot, ammunition supply point (ASP), ammunition compound,ammunition handling area (AHA), ammunition dump, ammo dump, or bomb dump, is a military storage facility for live ammunition and explosives.


Raid on Vågsøy, 27 December 1941. British commandos watch as an ammunition dump burns. (Operation Archery).
The storage of live ammunition and explosives is inherently hazardous. There is the potential for accidents in unloading, packing and transfer; the threat of theft, misuse or sabotage; and, if neglected, the near-certainty that poorly stored explosives will catch fire and/or degrade and become shock-sensitive over time.
Despite intensive preventive measures, ammunition depots around the world suffer from non-combat fires and explosions - rarely, but mostly with devastating consequences. Usually, an ammunition depot experiencing even minor explosions in one of its sites/buildings, is immediately evacuated together with surrounding civilian areas. Thus, all of the stored ammunition is left to detonate itself completely for days or weeks, with very limited attempts at firefighting from a safe distance.[1] If the ammunitions are artillery shells and other heavy types, the whole depot site affected is typically levelled.