Modern cargo-winch control for use on victory ships

THE electric-driven cargo winces used to load and unload a modern cargo vessel are required to give fast efficient operation. Wartime conditions have made the time for loading and unloading cargo more important than ever. In addition to the need for optimum operating characteristics, the war has also brought about changes in the construction and assembly of the winches and their associated control. Every square foot of deck space is needed to carry cargo to the fighting fronts, and the space allotted to the winch must be kept to a minimum. In the past the winch, the control panel, and the resistor had been furnished separately, then mounted and wired on the ship. The time to install all this equipment on the vessel is now too long to keep pace with the accelerated shipbuilding program. The problem is being solved by furnishing the winch, the control, and the resistor, as a unit. This unit is interconnected so that very little wiring must be done on the ship and the installation time is materially reduced (see Figure 1).