Mine capacity varied by type, and the number of smaller mines embarked in 1939 remains uncertain. Pluton was credited with 220 large mines, space for thirty more on the rails, or roughly 270 of the smaller type. Its central design feature was the rail network: chain drives moved mines to turntables and cross-spurs, then to four stern ramps. The ramps sloped down at thirty degrees to reduce shock as each mine left the chain drive. That arrangement let crews load from either side and distribute mines across the rails instead of treating minelaying as simple cargo stowage.
Notable Point · 22:39-25:32
A minelayer arranged like a shipboard railway
Pluton's four mine rails, turntables, spurs, and stern ramps were intended to move and distribute a very large mine load safely.