Bailey Bridge - Description & Examples Of Its Use

[Richard Stone]

The attached article from the 1944 December issue of 'The Railway Gazette' describes the Bailey Bridge that was used by the US and British engineer units. The bridge was a successful British design that used adaptable modular/sectional pin and bolted steel construction; these features enabled it to be built quickly to handle a variety of loads and lengths, often under combat conditions. The Bailey Bridge was widely used by the US and British engineer units for rapid repair or complete replacement of damaged road and railway bridges in the majority of the combat theaters.

The Railway Gazette was a British magazine that discussed the British railway industry and railways world wide.

I’ve placed a duplicate of this post in the site sections 'USA 1919 -1945' due to the Bailey Bridge's use by the US units and in the 'WW2 Africa and the Mediterranean sections' because the photos show several examples of it used in the Italian Theater.

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[Richard Stone]

This short article discusses the longest Bailey Bridge that was erected during the war. The bridge was built to cross the Chindwin River in Burma and it appears the work was performed by the British Army and Commonwealth engineering units, although some assistance may have been provided by US Army engineering or transportation units

This article is a British press release and was printed in the March 1945 edition of the USA professional military reference magazine ‘Military Review’.

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