Category: History, Humour and Culture
UK Military Bridging – Equipment (Air Portable Bridges)
With the advent of air mobile infantry it was a natural requirement to support them with appropriate bridging capabilities. This was reinforced by the setting up of the UK Strategic Reserve and a general change in posture as the UK withdrew its forces to the UK and BAOR in the late sixties. Class 16 Air [...]
UK Military Bridging – Equipment (BR90 and REBS)
After the pipe fascine, Number 8 and 9 Tank Bridges and the Medium Girder Bridge came into service a series of wide ranging changes to the research and development of all types of military equipment, the establishment of a tri service procurement executive and the mergers and ultimate run down of the various research establishments. [...]
UK Military Bridging – Equipment (Medium Girder Bridge)
Revolutionising the world of military bridging (with the Bailey) once was a tall order, to pull it off a second time would be nothing short of amazing, but MEXE did it with the Medium Girder Bridge (MGB) A number of design drivers informed the requirement for the MGB, an increasing desire for air portability for [...]
The War Horse Tank
A great video clip from the Tank Museum The Tank Museum has obtained the tank used in Steven Spielberg’s new World War One blockbuster Warhorse. The fully operational replica of a British Mk IV tank is set to go on display when the film is released next week, and will also be used in the [...]
UK Military Bridging – Equipment (The Bailey Bridge)
The Bailey bridge was described by General Eisenhower as one of the three most important engineering and technological of WWII, along with radar and the heavy bomber. …one of the three pieces of equipment that most contributed to our victory in Festung Europa Churchill was equally effusive and Montgomery wrote after the war. Bailey bridging [...]
The Kapok Landing Stage Mk I
As a follow on to the bridging post that showed the Kapok Assault Bridge for use over streams and small rivers. British science made some dreadful bloopers when they were give free reign to design during WWII. Some such as P.L.U.T.O. worked well, others such as “Kapoc Landing Stage MkI” and “Giant Panjandrum” didn’t!
UK Military Bridging – Equipment (Pre WWII Equipment Bridging)
The title for this post should really be ‘everything up to the Bailey Bridge’ because equipment bridging took a leap forward with the Bailey that made all before it more or less redundant although as I will show, the Bailey would not have been possible without the innovations introduced in the bridges described below. Most [...]
UK Military Bridging – Equipment (Construction Bridging)
This is relatively short post, construction, or non equipment bridging uses construction materials rather than pre –manufactured equipment like a Bailey or Medium Girder Bridge. As bridging equipment evolved, the need to use construction bridging techniques has lessened but it is still a subject that is taught to all combat engineers. As weights of vehicles [...]
Building Vehicles in the Old Days
When I was in the middle of writing the last post in the bridging series it struck me just how far the UK’s indigenous armoured vehicle industry has sunk and how little imagination we now seem to possess. The Titan bridgelayer, one based on an existing bridge and existing vehicle, has taken over ten years [...]
HMS Victory – A Good Use of Defence Funds
I know this is an old(ish) story but is £16million for HMS Victory a good use of defence funds? Admiral Lord Nelson’s flagship HMS Victory is to benefit from a comprehensive restoration process which will see the ship returned to its best condition in over 200 years, it has been announced. BAE Systems Surface Ships [...]
UK Military Bridging – Equipment (Assault Bridging)
In modern terminology this is called Close Support Bridging, designed to operate in the direct and indirect fire zone i.e. under fire. It is important to note that in many conflicts conventional equipment bridging equipment has and is used under fire but dedicated assault bridging equipment really came into being in response to the needs [...]
UK Military Bridging – Floating Equipment
The pontoon bridge is probably the oldest form of military bridging equipment, back to the original ‘Bridge of Boats’ I looked at the beginning of the series. At its simplest form, a pontoon bridge is a collection of shallow draft boats, lashed together across a river or canal, with some form of track or deck [...]
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