It is with utmost pleasure that I share some photos of the fantastic and challenging Bailey Bridge that was built across the swift-flowing Rhine River. Talk about ingenuity folks. There are 8 photos in total. I plan on creating a page for Lester (hopefully later in the week). Here's an excerpt from his latest letter:
...I think you will find most interesting the shots of the west bank of the Rhine, which was originally a ferry dock, the town of Konigswinter, where we started the bridge, and the pictures of the completed bridge, before any traffic was allowed to cross. It then took the heaviest vehicles, including tank retrievers, and was the first crossing of it's type on the Rhine.
The problem was that the river at that point was 1360 feet across, with a current of about 13 knots, making the anchorage of a Bailey bridge difficult. Several methods of anchorage were tried, but they all failed, until one our smart 1st Lts, Fred Thomas of Phila, (now deceased) got the idea of getting three (liberated) tugboats which were docked upstream, and they were sunk upstream, and with heavy steel cables, the bridge was successfully anchored. (Another tribute to the ingenuity of the American soldier.)...
Proud Daughter of Walter (Monday) Poniedzialek
540th Engineer Combat Regiment, 2833rd Bn, H&S Co, 4th Platoon
There's "No Bridge Too Far"