22 Facts About Bailey bridge

1.

Bailey bridge is a type of portable, pre-fabricated, truss bridge.

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2.

The wood and steel bridge elements were small and light enough to be carried in trucks and lifted into place by hand, without the use of a crane.

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3.

Success of the Bailey bridge was due to the simplicity of the fabrication and assembly of its modular components, combined with the ability to erect and deploy sections with a minimum of assistance from heavy equipment.

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4.

The Bailey bridge parts were made of standard steel alloys, and were simple enough that parts made at a number of different factories were interchangeable.

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5.

The modular design allowed engineers to build each Bailey bridge to be as long and as strong as needed, doubling or tripling the supportive side panels, or on the roadbed sections.

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6.

Useful feature of the Bailey bridge is its ability to be launched from one side of a gap.

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7.

The Bailey bridge is placed on rollers and simply pushed across the gap, using manpower or a truck or tracked vehicle, at which point the roller is removed and the ribands and roadbed installed, along with any additional panels and transoms that might be needed.

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8.

Donald Bailey was a civil servant in the British War Office who tinkered with model bridges as a hobby.

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9.

Bailey bridge had proposed an early prototype for a Bailey bridge before the war in 1936, but the idea was not acted upon.

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10.

On 14 February 1941, the Ministry of Supply requested that Bailey have a full-scale prototype completed by 1 May Work on the bridge was completed with particular support from Ralph Freeman.

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11.

The designer of that Bailey bridge, AM Hamilton, successfully applied to the Royal Commission on Awards to Inventors.

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12.

The Bailey Bridge was more easily constructed, but less portable than the Hamilton bridge.

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13.

Bailey bridge was later knighted for his invention, and awarded £12,000.

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14.

The first Bailey bridge built under fire was constructed at Leonforte by members of the 3rd Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers.

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15.

Bailey bridge Bridging made an immense contribution towards ending World War II.

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16.

The Old Finch Avenue Bailey Bridge, built by the 2nd Field Engineer Regiment, is the last still in use.

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17.

The Bailey bridge was in use until the reconstruction of the Tasman Bridge was completed on 8 October 1977.

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18.

In 2017 the Irish Army built a Bailey bridge to replace a road bridge across the river Cabry, in County Donegal, after the original bridge was destroyed in floods.

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19.

In 2021 a Bailey bridge was built across the river Dijle in Rijmenam for the transportation of excavated soil from one side to the other of the river.

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20.

The Bailey bridge allowed the trucks to cross the river without having to pass the city center.

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21.

Barges being used to support Bailey bridge bridging over the Seine at Mantes, France, August 1944.

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22.

Bailey bridge built over bombed out bridge at base of Marienberg Fortress in Wurzburg by the 119th Armored Engineer Battalion of the US 12th Armored Division, April 1945.

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