An authentic Bailey bridge for the museum

At the end of October 2019, we went to Pont-Farcy, to the home of Christopher LONG, President of the Association “Les Amis du Pont Bailey”, in order to disassemble and load elements of a mythical element of the Second World War: a Bailey Bridge. The elements, marked by the test of time, had to go through several stages in order to regain a certain youthfulness: sanding, anti-rust priming and painting… In October 2021, after numerous renovation operations and a day of assembly, the Bailey Bridge was reassembled (three complete sections, nine metres long) and can be viewed free of charge outside the Normandy Victory Museum.

We warmly thank all the members of the Association “Les Amis du Pont Bailey” for making this available to the Normandy Victory Museum.

But what is a “Bailey Bridge”?

Invented and patented in 1941 by the English engineer Donald Bailey, the bridge of the same name will be deployed on the operational grounds from November 1942 and will prove to be a major asset in the advance of the Allied troops, in particular thanks to its principle of simple assembly and not necessarily requiring mechanical strength (the heaviest element can be carried by only six men). Very used in Normandy and essential to the breakthrough of the Cotentin, it is a formidable vestige of the battle. General Eisenhower considered the Bailey Bridge to be one of the three revolutionary weapons of the conflict, along with radar and the heavy bomber. The engineer Bailey was knighted by the British crown, in recognition of his decisive invention.

… In the same category