Bailey Bridge, Mild Steel High Quality

Bailey BRIDGE is a high-quality mild steel truss bridge that is movable and is generally used as a temporary emergency bridge. The Bailey bridge structure has a system of length per panel of 3,048 meters, with bridge spans multiples of the length of each panel.

The Bailley Bridge was developed in 1940 and was created by Sir Donald Bailey for military purposes. The bridge was made by the British in World War II.

Donald Bailey is a civil servant in the British War Office who plays around with model bridges as a hobby. He had proposed an early prototype for the Bailey bridge before the war in 1936, but the idea was not acted upon. Bailey made the original proposal for a bridge at the back of an envelope in 1940.

On February 14, 1941, the Supply Department requested that Bailey create a full-scale prototype that was completed on May 1, 1941. The work on the creation of the Bailey bridge was completed with the special support of Ralph Freeman.

This design was tested at the Experimental Bridging Establishment (EBE) in Christchurch, Hampshire, England, with parts of Braithwaite & Co. Work began in December 1940 and ended in 1941.

The first prototype was tested in 1941. For initial testing, a bridge was laid over the field, about 2 feet (0.61 meters) above the ground, then several Mark V tanks were filled with pig iron and stacked on top of each other. This prototype was used to stretch the Mother Siller Channel, which intersects the nearby Marsp Stanpit, a marshy area at the confluence of the Avon River and the Stour River.It remains there (50°43′31" N1°45′44" W) as a working bridge.

Full production began in July 1941. Thousands of workers and more than 650 companies, including Littlewoods, were involved in the construction of the bridge, with production eventually increasing to 25,000 bridge panels a month. The first Bailey Bridge was in military service in December 1941.

Bridges in other formats were built, temporarily, to cross Avon and Stour in nearby pastures. After its successful development and testing, the bridge came into use by the Royal Corps of Engineers and was first used in North Africa in 1942.

Bailey Bridge provides answers to urgent and emergency needs. The reliability and speed of the assembly are in line with its proven safety side. So, when someone questions Bailey's reliability for reasons of safety, swaying, or unworthiness, and the like, then that doubt should have been answered 68 years ago in the World War II era.

The success of the Bailey bridge due to the simplicity of fabrication and modular component assembly, combined with the ability to erect and use parts with the minimum assistance of the machine. The Bailey Bridge is assembled and installed in a short time and quickly with little manual power and simple tools (hand tools). All components are connected with tongs, bolts and clamps.

Bailey Bridge is very strategic in supporting / recovering development in remote areas that are difficult to reach and is also very fast to install to help old disaster-prone areas. In such areas, usually other alternative roads do not exist or are difficult to walk, so all activities will be disrupted and can even stop, while to build new bridges or roads is very long.

Therefore, Bailey bridges that are installed strongly, quickly, and are able to withstand traffic loads are suitable for application, although they are temporary in nature while waiting for a new bridge or road to be completed. After the new road or bridge is completed, the Bailey bridge can be dismantled and used again in other locations.

The Bailey base bridge consists of three main sections. The strength of the bridge is supported by panels on the sides. The panels are 10 feet (3.0 meters) long, 5 feet (1.5 meters) tall, crosses weigh 570 pounds (260 kilo grams) each, and can be lifted by six men. The panel was made of welded steel. The upper and lower chords of each panel have interlocking male and female hooks on which engineers can attach the connecting pins of the panel.