Bridgette the bridgelayer DPR/TV/1147

It's all very well to say don't cross your bridges until you come to them....what happens when you get there and there is no bridge. This is a situation often faced by the Army's 52-ton Centurion tanks in the war in water-logged South Vietnam. But this doesn't stop the tanks; they can carry their own bridge. The tank squadron in Vietnam, B Squadron of the 1st Armoured Regiment, has two of its 26 tanks fitted with bridges. Part of the Special Equipment Troop, each bridgelayer carries a 52 ft long bridge which is capable of spanning a gap of 46 ft. Weighing seven tons, the bridge can carry a load of 80 tons - 30 tons more than the weight of a Centurion, the Army's heaviest vehicle. The squadron receives a request to bridge a creek where a bridge has been wrecked. The bridgelayer given the job, Bridgette, is checked over in the engineer yard of the squadron's base at Nui Dat, the headquarters of the 1st Australian Task Force, and, finding all in order, it is moved out with two Centurions as a protection party. At the bridge site the two Centurions deploy while the bridgelayer stops near the required position. Its crew commander, Sgt John Bailey of Seymour, Vic, hops down to test the ground before he dares to direct his monster into position. His machine is vulnerable to attack during the laying procedure, but the other two tanks are looking out for the enemy and are more than equipped to handle most problems. The bridgelayer manoeuvres into position and majestically lifts its load and then lays it across the creek. Once down, Bridgette the Bridgelayer withdraws and the bridge is open for business. Instant bridge, you might say, and the first vehicle to rumble across it is one of the mighty Centurions. Also identified: Tpr Dave Smith of Newcastle, NSW; Tpr John Whitehorn of Kyabram, Vic; Tpr Ted Cox of Mudgee, NSW; Tpr Kevin Skinner of Grafton, NSW.