An armoured vehicle-launched bridge (AVLB) is a combat support vehicle, sometimes regarded as a subtype of

military engineering vehicle A military engineering vehicle is a vehicle built for construction work or for the transportation of combat engineering, combat engineers on the battlefield. These vehicles may be modified civilian equipment (such as the Armored bulldozer, armo ...

, designed to assist militaries in rapidly deploying

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...

s and other

armoured fighting vehicle An armoured fighting vehicle (British English) or armored fighting vehicle (American English) (AFV) is an armed combat vehicle protected by vehicle armour, armour, generally combining operational mobility with Offensive (military), offensive a ...

s across gap-type obstacles, such as rivers. The AVLB is usually a tracked vehicle converted from a tank chassis to carry a folding metal bridge instead of weapons. The AVLB's job is to allow armoured or infantry units to cross craters, anti-tank ditches, blown bridges, railroad cuts, canals, rivers and ravines, when a river too deep for vehicles to wade through is reached, and no bridge is conveniently located, or sufficiently sturdy, a substantial concern when moving 60-ton tanks. The bridge layer unfolds and launches its cargo, providing a ready-made bridge across the obstacle in only minutes. Once the span has been put in place, the AVLB vehicle detaches from the bridge, and moves aside to allow traffic to pass. Once all of the vehicles have crossed, it crosses the bridge itself and reattaches to the bridge on the other side. It then retracts the span ready to move off again. A similar procedure can be employed to allow crossings of small chasms or similar obstructions. AVLBs can carry bridges of 19 metres (60 feet) or greater in length. By using a tank chassis, the bridge layer is able to cover the same terrain as

main battle tank A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank or simply tank,Ogorkiewicz 2018 p222 is a tank that fills the role of armour-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more po ...

s. The provision of armour allows them to operate even in the face of enemy fire. However, this is not a universal attribute: some exceptionally sturdy 6×6 or 8×8 truck chassis have lent themselves to bridge-layer applications.

Origins

The roots of the modern AVLB can be found in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, at the dawn of

tank warfare Armoured warfare or armored warfare (American English; see spelling differences), is the use of armoured fighting vehicles in modern warfare. It is a major component of modern methods of war. The premise of armored warfare rests on the abili ...

. Having developed

s, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

were confronted with the problem of mounting tank advances in the face of the trenches that dominated the battlefields. Early engagements, such as at

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; ; ), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord department and in the Hauts-de-France region of France on the Scheldt river, which is known locally as the Escaut river. A sub-pref ...

demonstrated the tank's utility, but also highlighted its vulnerability to battlefield geography—many early tanks found themselves ignominiously stuck in the trenches, having insufficiently long tracks to cross them (as at right). To counter this disadvantage, tanks, especially the common British Heavy tanks, began to go into battle with

fascine A fascine (pronounced ) is a rough bundle of wikt:brushwood, brushwood or other material used for strengthening an earthen structure, or making a path across uneven or wet terrain. Typical uses are protecting the banks of streams from erosion (a ...

s, sometimes as simple as a bundle of heavy sticks, carried on top. By dropping these into the trenches, they were able to create a wedge over which the tank could drive. Later, some tanks began to carry rails on their decks—the first AVLBs. By 1919, the British Army had, at its training centre in Christchurch, a Mark V** tank with lifting gear able to carry and place a bridge or carry out mine clearing and demolition.

World War II and subsequent use

Churchill-AVRE-with-Small-Box-Girder-Bridge-and-Churchill-Crocodile

It was in the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

era that the importance of armoured bridge layers, as well as

combat engineering vehicle A military engineering vehicle is a vehicle built for construction work or for the transportation of combat engineering, combat engineers on the battlefield. These vehicles may be modified civilian equipment (such as the Armored bulldozer, armo ...

s and

armoured recovery vehicle An armoured recovery vehicle (ARV) is typically a powerful tank or armoured personnel carrier (APC) chassis modified for use during combat for military vehicle recovery (towing) or repair of battle-damaged, stuck, and/or inoperable armoured f ...

s, became fully clear. With the advent of

Blitzkrieg ''Blitzkrieg'(Lightning/Flash Warfare)'' is a word used to describe a combined arms surprise attack, using a rapid, overwhelming force concentration that may consist of armored and motorized or mechanized infantry formations, together with ...

warfare, whole divisions had to advance along with tanks, which were suddenly far out-pacing the speed of infantry soldiers. Besides leading to the advent of

self-propelled artillery Self-propelled artillery (also called locomotive artillery) is artillery equipped with its own propulsion system to move toward its firing position. Within the terminology are the self-propelled gun, self-propelled howitzer, self-propelled mo ...

assault gun An assault gun (from , , meaning "assault gun") is a type of armored infantry support vehicle and self-propelled artillery, mounting an infantry support gun on a protected self-propelled chassis, intended for providing infantry with heavy di ...

s, mobile anti-aircraft and

armoured personnel carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Acc ...

cars A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...

, it became clear that functions like vehicle repair, mine-clearing, and the like would have to be carried out by armoured vehicles advancing along with tanks. These forces would have to be able to cross all forms of terrain without losing speed, and without having to concentrate their thrusts over certain bridges. The rising weight of armoured vehicles meant that fewer bridges could support these massed crossings. The only feasible solution to the dilemma posed by the mobility of all-mechanised armed forces was a dedicated platform that could improvise river and obstacle crossings at short notice and in inconvenient locations. Tracked and armoured, it was capable of operating alongside combat units, crossing rough terrain and advancing in the face of light fire. To maximize on common parts and ease maintenance complications, they were usually based on existing tank chassis. One of the earliest series-produced examples is the ''Brückenleger IV'', a German AVLB based on the

Panzer IV The IV (Pz.Kpfw. IV), commonly known as the Panzer IV, is a German medium tank developed in the late 1930s and used extensively during the Second World War. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 161. The Panzer IV was the most numer ...

, which entered service with the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

in 1940. Twenty were built, but problems of excessive weight limited the vehicle's effectiveness, and eventually all 20 were converted back to tanks. A new scissors bridge design was brought out by the British in response to the war, sufficient to support a 24-ton load over . This was developed for the

Covenanter tank The Cruiser tank Mk V or A13 Mk III Covenanter was a British cruiser tank of the Second World War. The Covenanter was the first cruiser tank design to be given a name. Designed by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway as a better-armoured rep ...

. It developed into a 30-ton capacity and was carried by a turretless

Valentine tank The Tank, Infantry, Mk III, Valentine was an infantry tank produced in the United Kingdom during World War II. More than 8,000 Valentines were produced in eleven marks, plus specialised variants, accounting for about a quarter of wartime Britis ...

. It was used in Italy, North West Europe and

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

. The

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

developed similar equipment, mostly based on the ubiquitous Churchill infantry tank carrying the

Small Box Girder The Small Box Girder bridge (SBG) was a small assault bridge that could be used to span gaps of up to 30 feet. It was typically carried on a tank, such as the Churchill Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers (AVRE), and could be deployed without eng ...

, and the

Sherman Sherman most commonly refers to: *Sherman (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname ** William Tecumseh Sherman (1820–1891), American Civil War General *M4 Sherman, a World War II American tank S ...

medium tank A medium tank is a classification of tanks, particularly prevalent during World War II, which represented a compromise between the mobility oriented light tanks and the armour and armament oriented heavy tanks. A medium tank's classification ...

of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

and

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

armies, respectively. In some early designs, bridge-layers could emplace bridges, but not retract them. Other vehicles were integral to the bridge themselves, such as the Churchill Ark, wading to the middle of a river or driving up against an obstacle and extending simple ramps in both directions. Following vehicles would drive directly over the bridge layer.

Modern

Most modern bridge layers are based on a main battle tank chassis. An example of a modern main battle tank (MBT) chassis being converted to a bridgelayer is the creation of the M104 Wolverine Armored Bridgelayer. Based on a modified M1A2 SEP MBT chassis, the Wolverine replaces the MBT turret with a bridge fitted atop the chassis. The bridge atop the M104 Wolverine measures 26m in length, and takes just 4 minutes to place across an obstacle securely. The bridge is built to be able to withstand countless crossings of vehicles as heavy as the M1A2 Abrams, which weighs around 70 tonnes. Another approach to bridge laying across water is the use of amphibious vehicles, which act as combination of pontoon and roadway. These enter the water and join to form a bridge. An example is the German

M3 Amphibious Rig The M3 Amphibious Rig is a self-propelled, amphibious vehicle, amphibious bridging vehicle and ferrying vehicle that is used for the transportation of tanks and other vehicles across water obstacles. Development and service Originally developed b ...

, a bridging vehicle used by Germany, the UK,

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

. ;Notable AVLBs in service *

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

: DRDO Sarvatra Sarvatra is a truck-mounted, multi-span, mobile bridging system. *

: T-72 Bridge Layered Tank, Bridge-Laying system mounted on

T-72 The T-72 is a family of Soviet Union, Soviet main battle tanks that entered production in 1973. The T-72 was a development based on the T-64 using thought and design of the previous Object 167M. About 25,000 T-72 tanks have been built, and refu ...

tank. *

: SPRAT système de pose rapide de travures PTA2, based on an 8x8 truck chassis *

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

: Biber based on the Leopard 1 tank chassis and is used by most Leopard 1 users. * Germany: Panzerschnellbrücke 2, based on the Leopard 2 Chassis. No production orders. * Germany: Panzerschnellbrücke Leguan: This modular system combines a bridge module created by MAN Mobile Bridges GmbH with a tank chassis. The Bundeswehr is testing the Leguan on Leopard 2 chassis. *

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

: GQC-003, based of

Type 08 The Type 08 ( zh, c=08式轮式装甲车族 , p=Líng bā Shì lúnshì zhuāngjiǎchē zú, l=Type 08 wheeled armored vehicle family) is a Chinese family of modern eight-wheeled, amphibious, modular armored vehicles developed by Norinco for ...

IFV *

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

: Type 67 AVLB, based on Type 61 MBT. *Japan: Type 91 AVLB, based on

Type 74 Type 74 may refer to: Weaponry * Type 74 tank, Japanese main battle tank * Type 74 105 mm self-propelled howitzer, Japanese self propelled howitzer * Type 74 anti-aircraft gun, Chinese twin barreled upgrade of M1939 anti air gun {{disamb ...

MBT and Type 87 SPAAG. * Poland / East Germany: BLG-67 based on T-55 tank *

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

: MTU-72 AVLB, based on the T-72 MBT * Russia: MT-55, based on the

T-55 The T-54 and T-55 tanks are a series of Soviet medium tanks introduced in the years following the Second World War. The first T-54 prototype was completed at Nizhny Tagil by the end of 1945.Steven Zaloga, T-54 and T-55 Main Battle Tanks 1944–2 ...

medium tank *

: Titan Armoured Vehicle Launcher Bridge, based on the

Challenger 2 The FV4034 Challenger 2 (MoD designation "CR2") is a third generation British main battle tank (MBT) in service with the armies of the United Kingdom, Oman, and Ukraine. It was designed by Vickers Defence Systems (now Rheinmetall BAE Systems ...

MBT.Titan Armoured Vehicle Launcher Bridge – British Army Website
Replaces ChAVLB, the

Chieftain tank The FV4201 Chieftain was the primary main battle tank (MBT) of the United Kingdom from the 1960s into 1990s. Introduced in 1967, it was among the most heavily armed MBTs at the time, mounting a 120 mm Royal Ordnance L11 gun, equivalent to t ...

-based AVLB. *

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

: Beaver armoured bridgelayer vehicle based on the

Leopard 1 The Kampfpanzer Leopard, subsequently Leopard 1 following the introduction of the successive Leopard 2, is a main battle tank designed by Porsche and manufactured by Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, Krauss-Maffei in West Germany, first entering service ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

: M60A1 AVLB, based on the M60 MBT; now supplanted by the M104 Wolverine and M1074 Joint Assault Bridge, based on the

M1 Abrams The M1 Abrams () is a third-generation American main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense (now General Dynamics Land Systems) and named for General Creighton Abrams. Conceived for modern armored ground warfare, it is one of the heavies ...

MBT *

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

: AMX-30 Bridge, based on the French

AMX-30 The AMX-30 is a French main battle tank designed by Ateliers de construction d'Issy-les-Moulineaux (AMX, then Nexter, GIAT) and first delivered to the French Army in August 1966. The first five tanks were issued to the 501st ''Régiment de Chars ...

. *

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

: SYHK, an amphibious bridging vehicle based on the

FNSS Pars The Pars (Turkish language, Turkish for Anatolian leopard) is an amphibious armoured combat vehicle family with 4×4, 6×6 and 8×8 versions, produced by FNSS Defence Systems of Turkey. Development The development of the PARS vehicles commence ...

. File:Szkolenie doskonalące obsług pływających transporterów samobieżnych (03).jpg, Polish BLG-67M File:SPRAT, le 14 juillet 2012 à Paris.JPG, French

SPRAT Sprat is the common name applied to a group of forage fish belonging to the genus ''Sprattus'' in the Family (biology), family Clupeidae. The term also is applied to a number of other small sprat-like forage fish (''Clupeoides'', ''Clupeonella ...

File:Biber - 5.jpg, A Biber of the

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

using its own bridge File:Panzerschnellbrücke Leguan.jpg, Leguan-prototype with bridge of the German Army File:M60A1 Armored Vehicle Landing Bridge.jpg, An M60A1 Armored Vehicle Launched Bridge, deploying its scissors-type bridge. File:９１式戦車橋P1000007 装備 6.jpg,

JGSDF The , , also referred to as the Japanese Army, is the land warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Created on July 1, 1954, it is the largest of the three service branches. New military guidelines, announced in December 2010, direct t ...

Type 91 AVLB File:IMFT 6 2015 344.jpeg,

Brückenpanzer 68 The Brückenpanzer 68 (Bridge Tank 68) is an armoured vehicle-launched bridge manufactured by the Eidgenoessische Konstruktionswerkstaette, which was used by the Swiss Army. It is the bridge-laying version of the Panzer 68 tank. History A prototy ...

of the

Swiss Armed Forces The Swiss Armed Forces (; ; ; ; ) are the military and security force of Switzerland, consisting of land and air service branches. Under the country's militia system, regular soldiers constitute a small part of the military and the rest are ...

File:MT-55 Militärtag - Uffenheim - 2015 .jpg, MT-55

References

External links

Titan Armoured Vehicle Launcher Bridge (AVLB) at Armedforces.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Armoured Vehicle-Launched Bridge Military bridging equipment English inventions

Origins

World War II and subsequent use

Modern

See also

References

External links