Bombing of the Bridge over the River Kwai
The Bridge over the River Kwai (today)
The Bridge over the River Kwai at Tha Markham (Kanchanaburi) in Thailand, consisted of two bridges, one a temporary, low-level wooden trestle bridge first completed in February 1943 and the other, a high-level steel bridge completed in May of the same year. With the completion of the steel bridge, the wooden bridge was dismantled.
The wooden bridge in the foreground with the steel bridge in the background (right)
The Allies built several airfields in India from which they could attack targets in either Burma or Thailand and in 1944, the railway became a regular target. Realizing the vulnerability of the steel bridges along the railway, the Japanese rebuilt the wooden trestle bridges at each of these site including the River Kwai.
The United States Army Air Force (USAAF) was the first to conduct air raids on the bridges over the River Kwai between November 1944 and January 1945. Only minor damage was inflicted. The bridges were quickly repaired with the use of POW labour from the camp at Tha Markham nearby. In February, using a new guided bombing system, the USAAF aircraft inflicted substantial damage on the steel bridge by destroying two of the spans and causing minor damage to the wooded bridge. In only a few weeks, the wooden bridge was operational once again.
Aerial view showing the alignment of the two railway bridges, with the steel bridge to the left (up river)
The USAAF aircraft were redeployed to other targets in Burma and China which left Royal Air Force aircraft to continue bombing the railway. In June 1945, an air raid was conducted on the bridges which left a third span of the steel bridge destroyed and substantial damage to the wooden bridge.
After the war, the wooden bridge was removed and the destroyed spans of the steel bridge replaced. In April 1952, the 130km restored section of the railway at the Thailand end including the Bridge over the River Kwai, was opened to regular train services.
Today, the Bridge over the River Kwai is a major tourist attraction in Thailand but those who visit there would be unaware of the visible indications of the damage to the bridge that occurred so many years ago.
The most obvious indication is the steel spans that make up the bridge. Originally, the bridge was constructed using 11 arched spans. The bombing destroyed three of these spans which were replaced with two rectangular spans. Also, the photo (below left) taken after the bombing, shows the pitted concrete columns resulting from the blast effects of the bombs from the air raids. A closer look at a recent colour photo of one of the columns, reveals the patches that were applied when the bridge was being repaired.
Aerial reconnaissance photo of the Steel Bridge taken during a bombing raid
Patches to concrete pylon still can be seen today
This photo shows the damage to the steel bridge while the wooden bridge, a little further downstream, remains relatively intact.