US Army Combat Engineers Salvaging Steel

 

Combat Engineers of the US Army salvage steel to be used in building bridges for Allied armies from the Fallersleben Factory, which has been turned from a "peoples' car" factory to V-1 production. The VW factory had Cellars originally to be used for support equipment and storage. After allied bombing the undamaged areas were used to manufacture the Wing assemblers for the Fi156 V-1s ("repurposing" is what we call it nowadays!).

Source :
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=4369889033097876&set=gm.1781015942083821

US Army Engineers Locating Land Mines

 

In Italy with US Army Engineers locating land mines, 1943. The conventional method of mine detection was developed in World War II and has changed little since then. It involves a metal detector, prodding instrument and tripwire feeler. Deminers clear an area of vegetation and then divide it into lanes. A deminer advances along a lane, swinging a metal detector close to the ground. When metal is detected, the deminer prods the object with a stick or stainless steel probe to determine whether it is a mine. If a mine is found, it must be deactivated. Although conventional demining is slow (5–150 square metres cleared per day), it is reliable, so it is still the most commonly used method. Integration with other methods such as explosive sniffing dogs can increase its reliability. Demining is a dangerous occupation. If a mine is prodded too hard or it is not detected, the deminer can suffer injury or death. The large number of false positives from metal detectors can make deminers tired and careless. According to one report, there is one such incident for every 1000–2000 mines cleared. 35 percent of the accidents occur during mine excavation and 24 percent result from missed mines.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demining
https://www.facebook.com/groups/237076659811098/permalink/1707581389427277/?__cft__[0]=AZUx0dYLNfqxBviinHiydaNq6YBrrH7rLoT_T_kFp1NWHcWqAhpbo8XqhNddJcBRH_aQ1QRu51v0wj1mxeGFlEnaqOCDTV88w6CBDGee8OxMpAuF4OGOj5t-0jrrkkU9OeL2WYWXwRQ2uYYCrHgIkAZ3h-z8dVjlUxIzU2tH7ut8BkSpPNyjdX6jnJLMormFW7M&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R

River Crossing in Russia Using a Ferry Made of Brückengerät B

Operation Barbarossa, summer 1941. A coloured picture of a ferry made out of 8-tonne Brückengerät B (Bridge Equipment B). The vehicle is a turretless Beute Russian BA 10 armored car used as gun tractor. Bruckengerat B was one of the most commonly used German pontoon. A motorized Bridge Column B was equipped with trucks and halftrack prime-movers for towing trailers with pontoons, decking, ramps, wooden planks, and motorboats. 16 steel half-pontoons used either paired or singly allowed the assembly of a bridge either of 8 tons capacity and 83m (274ft) long, or bearing 16 tons and 54m (178ft) long. The deck sections had steel stringers, and curb guards with 26 wooden planks. There were eight trestle sections consisting of roadway decking supported by adjustable steel posts, each with three bracing legs. These allowed ramps to connect to the floating bridge when the bank was higher than the bridge’s roadway, or when the water near the banks was too shallow to float pontoons; they also allowed ramp-angle adjustment as the river rose and fell. Several types of ferries could also be constructed, and a trailer was provided with cable reels which could pull these back and forth. A halfpontoon was 12ft long and 5ft wide, and a ferry capable of carrying 4 tons required two half-pontoons and one bridge deck section. An 8-ton double ferry used four half-pontoons and two deck sections, and 16-ton ferries used two full pontoons and two deck sections. The full-pontoon bridge and the 16-ton ferry could in fact support any vehicle and equipment found in the infantry or early-war armored infantry division, to include a Panzer IV tank or a 15cm howitzer and its halftrack prime-mover. This picture was first published in the book "Das Heer im Grossdeutschen Freiheitskampf" (The Army in the Greater German Battle for Liberty) as issued for the German youth by the Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH) in Berlin, printed by Förster und Borries in Zwickau, Germany in about 1942.

Source :
Book "World War II River Assault Tactics" by Gordon L. Rottman
http://www.usmbooks.com/nazi_army_combat_print_set.html

US Skitroopers Crossing the Engineer Wooden Bridge

View of skitroopers testing an experimental wooden bridge built by the Engineering Battalion of US Tenth Mountain Division at Camp Hale Colorado, 1943 or 1944. A line of men are crossing the bridge and more troops wait below. Snow covers the ground. In September 1942, the 126th Engineer Mountain Battalion, with Lieutenant-Colonel John Parker in command, is activated at Camp Carson and becomes part of MTC (Mountain Training Center). Initially, two companies are authorized. Company A is to do experimental work on the construction of aerial tramways. Company B is to experiment with the construction of suspension bridges in mountainous terrain. One consultant to both groups is Major Frederick Roebling, a member of the famous family of engineers. The 126th received a fourth company, which infantry division engineers lacked, giving it one motorized (Co D) and three pack companies. Between November 1944 to November 1945, thay had at least 31 officers, 2 warrant officers, and 749 enlisted personnel.

Source :

Book "Chronology of the 10th Mountain Division in World War II; 6 January 1940-30 November 1945" by John & Barbara Imbrie

http://amyatishkin.livejournal.com/287245.html

U.S. Engineer Soldiers Train on the Construction of a Pontoon Bridge

U.S. engineer soldiers train on the construction of a pontoon bridge. These men are all wearing the wool trousers and shirt with field jackets. The man in the centre is wearing the first pattern "Olive Drab Field Jacket", commonly known as the M1941. This jacket differed from the later, and more common, M41 field jacket only at the pockets. Pockets on the M38 jacket featured a button closure flap over the pocket. This was eliminated from the M41 field jacket.

Source :
Book "Patton's Third Army" by Christopher J. Anderson

Pioneer Training

Engineer soldiers train in the bridge-making prior to their deployment in Europe. They are wearing the wool uniform with M41 field jacket. Of special interest are the toe-capped service shoes being worn under the leggings. These shoes, which featured a smooth outside surface and toe-cap, would have been replaced in the ETO by the more common rough-out service shoes. The rough-out service shoes would have featured the rough side of the leather on the outside of the shoe and no toe-cap.

Source :
Book "Patton's Third Army" by Christopher J. Anderson

Oberingenieur Rudolf Blaser on the wing of a Fw 190 flown by Oberfeldwebel Walter Grünlinger

In September 1942, III.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 26 (JG 26) “Schlageter” received some special visitors at its base at Wevelghem, Belgium. Profesor Kurt Tank, Focke-Wulf’s chief designer, and his senior engineer Rudolf Blaser, chief designer for single-seat fighters and head of the Fw 190 program, came to asses the Gruppenstab’s operational experiences with the Fw 190 A-2. The photo shows Oberingenieur Blaser on the wing of a Fw 190 A-2 bearing the tactical marking < + I. This aircraft, Werknummer 20206, was flown by Oberfeldwebel Walter Grünlinger, wingman of the Gruppenkommandeur, Hauptmann Josef Priller. Grünlinger had apparently just returned from a combat mission when the photograph was taken, and Blaser is seen explaining some technical aspects of the aircraft. Feldwebel Grünlinger’s Fw 190 had previously been flown by Hauptmann Priller, first appearing in the latter’s logbook on 11 December 1941. The small double chevron signifying a Gruppenkommandeur and Priller’s personal emblem, an Ace of Heart playing card bearing the name “Jutta”, were overpainted. Grünlinger replaced them with his own personal marking, a Seven of Hearts playing card with the name “Rata”. The card was painted on both sides of the fuselage. Also note the black “Eagle Wing”, which is largely hidden by Blaser’s coat. This marking was a commonly seen on Fw 190 fighters at that time, its purpose being to conceal the black exhaust stains on the fuselage. The aircraft wears a factory-applied camouflage scheme of RLM 74 (visible beneath the cockpit), 75 (beginning at the windscreen) and 76, with 75 mottling on the engine cowling. Feldwebel Grünlinger continued to fly with Priller after the latter became Geschwaderkommodore JG 26 on 11 January 1943. By 4 September 1943 he had raised his victory total to 12 (5 fighters, 7 medium and heavy bombers) in 88 combat missions. On that day he took off with 10.Staffel / Jagdgeschwader 26, to which he had been attached the day before. The Staffel engaged a group of about 20 Spitfires and Oberfeldwebel Walter Grünlinger was shot down and killed three kilometers northwest of Bomy in northern France (Fw 190 A-5 Werknummer 7287 of the Geschwaderstab). On 9 September 1943 he was buried in JG 26’s cemetery in Abbéville. Photo by Hauptmann Rolf Schödter

Source :
Luftwaffe im Focus Spezial No.1 2003

German Armour Crosses the Don River Over a Pontoon Bridge

A Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf.F2 with the "long" 75mm from Infanterie-Division Großdeutschland (motorisiert) crossing the Don River over a pontoon bridge, east of Rostov, summer 1942. Operation Fall Blau commenced on 28 June 1942 with Heeresgruppe B making its push towards Voronezh and the Don, but it was not until 9 July that Heeresgruppe A joined in. Ewald Von Kleist’s 1. Panzerarmee then attacked the right flank of General-polkovnik Rodion I. Heeresgruppe A was faced with crossing one water obstacle after another (as shown in this picture, taken by Kriegsberichter Hanns Hubmann), which strained its limited engineering capabilities

Source :
Book "The Caucasus 1942-43; Kleist's Race for Oil" by Robert Forczyk