The construction, in England, of the massive and bulky Mulberry elements, their concealment from enemy intelligence, their transportation across the Channel to the beaches, their careful placing in position and the way in which those at Arromanches withstood the storms, made the artificial ports one of the major and essential features of the Normandy landings. 45,000 men worked for eight months to build this floating structure which, once complete, weighed a total of nearly one million tonnes. The construction of the first 147 caissons during this period required somme 660,000 tonnes of concrete and 31,000 tonnes of steel. A further 60,000 tonnes of steel were used to build the floating quays and their roadways. The only genuine floating roadways (supported by concrete floaters), together with their 8 access ramps, also "absorbed" 30,000 tonnes of steel and concrete. They participated in supporting over a million Allied troops.
The construction of the Mulberries was probably the greatest military engineering enterprise undertaken since the Persian armies crossed over the Bosphorous, on a pontoon bridge, in B.C. 480.
- Langue
- English
- Type
- Beau livre
- Format
- 170x240 mm
- Pages
- 32 pages
- ISBN
- 978-2-8151-0717-4