Best Engineer Project

[Chimo]

Since the Engineer topics have been a little stale lately, I thought I would throw this out. What has been the best Engineer project, task, construction, etc that you have been involved with?

One of the best I have seen was the construction of the "Subway" in Kandahar, designed by then Sgt Doug Forrest and built by 4 Troop, 1 CER as OHP for 3 PPCLI BG. This subway ran for about 700 meters. It took a long time and consumed a lot of effort. The idea was to protect members of the BG from any indirect fire. The sheer size of construct and amount of resources and effort made it truly outstanding.  

 

[SprCForr]

I was not involved with it, but I get to see. Eagle River Bridge on the Dempster Hwy at km 374, built by 1 CER.

One I was involved with: The Accrow Bridge across the Vedder River in Chilliwack.

Crap, this could go on and on!  ;D

 

[Spr.Earl]

Speaking of Accrow,the one 6Fd put in in Golden Ears Prov. Park,sans crane!
Yup we built it with out a crane.

The NSB's that 1CER put in up in Braylorn in 96,now that was somthing,realy nice country also.

As you say SprCForr this could go on. ;D

 

[cantley091]

IFOR Velika Kladusa 1996
24 Field Squadron was tasked to sandbag new defensive positions throughout the camp.with just a few dozen troops we managed to accomplish this task with service battalion watching us.Typical. :warstory:

 

[Spr.Earl]

IFOR Velika Kladusa 1996
24 Field Squadron was tasked to sandbag new defensive positions throughout the camp.with just a few dozen troops we managed to accomplish this task with service battalion watching us.Typical. :warstory:

SFOR V.K. 97
12 Fd Sqn tasked with putting the new Ammo Bunkers in (same story as above) about a dozen of them.
Getting hasseled by the Camp Chief because we did not have our shirts or head dress on.The temp was 30* plus.
Soon taken care of by W.O. Gord Day-Holliway.
Thanks Gord.

This soon after doing the same in Zygon.

 

[Spr.Earl]

This I just remembered,here in the Lower mainland we have the Boundary Bay Air Port which during the last War was a Bomber training Base.Well 6Fd got the task of blowing the old bomb and ammo bunkers as they were reactivating the Air Field for small air craft.

We had no drawings as to thickness etc so it was decided to bore holes with 1' centers about 200 per bunker if I remember right, then flood the bunkers for good old tamping.
Well she went with a nice boom and everything was contained with in the bunkers,no spoil was thrown which was the desired effect, but alas mother Nature was against us,we had reports of broken windows,china knocked off shelves afar away as Abbotsford. ;D

The phone at the Armouries didn't  stop ringing for 2 weeks. ;D

One of the best Demo jobs I have ever had.

 

[armybuck041]

Putting in a steel quad/footbridge in at Port Hawksbury as part of the Bridges for Canada Project/Trans Canada Trail while I was at CFSME.

We had to assemble the Bridge by hand and Crane it onto a 2E + 3 MR. The Cranes were then postioned at both banks while we moved the ferry up the Causeway. With both cranes in situ, we had to have the ferry in position at exactly 10:36 as the tide was level between the bay and causeway. Any kind of delay and the current would have tossed the ferry complete with Bridge out of the slot. Nevertheless we were able to Crane the bridge into position on the abutments from both banks simultaneously. Amazing to watch.
Stumpy MacInnis had a perpetual cloud of cigarette smoke around him for the entire task.       

 

[Spr.Earl]

Good Job!
What was the time limit before the tide changed?

 

[Kat Stevens]

Toss up between the Coquihalla bridge demo and the Park Farm demo in Wainwright. 

CHIMO,  Kat

 

[SprCForr]

Yep, both of those were real good too.

;D

 

[Spr.Earl]

Toss up between the Coquihalla bridge demo and the Park Farm demo in Wainwright.  

CHIMO,   Kat

If I remember right you were only too drop the water tower not the whole bloody Farm. :
A lesson learned there,be specific when Sappers have explosives.
You all got bugged out and driven out to Abbotsford,flown out and weren't told a word until you hit ground,now that makes for a good Ex.

 

[SprCForr]

We were supposed to nail the whole place. Which we did in spades! lol
Got bugged out on Thanksgiving right before dinner. Sequestered in the drill hall, those selected to go were informed, orders, then issued explosives and rats. Load up in the back of MLVWs (tarps down) and sent to Abbotsford to an awaiting Herc. Immediate liftoff to god knows where until we touched down in Wainwright. Off the Herc and into the Chinook to the LZ, from there a hump of a few miles to the hide. Good ex, good weather, good explosion. The only thing that really fell apart was not being able to conduct the range shoot and Nuclear Doug not being able to read a map and see in the dark. The wives and GF's were not happy about that one!

Oh and Riley & company stealing the C4.

 

[Spr.Earl]

What year was that?

 

[SprCForr]

1984. Fred Noseworthy and Pete Mushrow were the wheels then.

 

[Spr.Earl]

Here's another,winter warfare Feb. 87 in Chilcoten,Fitch was C.O.,we flew in by Chinook to build a single storey MGB.
On completion,Fitch got the Chinook supporting us to come back in and give us a low level flight over the training area.We all loaded up next thing we know,we were hovering over the bridge and landed on it!Yup the Chinook landed on the bridge for about 3 min. then we lifted off and had a low level flight over the training area and that was a one of the best low level's I have ever had as you can guess I love flying in Choppers. :blotto:

 

[PIPER DOOON]

Been involved in a few projects.
Tried to re build a road in Bosnia with river rock on a night of pouring rain.....didn't turn out too well.
Same tour during on a blast Op to widen a mountain road (pac man) a rock (big one) almost hit a locals house after it rolled down the mountain.

I do remember building a bunker out of a sea can and sand bags in Kuwait 3 times because the General from Pakistan didn't like the look.....Broph's vein nearly popped out after that.

 

[Sapper6]

Although I agree with Chimo's comments on the "subway" in Kandahar, some of my earliest memories include the construction of Beaver Bridge in Wainwright on RV 92.   Although it appeared simple enough at the time - re-construct a Bailey Br, it turned out to be a far bigger project based on the recce that Spider Moore conducted.

In the end, we ended up taking out the existing bridge, tore out the abutments, widened the approaches, laid geo-textile (a new technology in 94!), re-built the abutments, and re-built the bridge to Triple-Single specs.

So, it may not have been the Eagle River bridge, but it was an excellent project for a Fd Tp.   2 Tp 22 Fd Sqn nonetheless!   22 Fu@$ You!

Some of the characters around that site were Spider, Hartinger, Etheridge, Mike Ralph and Groves to name but a few.

S6.

See pic below:

BeaverBridge92.jpg

 

[Kat Stevens]

SFOR V.K. 97
12 Fd Sqn tasked with putting the new Ammo Bunkers in (same story as above) about a dozen of them.
Getting hasseled by the Camp Chief because we did not have our shirts or head dress on.The temp was 30* plus.
Soon taken care of by W.O. Gord Day-Holliway.
Thanks Gord.

This soon after doing the same in Zygon.

Hey Nick, remember when I sicked the Bn Gp RSM on the chief cook in VK over those ridiculous dress regs he had for the kitchen?

 

[Spr.Earl]

Hey Nick, remember when I sicked the Bn Gp RSM on the chief cook in VK over those ridiculous dress regs he had for the kitchen?

I forgot about that Kat and there was also something about the rations which escapes me.Man were they glad to see the back of us as we ;D went out their Main Gate as we turned the Camp dress code up side down,especialy about the 2VP freebee Fleece. ;D

 

[54/102 CEF]

Ex Sapper History Man Reporting as ordered!

Why not the 150,000 tons of Chalk that the 1st and 2nd Canadian Engineer Tunneling Companies took out of the Rock of Gibraltar in 1941 - 1942 ?

http://www.donlowconcrete.com/CDAC/pages/whatsnew.htm#Canadian Sappers

Sapper CORBETT lost his life there on the last day of the task in a premature explosion http://www.cwgc.org/cwgcinternet/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2814462

Or - the Canadian Engineer Monument at the Driel Ferry (my part was to find it with MWO Earl Butt and LCol Foreman in 1995 during the Nijmegen Marches) Driel was an evacuation operation where Canadain Engineers helped pull out Airborne troops operations at Arnhem Holland in Sep 1944. The Engr Coy Commander was then Maj Malcom Sutherland Brown

See Picture 29 - at this link  http://home-2.consunet.nl/~cb008074/battlefieldtour.htm