TANKS ARRIVE IN N.Z.

Grey River Argus, 23 January 1943, Page 2

TANKS ARRIVE IN N.Z.

WELLINGTON. Jan. 20

The arrival in ever-increasing numbers of heavier types of modern fighting vehicles to equip the New Zealand forces brought new problems which the New Zealand Engineers have attacked and conquered. The engineers gave a sample of their skill and ingenuity recently when in 21 minutes they build, a pontoon barge with 64 feet steel superstructure and ferried acioss the 350 feet gap of one of New Zealand’s biggest rivers medium-sized tanks at the rate of six minutes for the first tank and eight minutes apiece thereafter. With.n 27 minutes of the time they started,, to assemble their equipment at the river’s edge the first tank was across the stream and roaring into action on the other side. This was the work of a divisional engineers’ unit operating in the Wanganui d.strict At the demonstration a 64-feet steel span was combined with a pontoon barge, the steel bridge providing the necessary rigid superstructure to carry tanks. As each tank was run on to the barge it was ferried across. Power was provided by jacking up a truck, forming a I winch on the near axle and using an ' endless rope to do the towing. ' The whole demonstration was put on by improvising materials which formed part of the normal cqu pment of the unit.