Bombing of the Bridge over the River Kwai

*The Bridge over the River Kwai (today)*

(Revised 9th August 2025)

*The wooden bridge in the foreground with the steel bridge in the background (right)*

The Bridge over the River Kwai, known to the Allies as ‘Bridge 277’, consisted of two bridges, one a temporary 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 Allies built several airfields in India and southern China from which they could attack targets in Burma (now Myanmar) and Thailand. In 1944, the steel bridges along the Burma-Thailand Railway became regular targets. Realizing this vulnerability, the Japanese rebuilt the wooden trestle bridges at each site including the River Kwai.

*Aerial view showing the two railway bridges, with the steel bridge being the lower (up river)*

The United States Army Air Force (USAAF) first conducted air raids on the bridges over the River Kwai in November 1944 and to January 1945, only minor damage had been inflicted. The bridges were quickly repaired with the use of labour from the nearby Tha Markham POW Camp. In February, 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.

The USAAF aircraft were redeployed to other targets which left Royal Air Force aircraft to continue bombing the railway. In June 1945, using a new guided bombing system, an air raid was conducted on the bridges over the River Kwai destroying an additional span of the steel bridge and causing substantial damage to the wooden bridge.

After the war, the wooden bridge was removed and the destroyed spans of the steel bridge replaced. In 1957, a 130km restored section of the railway at the Thailand end including the (steel) Bridge over the River Kwai, was reopened to regular train services.

*Aerial reconnaissance photo of the Steel Bridge taken during a bombing raid*

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 photos that have been added will explain.

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. An interesting note to this is that on one of the rectangular spans, a plaque states that the replacement spans were made by the Yokogawa Bridge Works, Tokyo Japan, obviously within a few years of the end of the war.

Finally, the black & white photo taken after the bombing at the time, 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.

The Bridge over the River Kwai is included in all tours to the Burma-Thailand Railway, conducted by Historic War Tours. For more details on these tours, visit www.historicwartours.com.au/burma-thailand-railway-tours