This is a short essay on the design and construction of the Olafson foot bridge during the Second World War. In 1944, Captain EA Olafson, MBE, and Armament Quartermaster Sergeant CC Houghtaling, MBE, of 3 Light Aid Detachment, RCEME, designed an infantry footbridge capable of crossing a 60-foot gap, or carrying jeep across a 30-foot gap. It was one of two bridges designed by the Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers during the war.
