EFA (mobile bridge)


The EFA or Engin de Franchissement de l'Avant is a field-deployable river crossing apparatus, used by combat engineers in the French Army. It may either be used as a bridge, or as a ferry.
The crew consists of four people:
The EFA is the heir of the first self-propelled bridging vehicle invented in 1955 by the French military engineer and general Jean Gillois. Tray Gillois entered service with the French army in 1965. A version modified by EWK was successively adopted by the German, British and to a limited extent American militaries, and was used by Israel in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. At the time of its introduction it was able to carry vehicles up to a maximum weight of 25 tons, the current version supports loads of about 50 tons. It takes between 45 and 65 minutes to form a bridge 100 meters long. Tray Gillois avoids the heavy and bulky convoys, barges brought in by road, which are sensitive to enemy attacks. It takes about half a day to create a 100-metre deck.