<P> According to Thai - based Hellfire Tours , the `` two bridges were successfully bombed and damaged on 13 February of 1945 by bomber aircraft from the Royal Air Force ( RAF ) . Repairs were carried out by forced labour of POWs shortly after and by April the wooden railroad trestle bridge was back in operation . On 3 April a second bombing raid , this time by Liberator heavy bombers of the U.S. Army Air Forces ( USAAF ) , damaged the wooden railroad bridge once again . Repair work soon commenced afterwards and continued again and both bridges were operational again by the end of May . A second air - raid by the RAF on 24 June finally severely damaged and destroyed the railroad bridges and put the entire railway line out of commission for the rest of the war until the Japanese surrender in August . After Japan 's capitulation , the British Army removed about 3.9 kilometers of the original Japanese railroad track on the Thai -- Burma border . A survey of the track had shown that its poor construction would not support commercial railroad traffic . The recovered tracks were subsequently sold to Thai Railways and the 130 km Ban Pong -- Nam Tok section of railway was relaid and is still in use up to today . '' </P>
<P> According to Thai - based Hellfire Tours , the `` two bridges were successfully bombed and damaged on 13 February of 1945 by bomber aircraft from the Royal Air Force ( RAF ) . Repairs were carried out by forced labour of POWs shortly after and by April the wooden railroad trestle bridge was back in operation . On 3 April a second bombing raid , this time by Liberator heavy bombers of the U.S. Army Air Forces ( USAAF ) , damaged the wooden railroad bridge once again . Repair work soon commenced afterwards and continued again and both bridges were operational again by the end of May . A second air - raid by the RAF on 24 June finally severely damaged and destroyed the railroad bridges and put the entire railway line out of commission for the rest of the war until the Japanese surrender in August . After Japan 's capitulation , the British Army removed about 3.9 kilometers of the original Japanese railroad track on the Thai -- Burma border . A survey of the track had shown that its poor construction would not support commercial railroad traffic . The recovered tracks were subsequently sold to Thai Railways and the 130 km Ban Pong -- Nam Tok section of railway was relaid and is still in use up to today . '' </P>
who bombed the bridge over the river kwai
who bombed the bridge over the river kwai
the Royal Air Force ( RAF ) the U.S. Army Air Forces ( USAAF )
the Royal Air Force ( RAF ) the U.S. Army Air Forces ( USAAF )