Filming a D-Day Whale Bridge by Night: Heritage Lift From Southampton to Marchwood
Filming the historic D-Day Whale bridge being lifted by night and moved to ABP Solent Gateway for restoration - 80 years on from the Normandy landings.
Pre-Production
Briefed directly by ABP to film the overnight lift and relocation of the historic D-Day Whale bridge from Royal Pier in Southampton to ABP Solent Gateway in Marchwood. Coordinated with lifting contractor King Lifting, the transport team, ABP and site security, and planned air and ground crew positions to stay entirely clear of the specialist operation. Completed airspace planning, risk assessments and method statements (RAMS) for combined night-time aerial and ground filming alongside a sensitive heritage lift.
Production
Filmed the lift on the night of 30 September / 1 October 2025, capturing the King Lifting team raising the Whale from the water beside Royal Pier, transferring it to a low-loader and preparing it for transport to Marchwood. Worked across both ground and aerial coverage in the dark, prioritising clear, well-composed footage of a fragile historic structure being moved by a specialist team, while keeping clear of live operations throughout.
Post-Production
Edited and graded the night footage and interviews into a visual record of the operation, finished to do justice to the heritage significance of the lift and delivered to ABP for use across their channels and stakeholder communications. Provided stock footage for press.
The Whale is a section of the WWII Mulberry Harbour floating roadway - the pre-fabricated bridging units that linked the Allied landing ships to the Normandy beaches during Operation Overlord. After the harbours were dismantled in late 1944, some sections were towed back to Marchwood for storage. One Whale was later installed at Southampton's Royal Pier in 1950, alongside the Red Funnel Isle of Wight ferry landing stage, where it has remained ever since.
In 2025 - 80 years on from VE Day - ABP led the operation to lift the Whale from its decaying coastal setting and return it to Solent Gateway in Marchwood, the place it is believed to have been built. The restoration was fully funded by ABP, and this nationally significant piece of heritage has since been cleaned, conserved and fully restored. It now stands on public display at the entrance to Solent Gateway - one of only two publicly accessible Whales in the UK, alongside the example at IWM Duxford, and a piece of national heritage saved for the nation.
- Filming the Whale being lifted from the water beside Royal Pier
- Ground-level coverage of the specialist lifting and transport operation
- Aerial coverage of the lift and the move toward Solent Gateway / Marchwood
- Night filming throughout, capturing the operation as it actually happened
Night-time filming of a historic, fragile structure being moved by a specialist crane and low-loader team is a serious technical challenge. Low light, the precision of King Lifting’s lift, the need to stay clear of the operation, and the complexity of coordinating air and ground crews after dark all demanded careful planning. Our long-standing relationship with ABP, our CAA Operational Authorisation (PDRA01) and our faultless safety record made the access and operation possible, and let us deliver the kind of coverage a moment of this significance deserves.
The result was a visual record of a genuinely historic event - the kind of footage that will sit alongside the Whale's own story for decades to come, and a real privilege to have been trusted to capture.
Equipment Used
Filming Locations
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