Pontoon bridge in 638. The army of the Umayyad Caliphate built a pontoon bridge over the Bosporus in 717 during the Siege of Constantinople (717–718). The Carolingian army of Charlemagne constructed a portable pontoon bridge of anchored boats bound together and used it to cross the Danube during campaigns against the Avar Khaganate in the 790s. Charlemagne's army built two fortified pontoon bridges across the Elbe in 789 during a campaign against the Slavic Veleti. The German army of Otto the Great employed three pontoon bridges, made from pre-fabricated materials, to rapidly cross the Recknitz river at the Battle on the Raxa
Pontoon effect side than the center of buoyancy can go. At this point, the righting force will disappear, replaced by a turning moment in the opposite direction. This can capsize the vessel at the point at which one pontoon is completely submerged. When using twin lateral pontoons, each pontoon should have enough buoyancy to bear the load of the entire vessel on its own. If the vessel is so heavy that either pontoon is mostly submerged when no lateral force is applied, it will be vulnerable to the pontoon effect. If sufficient lateral force arises (such as wind or shifting load), the