Marston Mat

Aluminum was a controlled strategic material during World War II, so much less was made; it was typically able to handle only half as many loading cycles as steel, and its high scrap value and short usable life led to recycling rather than reuse.

In 1939, the United States Army Air Corps began exploring the use of runway mats for the construction of unimproved airfields.

Systems for this purpose had already been tested by Britain, which used a material similar to heavy duty chicken wire, and France, using a grid of steel chevrons.

[3] The first practical use of the Marston mat was during the Carolina Maneuvers, a series of United States Army exercises held in November 1941.

[3][5] Marston Mat was extensively used during World War II by Army engineers and Seabees ("CBs"; Construction Battalions) to build runways and other readily usable surfaces over all kinds of terrain.

A C-47 Skytrain supply aircraft was the first plane to land on the first steel-mat runway constructed in France after the invasion of Normandy.

[6] On Pacific islands the matting was typically covered with crushed and rolled coral or soil to form a level surface.

Designed to support fighters and smaller cargo aircraft, the Douglas C-54 Skymaster that formed the backbone of the U.S. effort was too heavy for the PSP.

In order to support heavier aircraft, the Corps of Engineers developed the XM-19, a square mat constructed of aluminum.

The mats included an internal aluminum honeycomb structure, which increased the carrying capacity while remaining lightweight.

[2] Landing mats of all types were widely used for construction of bunker roofs and for reinforcing field fortifications, as well as service roads inside fire support bases.

[9] In various countries located in the Pacific Theater, particularly in the Philippines and Papua New Guinea, matting still remains in use as fencing[10] or roadway barriers, in some cases stretching for miles.

RAF aircrew with one of their Bristol Beaufighters on a PSP airstrip at Biferno, Italy, August 1944
332nd Fighter Group pilots discuss combat flying. Walking on Marston matting.
Marston mat laid by CB 45 on the Navy's auxiliary field on Tanaga Island in the Aleutians .
A Curtiss P-40 Warhawk taxiing along Marston Mat at Milne Bay , Papua New Guinea in September 1942
Marston Mat repurposed for storage of empty wine bottles on a farm in Normandy in 2007. Hooks and slots along long edges clearly visible
A huge quantity of Marston matting was left in the Philippines by the U.S. forces after World War II. Many of these were re-purposed as fencing material in housing projects that were built after the war. This one, behind the little boy, is located in a housing development in the 1950s that was initially referred to as "Project One", but later came to be known as Kamuning, Quezon City, near Manila. Photo is dated May 1965.