RAF landing track plates
 

hello,
i am looking for info and pictures of the following matter
when the USAAF used grassfields as a landing strip to used metal plates to put on the soil for ameliorize the landing and take off of planes
they called them PPS plates those where more or less 40CM wide on several meters long and had ranges of 3 holes in the plates and could be attached one to another

now my question is about the RAF landing fields so grassland or nonconcrete strips
the Birtish Forces used also a sort of plates but where looking different from those PPS it was more like a rooster looking
does any of our readers have clear pictures about those plates and info
did they had a special name,
thanks in advance
phil

Re: RAF landing track plates
 

You are thinking of Sommerfeld Tracking, see google.

The US(superior) equivalent was PSP pierced Steel Plating, or Marston Mats

Re: RAF landing track plates
 

No it must be the irvin grids see google
marston mats are the american ones

Re: RAF landing track plates
 

If you google sommerfeld tracking but images of google than you will encounter those irvin grips those are the one i mean

Re: RAF landing track plates
 

Thanks: if you click on one of the pictures you get a thread with the following advice

There are two pages of nice line drawings of Sommerfeld Mat Type ; Irving Grid Type; PSP Type; and Bar and Rod Type tracking. in Michael J.F.Bowyer's Action Stations Vol 1 Military airfields of East Anglia.
http://publications.drdo.gov.in/gsdl...ca.dir/doc.pdf
The book doesn't state how or where the Irving Grid type was used. This was an American design and not commonly used. I've not seen any reference to it for runways.in the RAF. If you don't have the book contact me offline, but I've also found the following

Re: RAF landing track plates
 

hello graham,
i have been on that site but those are the american ones
here is my email address send me an email and i will forward a picture of my part that i brought back from area of kent when i went to england and i received it from a farmer who lived close by a airfield they used it as fence
what i am looking for is a ordinary picture where you can see them on the field
as i am bussy to make a display of it i would like to show the people what it was used for
here is my email address
phil_mertens@yahoo.co.nz