Find Spot record 1294/1/0 - Remains of American WWII Tracking

{1} A rusty pile of two types of rare American tracking. It was probably removed from the opposite side of the road as 1988 mapping shows that there was a temporary metal aircraft hard-standing here.

{2} With a shortage of steel in Britain during the war, of necessity, British manufacturing resources had to be concentrated on the lightweight, wire-mesh type of tracking weighing less than 1.25lb per sq.ft., such as square-mesh track (SMT) and Sommerfeld track. The Americans, on the other hand, could afford to be more liberal with the use of steel. Their main tracking product, developed prior to the entry of the United States into the war, was pierced steel plank (PSP) fabricated out of No.10 US sheet guage mild-steel plate. Apart from its weight, its drawback was that because of the hole punchings, 7.3lbs of steel was required to make one sq.ft. of track weighing 5.25lbs. Bar and rod, another US production, was nowhere near as prolific as PSP.

<1> Ruddy A.J., 1997, Defence of Britain Project Site Report Form, (checked) (Recording Form (Not SMR)). SNN108884.

<2> Freeman, R.A., 1994, U.S. Airfields of the Ninth: Then and Now, (unchecked) (Book). SNN108885.

Record last edited

Feb 20 2015 10:48AM