Marston Matting In Vietnam Usmc

Developed in the early 1960s am 2 is an extruded aluminum mat that is 3 8cm 1 5in thick comes in a nominal 0 607m x 3 66m 2ft x 12ft panel size and weighs roughly 310 1n m2 6 46lbs ft2.

Marston matting in vietnam usmc.

Due to a re organization within marine aviation the squadron was. Marsden matting is standardized perforated steel matting material originally developed by the united states at the waterways experiment station shortly before world war ii primarily for the rapid construction of temporary runways and landing strips. By the end of the war marston mat was being manufactured in an aluminum alloy. Ray madonna usmc ret 10 may 2014 in may 2014 on the occasion of a class reunion in san antonio texas a group of my 1962 us naval academy classmates asked me to give a talk at san antonio s vietnam veterans memorial.

The material is also commonly known as marston mats or marston plate for a town in north carolina adjacent to camp mackall airfield where the. The united states air force and marine corps currently use a matting system known as am 2 for rpre as shown in figure 1 and detailed in figure 2. Us army each section of mat ran 10 feet long by 15 inches wide with integrated hooks and slots so a construction battalion of navy seabees could. Marine fighter attack squadron 212 vmfa 212 was a united states marine corps f a 18 hornet squadron.

The site was the statue depicting a scene from a battle at hill 881south. Unlike the marston matting and crushed coral of world war ii the marines would call on. It was intended for special airborne operations but the war ended before it saw combat. Because of this the marine corps has been trying several types of expeditionary airfields since early in.

Inevitably marston mat became damaged by use but it was not dis carded. Most recently known as the lancers the squadron was last based at marine corps air station iwakuni japan and fell under the command of marine aircraft group 12 mag 12 and the 1st marine aircraft wing 1st maw. The name and the airport entered the history of vietnam and the united states in the first half of 1965 when marines and the seabees of naval mobile construction battalion nmcb 10 arrived and turned the coastal area into a major military installation. Marston mat was extensively used during world war ii by army engineers and seabees construction battalions to build runways and other readily usable surfaces over all kinds of terrain.

Operation beacon star khe sanh the 1967 hill fights by lt. Otherwise identical to steel mat its unit weight was 32 5 pounds. An early in theater use of psp was in constructing a 5 000 foot runway on greenland s bluie west one bw 1 an allied ferry command and u s a a f airfield located on the extreme southwest corner of.