Marston Mat

The runway was surfaced with perforated high strength steel sheets, known as Marston mats.

As the plane was about to take off, the undercarriage collapsed and the plane ploughed into the Marston Mat runway.

As such, Johns was involved in the development of a number of new construction techniques, most notably the use of Marston Mat.

The Seabees put down a section of Marston mat runway that would become Point Mugu's first airstrip.

Part was sealed with Bitumen but delays caused by the weather prevented it all being sealed before being overlaid with Marston mats.

The aircraft ramp was made of perforated high strength steel (Marston mats) that was used extensively by the military during World War II for quickly establishing airfields.

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 material was first manufactured and used in November 1941.