Us Official Photographs

9th Air Force in Normandy

Just a few miles behind the front lines in Normandy, France, 9th Air Force Aviation Engineers constructed emergency landing strips with "Hessian Mat" used for surfacing. After the selected site for the airstrip is graded and leveled, the mat, a tar-paper-like composition, is laid by trucks loaded with 200-foot rolls. A 50% overlap is maintained and the matting is cemented with a solution of Diesel oil mixed with gasoline. The mat is rolled with a Wabble Wheel roller and cement sealed by a jet expelled ingeniously by another truck. 1944