Sommerfeld Tracking, named after German expatriate engineer, Kurt Joachim Sommerfeld,[1][2] then living in England, was a lightweight wire mesh type of prefabricated airfield surface. First put into use by the British in 1941, it was a wire netting stiffened laterally by steel rods. This gave it load-carrying capacity while staying flexible enough to be rolled up.[3]
Nicknamed "tin lino",[2] Sommerfeld Tracking consisted of rolls 3.25 m (10 ft 8 in) wide by 23 m (75 ft 6 in) long. Mild Steel rods threaded through at 9 inch intervals gave it strength. The rolls could be joined at the edges by threading flat steel bar through loops in the ends of the rods.[3]
Sommerfeld Track was used extensively by the Royal Air Force in the Second World War to make runways at their airfields, as it could be deployed quickly.
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The ground was cleared and, if swampy, a layer of coir (also known as Coco Peat) or coconut matting laid down. The Sommerfeld track was unrolled over the ground, pulled tight by a tractor, bulldozer, or similar vehicle, then fastened to the ground with angle-iron pickets.[1] A typical runway made of Sommerfeld tracking was 3,000 feet (910 m) by 156 feet (48 m).
It would appear that this method did have some limitations and there are various reports of airfields being out of use during heavy rainfall due to mud, and the fact that the track would lift out of the ground. There are also anecdotal reports of it causing damage to aircraft, such as wheels being torn off.