Funny how many different names there are for PSP.
We always thought it stood for "perforated steel plate". In the Artillery
in Vietnam we used PSP for a lot of different purposes. It made a really
good ceiling and walls for bunkers. You could stack a lot sand bags on it
because of its strength although we usually suported it in the middle with
10 x 10's.
We used it for short stretches of roads in bad areas inside the fire
base. The road base had to be prepared properly for it to work right. If
there was any space between the dirt and the PSP the constant pounding
from vehicles going over it would create lots of dust durring the dry
season which would turn to mud durring the wet season. Slapping the PSP
against the mud would cause the mud to shoot up through the holes and make
a real mess of everything. It could go right up your pants leg if you
walked on it. Jumping off the back of a truck onto what appeared to be a
nice clean surface would cause the mud to shoot up into your face!
We had 2-1/2 and 5 ton cargo trucks with the standard wooden slat racks
on the back. Once those racks got broken up (which didn't take long) we
replaced them with a section of PSP (the type without the holes) to which
we welded metal stakes.
The stakes fit in the pockets on the cargo bed. These replacement racks
lasted forever.
Well enough for now. Thought the readers might enjoy some "PSP
stories".
Ken
===
To unsubscribe from the mil-veh mailing list, send the single word
UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of a message to <mil-veh-request@skylee.com>.