No ... nothing to do with Allied Carpets fitting you're gaff with a new Axminster !
IIRC the RAF had a Foam Carpet Laying capability from the mid/late 60's onwards. I seem to remember that Manston and Leeming, as MDA's, in the 60'/70's were responsible for providing runway foam carpets.
Do we still have this military capability in the UK ?
I was wondering if any PPRuNer's, either air or ground crew, would like to share any stories, historical or technical information ... perhaps hearing form anyone who might have put-down in form.
I know Manston was kept reasonably busy during the late 60's and 70's ... a regular customer "type" being the Beagle Bassett CC1 ... along with one or two Canberra's ... plus a few civil passenger aircraft with a dodgy undercarriage (or faulty bulb in the cockpit !).
Here is an official pic of a foam landing by XM244 on 9 June 1965 at RAF Manston. The emergency landing, undertaken in bad weather by Flt Lt Ron Ledwidge and his navigator Flt Lt Martin Fortune, was caused, I understand, when a faulty hydraulic sequence valve prevented the port undercarriage leg from lowering. Both crew survived thankfully.
I do remember a rather humorous incident at Manston where a rather over-weight MOD Plod tried to chase after a local tomato grower who was attempting to nick buckets of foam during the clear-up hose down. Apparently one of the constituents of the foam was sourced from ox blood ... which worked a treat on tomatoes ... that is until an additive was introduced to prolong the shelf life of the foam ... which was poisonous to tomatoes
Best ...
Coff.