the basic core element of a truss core panel formed in accordance with the invention the equilateral triangular cross sectionally shaped tube 11 illustrated in fig1 may be formed of various materials in various ways for example the equilateral triangular cross sectionally shaped tube 11 may be formed of a homogeneous high strength to weight material such as an aluminum or titanium alloy tubes formed of such material may be created by conventional pultrusion techniques for example alternatively the equilateral triangular cross sectionally shaped tube 11 may be formed of a composite material having an even higher strength to weight ratio a suitable composite material is a ply laminate wherein the plies are formed of suitably strong fibers such as glass or graphite fibers bonded together by a suitable resin the tubes may be formed by machine winding glass or graphite fibers coated with a suitable resin on a triangular forming mandrel so as to form a series of plies and then curing the resin alternatively the equilateral triangular cross sectionally shaped tubes may be formed by pulling a series of separate tapes formed of glass or graphite fibers coated with a suitable resin through a die pultrusion so that the desired number of tube layers are formed and then curing the resin in accordance with the invention panels are formed using a plurality of tubes of the type illustrated in fig1 an end cross sectional view of a part of the least complicated of such panels is illustrated in fig2 the truss core panel illustrated in fig2 includes a plurality of.