From Battlefield to Corn Field
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by: fredthompson
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Quonset huts, originally a product of World War II ingenuity, are as iconic as the roadside diner. The huts were originally developed by the Navy Seabees by modifying the British Nissen hut design to include wooden lining, insulation and tongue and groove wooden flooring. They proved indispensible as lightweight, portable troop and equipment housing able to be quickly assembled in the field with just a set of hand tools. Quonset huts were so successful that returning soldiers purchased the surplus for their own post war housing, and universities purchased them for student housing. You can still see some of them in use today.
The first Quonset huts were constructed from T design, arched steel rib members supported by wooden purlins. Design flaws soon became evident as the military began using Quonset huts for more than just troop housing and equipment storage. These uses included showers, latrines, dental offices, bakeries and isolation wards, but the huts needed special layouts to accommodate these additional uses and related equipment. The original structure was replaced with a design that employed vertical side walls supporting an arched roof; the new setup provided much more usable space.
With no beams or trusses, and 100 percent usable space, the Quonset huts of today serve many purposes. The arched steel construction of a Quonset hut makes it one of the strongest structures in architecture; these huts can withstand the worst of Mother Nature. Farmers find them ideal for hay, grain, crop and machinery storage; some also use the structures to house horses and livestock.
Large Quonset huts also make fine, inexpensive airplane hangars. Labor costs are minimal when you construct your own hangar; all kits include an easy to follow assembly manual with concise instructions for connecting the individual steel panels into a structure capable of housing a small airplane and related maintenance equipment. Creating an airplane hanger from a Quonset hut kit is much less expensive than outsourcing the materials and work, yet you still enjoy the same level of security and protection from the elements by using a Quonset hut.
From their beginnings as combat field housing and storage structures, Quonset huts have evolved into versatile civilian building structures that are suitable for almost any purpose. There are Quonset hut kits for backyard workshops and machinery storage and light industrial and commercial structures; you can even convert a kit into a guest cottage, if you like. Accessories like skylights, windows and doors can turn a Quonset hut into a home.
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