Editing Quonset hut

{{Short description|Lightweight prefabricated structure}}
{{Other uses|Quonset (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Quonset.jpg|thumb|300px|Quonset huts at [[Point Mugu, California|Point Mugu]], [[California]], in 1946 with [[Laguna Peak]] in the background.]]

A '''Quonset hut''' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|w|ɒ|n|s|ᵻ|t}} is a lightweight prefabricated structure of [[corrugated galvanized steel]] with a semi-circular cross-section. The design was developed in the United States based on the [[Nissen hut]] introduced by the British during [[World War I]]. Hundreds of thousands were produced during [[World War II]], and military surplus was sold to the public. The name comes from the site of their first deployment at [[Quonset Point]] at the [[Camp Endicott|Davisville Naval Construction Battalion Center]] in [[Davisville, Rhode Island|Davisville]], [[Rhode Island]].<ref>''Building the Navy's Bases in World War II: History of the Bureau of Yards and Docks and the Civil Engineer Corps, 1940–1946'', volume 1, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1947.</ref>

== Design and history ==
The first Quonset huts were manufactured in 1941 when the [[United States Navy]] needed a lightweight, all-purpose building that could be shipped anywhere and assembled without skilled labor.<ref>{{cite web |title=Quonset Hut Manuals |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/museums/seabee/explore/online-reading-room/Publications/quonset-hut-manuals0.html |website=United States Navy Seabee Museum |access-date=14 June 2024}}</ref> They could be assembled in a day by a 10-person team using only hand tools.<ref name="Vara">{{cite web |url=https://www.jlconline.com/how-to/roofing/a-brief-history-of-quonset-huts_o |last=Vara |first=Jon |title=A Hut for All Seasons: A Brief History of Quonset Huts |date=June 1, 2010 |website=[[Journal of Light Construction]] |location=Huntington Beach, California |publisher=[[Zonda Home]] |access-date=July 24, 2024}}</ref>

The [[George A. Fuller]] construction company manufactured them, and the first was produced within 60 days of signing the contract.<ref>{{cite news |title=Quonset Huts |url=http://www.polarinertia.com/may04/quonset01.htm |access-date=22 June 2024 |publisher=Polar Inertia Journal |date=May–June 2004}}</ref> In 1946, the [[Great Lakes Steel Corporation]] claimed "the term 'Quonset,' as applied to builders and building materials, is a trade mark owned by the Great Lakes Steel Corporation."<ref>"Not 'Quonset'", ''The Dunn County News'', March 13, 1946, p.1</ref> But the word is often used [[Generic trademark|generically]]. Today similar structures are made by many contractors in countries around the world.

The original design was a {{convert|16|x|36|ft|m|adj=on}} structure framed with steel members with an {{convert|8|ft|m|adj=on}} radius. The most common design created a standard size of {{convert|20|x|48|ft|m}} with a {{convert|16|ft|m|adj=on}} radius{{dubious|reason=If a hemi-cylinder has a 20 foot width, then I'd expect its radius to be 10 feet.|date=August 2022}}, allowing {{convert|960|sqft|m2}} of usable floor space with optional {{convert|4|ft|m|adj=on}} overhangs at each end for protection of entrances from the weather. Other sizes were developed, including {{convert|20|x|40|ft|m|adj=on}} and {{convert|40|x|100|ft|m|adj=on}} warehouse models.<ref name =ONE>Michael Lamm (Winter 1998), [https://www.inventionandtech.com/content/instant-building-1 "The Instant Building"]. ''Invention & Technology'', Volume 13, Issue 3, pp. 68–72. Retrieved 28 May 2020.</ref>

The sides were corrugated steel sheets, and the two ends were covered with [[plywood]] which had doors and windows. The interior was insulated and had [[pressed wood|pressed-wood]] lining and a wood floor. The building could be placed on concrete, on [[Deep foundation|pilings]], or directly on the ground with a wood floor. The original design used low-grade steel, which was later replaced by a more rust-resistant version. The flexible interior space was open, allowing use as [[barracks]], [[latrine]]s, medical and dental offices, [[isolation ward]]s, housing, and bakeries.

Between 150,000 and 170,000 Quonset huts were manufactured during World War II, and the military sold its surplus huts to the public after the war.<ref name =ONE/> Many remain standing throughout the United States as outbuildings, businesses, or even homes, and they are often seen at military museums and other places featuring World War II memorabilia. Many were also used around the United States for temporary postwar housing, such as [[Rodger Young Village]] for veterans and their families in [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], and the Quonset Park complex of married student housing at the [[University of Iowa]].<ref>https://spectator.uiowa.edu/2010/january/oldgold.html "Temporary Housing: Not Much, But It's Home", ''University of Iowa Spectator''</ref> Some are still in active use at United States military bases. The [[U.S. Department of Energy]] continues to use Quonset huts as supporting structures (fabrication and machine shops, warehouses, etc.) at the [[Nevada National Security Site]]. The repurposed huts were common enough that [[Sherwin-Williams]] introduced a line of paint called "Quon-Kote" specifically designed to stick to the metal structures.<ref name=Vara/>

== In popular culture ==
After [[World War II]], surplus Quonset huts became popular as housing in [[Hawaii]]. They became known as "''kamaboko'' houses" due to their half-cylindrical shape, similar to a slab of ''[[kamaboko]]''.<ref name=hierarchy>{{cite web|url=https://historichawaii.org/2013/12/28/the-kamaboko-house/|title=The Kamaboko House|publisher=Historic Hawaii Foundation|access-date=2017-07-21}}</ref>

The [[situation comedy]] ''[[Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.]]'', which aired on [[CBS]] from 1964 to 1969, featured Quonset huts as the [[barracks]] housing at [[Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton]], California.

== Gallery ==
<Gallery>
File:American troops marching to quarters in Ireland 1942-02.jpg|American troops in Ireland, 1942
File:Quonset hut emplacement in Japan.jpg|A Quonset hut being put in place at the 598th Engineer Base Depot in Japan, post-[[World War II]]
File:Nankin Value Battery Quonset hut Westland Michigan.JPG|Quonset hut adapted for commercial use in [[Westland, Michigan]]
File:QuonsetHutInterior.1950s.jpg|The original [[Saint Barnabas on the Desert|St. Barnabas church]] in [[Paradise Valley, Arizona]]
File:A Quonset Hut in Dade City, Florida.jpg|A Quonset hut in [[Dade City, Florida]]
File:American-legion-post-livingston-tn1.jpg|[[American Legion Hut (Livingston, Tennessee)|American Legion Hut]], [[Livingston, Tennessee]]
File:Fred's Tavern, Dodge City, Kansas LCCN2017709459.tif|Fred's Tavern, [[Dodge City, Kansas]]
</Gallery>

== See also ==
* [[Daniel House (Knoxville, Tennessee)]]
* [[Dymaxion deployment unit]]
* [[Iris hut]] and [[Romney hut]], similar British prefabricated structures used in WWII
* [[Jamesway hut]]
* [[Longhouses of the indigenous peoples of North America]]
* [[Nissen hut]] 
* [[Patera Building]]
* [[Abbey of Our Lady of the Holy Trinity]], a former [[Trappist]] monastery in Utah housed in Quonset huts.

== References ==

{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Quonset huts}}
* [http://varnumcontinentals.org/2016/04/the-quonset-hut-a-rhode-island-original/ Feature article on the design and origin of the Quonset Hut] from the Varnum Continentals historical organization in East Greenwich, RI.
* [https://dahp.wa.gov/historic-preservation/historic-buildings/architectural-style-guide/quonset-hut/ Quonset Hut History in Washington State from 1941 - 1960] from the Washington State Department of Archaeology & Historic Preservation.
* [http://guampedia.com/quonset-huts/ Quonset Huts] at Guampedia, Guam's Online Encyclopedia
* [https://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/hh/item/va2060/ Quonset Huts, At National Airport, Arlington, Arlington County, VA] at the [[Historic American Buildings Survey]] (HABS)
* [http://www.kadiak.org/quonset/quonset.html Quonset and Pacific Huts] at the Kodiak Military History Museum
* [http://www.historylink.org/File/9430 Pacific Huts] at the online encyclopedia of Washington State History
* [https://www.seabeesmuseum.com/visit/quonset-huts Quonset Hut (search Pacific Hut Company)] at the [[Seabee Museum and Memorial Park]]

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[[Category:Quonset huts|*]]
[[Category:Huts]]
[[Category:Iron and steel buildings]]
[[Category:Portable buildings and shelters]]
[[Category:Barracks]]
[[Category:Prefabricated buildings]]
[[Category:Military equipment of World War II]]
[[Category:Architecture in the United States]]