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A lightweight prefabricated structure of corrugated iron having a semicircular cross section. The design was based on the Nissen hut developed by the British during World War I. The name comes from their manufacture site in Quonset Point, Rhode Island.
In 1941 the U.S. Navy needed an all-purpose, lightweight building that could be shipped anywhere and assembled without skilled labor. The George A. Fuller construction company was selected to manufacture them. The first was produced within 60 days of contract award.
The original design was a structure framed with steel members with a radius of 8 feet. The sides were corrugated steel sheets. The two ends were covered with plywood, which had doors and windows. The interior was insulated and had pressed wood lining and a wood floor. The building could be placed on concrete, on pilings, or directly on the ground with a wood floor.
The flexible interior space was open, allowing for different program spaces required by the military: barracks, latrines, offices, warehouses, medical or dental offices, isolation wards, housing, and bakeries. The entire assembly weighed 12 1/2 tons and could be broken down to a shipping volume of 350 cubic feet. Later designs created a standard size of 20-foot x 48-foot with 10-foot radius, allowing 720 square feet of usable floor space. Other sizes were developed, included 20-foot x 40-foot, 20-foot x 56-foot, and 40-foot x 100-foot warehouse models.
170,000 Quonset huts were manufactured during WWII. After the war, the U.S. military sold the surplus Quonset huts to the public for $1,000 each. Many are still standing throughout the United States.
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