This is the story (as far as the limited sources allow me to reconstruct)

The Nissen Hut was developed in 1915 by the British presumably to provide
temporary accommodation for the military before their Generals killed them
all in France.

Anyway the main frames of the huts were constructed from "T" iron ribs with
timber purlins supporting corrugated iron sheeting. They were semi-circular
in section. There were several standard spans manufactured. The length was
variable sections could be added to make the building longer. The ends could
vary as well. Dormer windows and doors could be added at the sides as well.
The floor could either be concrete or wooden.

In short the basic form was fairly variable within the confines of the
standard construction system.

The Quonset hut was basically similar and was designed by a George Fuller in
1941 and first built at Quonset point. The Quonset hut was made from
segmented steel ribs spaced 4 ft apart to which corrugated galvanised iron
was attached. The ribs were stiffened by metal purlins and wooden headers.
Like the Nissen hut the length could be variable and the arrangement of
windows, doors and floors varied as well. There were 86 different Quonset
designs.

Similar but larger designs are termed Igloo designs but as their span was
much larger a more sophisticated truss system was required thus the Igloo's
are actually quite different from the Nissen and the Quonset Huts.

The main sources of information have been posted but the above understanding
derives from

Francis, P. 1996. British Military Airfield Architecture: from Airships to
the Jet Age. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Limited.

Innes, G.B. 2000. British Airfield Buildings Volume 2: The Expansion &
Inter-War Periods. Hersham: Midland Publishing.

Pullar, M. 1997. Prefabricated WWII Structures in Queensland. Report to
National Trust of Queensland

Next week I have to venture out to meet some buildings in the flesh so it
will be interesting to see whether I can tell the difference!


Dr Iain Stuart
Principal, Archaeology and Heritage Management
HLA-Envirosciences Pty. Ltd.
P.O. Box 726
Pymble, NSW 2073
Australia

Ph.  61 2 99884422
Fax  61 2 99884441