Nissen hut
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Nissen hut is a shelter made from a semi-circle of corrugated steel that was used extensively during the Second World War by the Commonwealth and U.S. military to build army camps and airbases.
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[edit] Description
A Nissen hut is made from a a sheet of corrugated steel bent into half a cylinder and planted in the ground with its axis horizontal. The hut has an inner corrugated layer which is laid horizontally and spaced by timber purlins. This inner corrugated layer is carried on semi-circular steel ribs of three "T" sections, and the semicircular ends are closed in with masonry walls and built on a concrete floor.
Nissen huts come in three internal spans, 16 ft (4.88 m), 24 ft (7.32 m) or 30 ft (9.15 m). The longitudinal bays come in multiples of 6 ft (1.83 m).[1] The corrugated steel half-circles used to build Nissen huts can be stored efficiently, because the the curved sheets can be cupped one inside another.
- See also: earthquake construction
The Nissen hut is able to withstand earthquakes, because it has no weak right-angle bends between its walls, roof or foundation, and because of its circular shape.
[edit] History
The hut was developed for the British military by Peter Norman Nissen, a Canadian mining engineer, in 1916, and used extensively during the Second World War by both the Commonwealth and U.S. military to facilitate the construction of hundreds of new installations such as army camps and airbases.
[edit] See also
Quonset hut, a hut which is based on the Nissen hut, which was developed by the US Navy in World War II.
[edit] References
- ^ Brown, Ian et al. (1995). 20th century defences in Britain: an introductory guide. Council for British Archaeology. ISBN 1-872414-57-5.
[edit] External links
- Image of a World War II USAAF Nissen Hut
- Nissen hut pictured at nissenhut.com.
