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WWII barracks & bunks plans needed


cmjordan77
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Guest bangorbrownie

The sinks had two water faucets- one for cold water, the other for scalding hot water... Six toilets with three facing each other...some barracks didn't have any stalls! Just a room with six toilets out in the open. So much for privacy.

 

LOL! This was Parris Island SC in 1992 for me!

 

Are some of you fellas that were in the service like me inthat you could not wait to get out of barracks life, kp duty, etc, etc, only to wind up nostalgia for it? :)

 

 

Don't forget the latrine...

 

When I was in the Army Nat Guard from 2000-2006, I had the chance to stay in old 1940's-1950's barracks at Ft. Pickett, VA. From the looks of the interiors it looked like the last time any major renovation was done was the 1960's or 1970's.

 

But what stood out to me was how archaic the latrine ( restrooms) was. The sinks had two water faucets- one for cold water, the other for scalding hot water. I suppose that back in the day two faucets would have made sense if the sink was plugged up and filled with water. However, now that's a bit unsanitary considering how many guys use the sinks in one day over many years. So we have two faucets and I like to use warm water to take care of personal hygiene.

 

Another thing was the toilets which were in a little room. Six toilets with three facing each other. Some barracks had stalls, but no doors. But what was really great ( sarcasm), some barracks didn't have any stalls! Just a room with six toilets out in the open. So much for privacy.

 

Oh yeah and there were no urinals, just a long troft we pissed in.

 

I'm sure the soldiers of WWII went through the same latrine experiences.

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You might want to contact any local military bases in your area. You could probably buy an intact barracks and dismantle it. These buildings are always being demolished to make way for newer development. Ft. Lewis in Washington State still has older buildings in existence.

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  • 3 months later...

For those of you who are interested, I have access to GI barracks beds -- steel angle iron frames with tubular ends/legs that fold for storage -- have springs in various conditions. These can be stacked to make bunks using 4 tubular legs -- also available.

 

These are coming from a Boy Scout camp in north central Ohio -- the only problem is that you will have to come and get them.

 

PM me if you are interested. I am not sure yet of the price, but it will be reasonable.

 

Some by the way are marked "National Matches", so we know they came from Camp Perry. Others mau have other post markings.

 

G

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  • 1 month later...
Thanks 1st CAV, I sent you an email. Good news, I found BLUE PRINTS for a WWII Barracks building in a Field Manual, FM 5-10. This FM has TONS of blue prints for buildings, bathrooms, bridges, etc... It is a must have for someone who is trying to build a WWII building. It tells all the supplies you need, gives you full blueprints!!! I got mine for $15, what a deal!

 

Please send more pictures so I can at least get examples if anyone else has any info.

 

I will actually tell you another great place to look for WWII Office examples is on MASH. It is set in KOREA, but I notice TONS of stuff that I have seen in WWII Photos. I mean TONS of stuff. I have gotten GREAT ideas off the show MASH, seriously.

 

Thanks to all

I can't find FM 5-10. What year is it dated?

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I am sorry I did not pick up on this thread earlier....

 

A few years back the Museum of American History of the Smithsonian built a barracks bay as part of an exhibit. Perhaps they have some information that would be helpful to you. I believe theirs was set to represent 1941 or so.

 

Also, I believe there are still two story wooden WWI barracks still standing at Indiantown Gap Military Reservation (or whatever they are calling it these days) in Pennsylvania. They open them up every year for use by the Battle of the Bulge reenactment. Kinda odd to have the troops sleep overnight in a US stateside barracks and then go out and fight in the snow and the cold against the Germans in the following morning, but they do it!

 

Actually, I found this photo posted from the 2008 event, so I suppose they are still there.

 

Source is http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=htt...l%3Den%26sa%3DN

 

By the way, many have these have been condemned over the years as firetraps. They were never designed to be permanent buildings. Often the wood dried out to the point of being kindling. That and layers of wax on the floor, the tar roofing material... etc. I watched a two story barracks burn to the ground at Aberdeen Proving Grounds in less than 5 minutes during a fire training exercise! It was like watching the Hindenburg blow up, only at ground level.

Indian_Town_Gap_Bulge.JPG

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dogfacedsoldier

Fort Knox, saved an area for historical purposes. It is across the street from the brick high rise barracks. The area was Delta 18-5, when I went through Basic. It was an area for WWII tank destroyers. At least thats what we were told the painted insignia on the floor represented, and it had been there since 1940 or so. I always thought it was for a regular tank battalion. It is a company sized area. It is in a cleared area, when I was there you could look down the street and see nothing but barracks for like a mile. Now there is nothing there at all. The barracks building I was in had been converted to gas heat, and that was it. The equipment used to resupply the barracks came from the base dump. I know the steel mirrors did as well as the stoves. You might check farm auctions as I knew several farmers who used WWII stoves to heat sheds. My dad used one, which sold at his estate sale. By the way that exact area was the barracks/company area used in Stripes. The women's barracks was one of the other barracks in the company area. There are still some military junk yards left, one that comes to mind is near Rolla, Mo. I know Fort Wood refurnished their WWII barracks with a lot of items in the base dumps. I stayed in the barracks shortly after it opened in the 80's they were still working on it then.

 

 

Jon

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  • 8 months later...
  • 5 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...
What ever happened to this project?

 

He apparently has not done anything yet as his frequent post on Craigslist shows:

 

My current project - When my wife and I build my home, I am going to build an Authentic World War 2 barracks in my backyard. I have full blueprints to build it to spec as originally done in WW2. I have cots, and alot of stuff to fill the barracks, but I need more, please help!!! I need an original WW2 Army Pot belly, or Steamer stove for the barracks. I need more items. But when its complete, I am going to offer folks time to come and view the barracks, and have a living historical event for people to come and see, and enjoy. This will be great for vet's, kids, boy & girl scouts, older folks, younger folks, welcome to ALL.

Help me get this project finished and help me with my items so I can show America what the "Depression" generation did for us!!! They saved us!!

 

Let's see.... what will come first... the house for the wife, or the barracks? ;)

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  • 9 months later...

Hello,

 

I'm also builiding a barracks corner in my war room but I need the help of someone near the indiantown GAP barracks. I would be interested in having a high resolution picture taken from looking trou a window in one of the barracks looking over the over barracks. I'm planning to use this pics to put behind my display window. So it need to be a standing rectangular.

 

The reason I ask this is because I live in Belgium.

 

THX a lot,

 

Joachim

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Chad you still around trying to work on this project? What part of the south you doing this as I have 2 sets of bunks that I know my mom would love to move and free up some space as our barracks project came into reality!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Buildings 1049 and 1059

 

http://www.nps.gov/goga/historyculture/upl...gs%20Report.pdf

 

This was sent to me before a living history event at Fort Benning. They have an excellent "WWII Company Street" that has nine original WWII buildings- all of them taken down nail by nail and moved to the National Infantry museum. Event the streetlights are WWII period. This should be a bunch of good info.

 

 

OOPS! It's already been posted. Sorry...

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You need to look for a book called "World War II and the U.S. ArmyMobilization Program: A History of 700 and 800 Series Cantonment Construction" .

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  • 3 weeks later...

well,

I am but it was downsized alot. It didnt turn out anything like I really wanted. I just didnt have the room. I got the timber from an original old saw mill that was actually in operation well before WW2. I used rough cut timber. It more or less looked like a smaller version of the ones on band of bothers at Camp Toccoa. It has 2 bunks. I wanted to rip them out, and put 2 Army bunks in there. But for now, I have 2 wooden hand made bunks that i made. I know I have seen barracks photos with thrown together wooden bunks. Its not nearly what I wanted, but it was all the money I had and all the room I had at the time. I got to calculating the project and really putting things together and it was taking alot more than I really could do by myself. I have my field desk in there, some original WW2 chairs, my trunks, and some other things. I will try and post some of the photos soon. But dont laugh, its a good solid structure, I had to fix 1 small roof leak, but that was all.

Anyway, :) It was a good 1st attempt I guess

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  • 4 weeks later...

Do you still need WW2 dated metal bunkbeds and mattresses? I know where you can get at least a hundred metal beds- mostly 1941-43 dated- and probably enough mattresses to outfit a typical barracks. Reasonably priced too and in mostly fair/good condition. There are also enough mattress covers to fit over all of them.

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  • 6 months later...
charlesrmiller

Do you still have the beds? If so, do you have any pictures? I am doing a production of BILOXI BLUES and need to see if they will work on our set. What would the price be?

 

Charles R. Miller

Director of Theatre

PELLISSIPPI STATE COLLEGE

Knoxville, TN

 

 

For those of you who are interested, I have access to GI barracks beds -- steel angle iron frames with tubular ends/legs that fold for storage -- have springs in various conditions. These can be stacked to make bunks using 4 tubular legs -- also available.

 

These are coming from a Boy Scout camp in north central Ohio -- the only problem is that you will have to come and get them.

 

PM me if you are interested. I am not sure yet of the price, but it will be reasonable.

 

Some by the way are marked "National Matches", so we know they came from Camp Perry. Others mau have other post markings.

 

G

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  • 5 years later...

For those of you who are interested, I have access to GI barracks beds -- steel angle iron frames with tubular ends/legs that fold for storage -- have springs in various conditions. These can be stacked to make bunks using 4 tubular legs -- also available.

 

These are coming from a Boy Scout camp in north central Ohio -- the only problem is that you will have to come and get them.

 

PM me if you are interested. I am not sure yet of the price, but it will be reasonable.

 

Some by the way are marked "National Matches", so we know they came from Camp Perry. Others mau have other post markings.

 

G

 

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For those of you who are interested, I have access to GI barracks beds -- steel angle iron frames with tubular ends/legs that fold for storage -- have springs in various conditions. These can be stacked to make bunks using 4 tubular legs -- also available.

 

These are coming from a Boy Scout camp in north central Ohio -- the only problem is that you will have to come and get them.

 

PM me if you are interested. I am not sure yet of the price, but it will be reasonable.

 

Some by the way are marked "National Matches", so we know they came from Camp Perry. Others mau have other post markings.

 

G

 

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