📌 GMC DUKW Amphibious Transport, IWM Duxford.
Nicknamed the ''Duck'' the DUKW is an American Six-Wheel-Drive Amphibious Vehicle modified from the 2+1⁄2-ton CCKW Truck, used by the U.S Military during World War Two and the Korean War. Designed by a partnership under Military auspices of Sparkman & Stephens and General Motors Corporation (GMC) the DUKW was used for the transportation of goods and Troops over land and water. Excelling at approaching and crossing beaches in Amphibious Warfare attacks, it was intended only to last long enough to meet the demands of Combat. Surviving DUKW's have since found popularity as tourist craft in marine environments.
The name ''DUKW'' comes from General Motors Corporation model nomenclature:-
D - 1942 production series
U - Utility
K - front wheel drive
W - tandem rear axles, both driven
Decades later, the designation was explained erroneously by writers such as Donald Clarke, who wrote in 1978 that it was an initialism for "Duplex Universal Karrier, Wheeled". The U.S Navy-Marine Corps alternative designation of LVW (Landing Vehicle, Wheeled) was seldom used.
The DUKW was designed by Rod Stephens Jr. of Sparkman & Stephens, Inc. yacht designers, Dennis Puleston, a British deep-water sailor resident in the U.S and Frank W. Speir from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Developed by the National Defense Research Committee and the Office of Scientific Research and Development to solve the problem of 'resupply' to Units which had just performed an amphibious landing, it was initially rejected by the Armed Services.
The DUKW was built around the GMC AFKWX, a cab-over-engine (COE) version of the GMC CCKW Six-Wheel-Drive Military Truck, with the addition of a watertight hull and a propeller, she was powered by a GMC Model 270 4 litre straight-six engine with a five-speed overdrive transmission driving a transfer case for the propeller, then a two-speed transfer case to drive the axles. The propeller and front axle were selectable from their transfer case, a power take-off on the transmission drove an air-compressor and winch. The vehicle weighed 13,000lb empty and operated at 50mph on road and 5.5 knots (6.3 mph) on water.
It was not an Armoured Vehicle, being plated with sheet steel between 1⁄16 and 1⁄8 inch thick to minimize weight. A high-capacity bilge pump system kept it afloat if the thin hull was breached by holes up to 2in in diameter, one in four DUKW's mounted a .50 caliber Browning Heavy Machine Gun on a ring mount. The DUKW was the first vehicle to allow the Driver to vary the tyre pressure from inside the cab, the tyres could be fully inflated for hard surfaces such as roads and less inflated for softer surfaces, especially beach sand. This added to its versatility as an Amphibious Vehicle. This is now a standard feature found on many military vehicles.
When a United States Coast Guard Patrol Craft ran aground on a sand bar near Provincetown, Massachusetts, an experimental DUKW happened to be in the area for a demonstration. With winds up to 69 mph, rain, and heavy surf prevented conventional craft from rescuing the seven stranded Coast Guardsmen, but the DUKW had no trouble, so the Military opposition to the DUKW melted, and later proved its seaworthiness by crossing the English Channel. The final production design was perfected by a few engineers at Yellow Truck & Coach in Pontiac, Michigan. The vehicle was built by Yellow Truck and Coach Co. (GMC Truck and Coach Div. after 1943) at their Pontiac West Assembly Plant and Chevrolet Div. of General Motors Corp. at their St. Louis Truck Assembly Plant, 21,147 units were manufactured before production ended in 1945.
The DUKW was supplied to the U.S Army, U.S Marine Corps and the Allied Forces, and 2,000 were supplied to Britain under the 'Lend-Lease' program, 535 were acquired by Australian Forces, and 586 were supplied to the Soviet Union, which built its own version, the BAV 485, after the war. DUKW's were initially sent to Guadalcanal in the Pacific Theater, but were used by an Invasion Force for the first time in the European Theater, during the Sicilian Invasion, Operation Husky, in the Mediterranean. They were used on the D-Day Beaches of Normandy and in the Battle of the Scheldt, Operation Veritable, and Operation Plunder.
In the Pacific, USMC DUKW's were used to cross the coral reefs of islands such as Saipan and Guam and the tires were not affected by the coral. Some DUKW's used in World War Two were reported to have capsized while landing at Omaha beach during the Normandy Invasion.
DUKW's were also used in Lake Garda in Italy by the 10th Mountain Division in the final days of the war. One sank crossing from Torbole sul Garda to Riva del Garda on the evening of 30th April 1945, 25 out of the 26 onboard died. Two other DUKW's sank without casualties.
▪︎Type: Amphibious Transport
▪︎Place of Origin: United States
▪︎Manufacturer: GMC Truck and Coach Chevrolet
▪︎Produced: 1942 to 1945
▪︎Number Built: 21,147
▪︎Mass: 13,600lb empty
▪︎Length: 31ft / Width: 8ft / Height: 8ft 10in with top up / 7ft 1in minimum
▪︎Crew: 1
▪︎Main Armament: Ring mount for .50in M2 Browning Machine Gun fitted to one out of four ▪︎DUKW's
▪︎Powerplant: GMC Model 270 91hp
▪︎Payload Capacity: 5,000lb or 24 Personnel
▪︎Suspension: Live axles on leaf springs
▪︎Operational Range: 400 miles on road
▪︎Maximum Speed: 50mph on road / 6.4mph in water.
📌 GMC DUKW Amphibious Transport, IWM Duxford.
Nicknamed the ''Duck'' the DUKW is an American Six-Wheel-Drive Amphibious Vehicle modified from the 2+1⁄2-ton CCKW Truck, used by the U.S Military during World War Two and the Korean War. Designed by a partnership under Military auspices of Sparkman & Stephens and General Motors Corporation (GMC) the DUKW was used for the transportation of goods and Troops over land and water. Excelling at approaching and crossing beaches in Amphibious Warfare attacks, it was intended only to last long enough to meet the demands of Combat. Surviving DUKW's have since found popularity as tourist craft in marine environments.
The name ''DUKW'' comes from General Motors Corporation model nomenclature:-
D - 1942 production series
U - Utility
K - front wheel drive
W - tandem rear axles, both driven
Decades later, the designation was explained erroneously by writers such as Donald Clarke, who wrote in 1978 that it was an initialism for "Duplex Universal Karrier, Wheeled". The U.S Navy-Marine Corps alternative designation of LVW (Landing Vehicle, Wheeled) was seldom used.
The DUKW was designed by Rod Stephens Jr. of Sparkman & Stephens, Inc. yacht designers, Dennis Puleston, a British deep-water sailor resident in the U.S and Frank W. Speir from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Developed by the National Defense Research Committee and the Office of Scientific Research and Development to solve the problem of 'resupply' to Units which had just performed an amphibious landing, it was initially rejected by the Armed Services.
The DUKW was built around the GMC AFKWX, a cab-over-engine (COE) version of the GMC CCKW Six-Wheel-Drive Military Truck, with the addition of a watertight hull and a propeller, she was powered by a GMC Model 270 4 litre straight-six engine with a five-speed overdrive transmission driving a transfer case for the propeller, then a two-speed transfer case to drive the axles. The propeller and front axle were selectable from their transfer case, a power take-off on the transmission drove an air-compressor and winch. The vehicle weighed 13,000lb empty and operated at 50mph on road and 5.5 knots (6.3 mph) on water.
It was not an Armoured Vehicle, being plated with sheet steel between 1⁄16 and 1⁄8 inch thick to minimize weight. A high-capacity bilge pump system kept it afloat if the thin hull was breached by holes up to 2in in diameter, one in four DUKW's mounted a .50 caliber Browning Heavy Machine Gun on a ring mount. The DUKW was the first vehicle to allow the Driver to vary the tyre pressure from inside the cab, the tyres could be fully inflated for hard surfaces such as roads and less inflated for softer surfaces, especially beach sand. This added to its versatility as an Amphibious Vehicle. This is now a standard feature found on many military vehicles.
When a United States Coast Guard Patrol Craft ran aground on a sand bar near Provincetown, Massachusetts, an experimental DUKW happened to be in the area for a demonstration. With winds up to 69 mph, rain, and heavy surf prevented conventional craft from rescuing the seven stranded Coast Guardsmen, but the DUKW had no trouble, so the Military opposition to the DUKW melted, and later proved its seaworthiness by crossing the English Channel. The final production design was perfected by a few engineers at Yellow Truck & Coach in Pontiac, Michigan. The vehicle was built by Yellow Truck and Coach Co. (GMC Truck and Coach Div. after 1943) at their Pontiac West Assembly Plant and Chevrolet Div. of General Motors Corp. at their St. Louis Truck Assembly Plant, 21,147 units were manufactured before production ended in 1945.
The DUKW was supplied to the U.S Army, U.S Marine Corps and the Allied Forces, and 2,000 were supplied to Britain under the 'Lend-Lease' program, 535 were acquired by Australian Forces, and 586 were supplied to the Soviet Union, which built its own version, the BAV 485, after the war. DUKW's were initially sent to Guadalcanal in the Pacific Theater, but were used by an Invasion Force for the first time in the European Theater, during the Sicilian Invasion, Operation Husky, in the Mediterranean. They were used on the D-Day Beaches of Normandy and in the Battle of the Scheldt, Operation Veritable, and Operation Plunder.
In the Pacific, USMC DUKW's were used to cross the coral reefs of islands such as Saipan and Guam and the tires were not affected by the coral. Some DUKW's used in World War Two were reported to have capsized while landing at Omaha beach during the Normandy Invasion.
DUKW's were also used in Lake Garda in Italy by the 10th Mountain Division in the final days of the war. One sank crossing from Torbole sul Garda to Riva del Garda on the evening of 30th April 1945, 25 out of the 26 onboard died. Two other DUKW's sank without casualties.
▪︎Type: Amphibious Transport
▪︎Place of Origin: United States
▪︎Manufacturer: GMC Truck and Coach Chevrolet
▪︎Produced: 1942 to 1945
▪︎Number Built: 21,147
▪︎Mass: 13,600lb empty
▪︎Length: 31ft / Width: 8ft / Height: 8ft 10in with top up / 7ft 1in minimum
▪︎Crew: 1
▪︎Main Armament: Ring mount for .50in M2 Browning Machine Gun fitted to one out of four ▪︎DUKW's
▪︎Powerplant: GMC Model 270 91hp
▪︎Payload Capacity: 5,000lb or 24 Personnel
▪︎Suspension: Live axles on leaf springs
▪︎Operational Range: 400 miles on road
▪︎Maximum Speed: 50mph on road / 6.4mph in water.