All photos via World War II Database.
Basically they made the WW2 jeep amphibious. Pretty inspiring. I wonder why I haven't seen more on them? According to WW2 Database they made over 12000. It should have been a natural in the Marine Corps but its never talked about.
Basically they made the WW2 jeep amphibious. Pretty inspiring. I wonder why I haven't seen more on them? According to WW2 Database they made over 12000. It should have been a natural in the Marine Corps but its never talked about.
There are some still around. One was used in the late 40s to do beach profile surveys in California by surfing the Dukw. Yes, surfing. There are dozens scattered around water tourist locations, such as the Wisconsin Dells.
ReplyDeleteI got to drive one in Liverpool Harbour a few years ago. It was painted yellow, of course. It water-steered with the front wheels and was very easy to over-steer, between the slow response and the decades of slop in the linkages.
In Nam, we used snocats for a while, which are amphibious.
The downside to these beasts is they were optimized for flotation, so are most useful in secure areas only. Adding armor turns them into an APC or LTV
There are 6x6 & 8x8 versions, too.
ReplyDeleteHere's a link to the Quack Corps.
http://dolartpublished.com/twodukw.htm
With the jeep, I expect two problems: first the amphibious capability is only used a fraction of the time and imposes a big performance penalty afterwards. Second, the 4x4 capability has big limitations in the sandy and swampy terrain where amphibious performance is used by leading or scouting vehicles. The wartime amphibious M29C Weasel was developed into the larger post-war M-56 Otter and M116 vehicles, specifically for swampy terrain where very low ground pressure was needed in addition to amphibious capability.
ReplyDeleteThe DUKW, which really only refers to the 2 1/2 ton truck version (6x6), didn't have these issues because it was meant to be used as a resupply vehicle operating in prepared areas.
The Germans had an equivalent to the amphibious jeep, the smaller but supposedly very capable VW Type 128 and 166 Schwimmwagen that they seemed to like a lot. Part of this was probably that it was 4x4, which the normal kubelwagons weren't, and thus has superior cross country performance in addition to being amphibious.
Some of my project experience in the Army was with the Gama Goat -- a similar vehicle, a floater, with the same limitations noted by sfo above. Last time I saw one, it was down in the Baja, driven in a parade by Mexican Marines. I tried to photograph it but got waved away. hah (It was an annual parade in Mulege celebrating the years-ago repulsion of a US Navy "invasion" -- which was more of a visit but who needs facts.)
ReplyDeleteThe Goat, terminated after one production run, is a fine example of how a turkey can continue to get bureaucratic support with a misplaced "can-do" attitude. It wasn't a question of 'too big to fail' it was the persistent positive attitude which can be a detriment when misdirected to a poor objective.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gama_Goat
We provided a lot of these amphibious jeeps to the Soviets via Lend Lease. They formed 9 battalions with them primarily for river crossing operations. Of the 12000 we produced, I believe a large percentage were provided to Allies. Arsenal of Democracy days.
ReplyDeleteOf course, a bit of irony using the contemporary phrase "arsenal of democracy" while supplying the Soviets!
DeleteInterestingly enough a modified version of this vehicle was used to cross the Atlantic.
ReplyDeletehttp://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=110961
http://members.iinet.com.au/~daveb/halfsafe/halfsafe.html
http://www.4wdonline.com/Mil/HalfSafe/HalfSafe.html
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete