Believe it or not, the material about the next hero of our series is very difficult, even just to start. Difficult because this is truly an outstanding machine. A machine that was born during World War II and still lives today. And precisely because it is known to everyone and not known to almost anyone.
Okay, let's try to start.
So, the hero of our story is a car … No, something is not quite right.
The hero of our story is the transporter … Again, not that.
The hero of our story is a boat … No, again by.
The hero of our story is a pontoon-type ferry … Lord, what is it in nature?
Yes, we must admit that we have never had such problems before. Describe, you know, then, it's not entirely clear what. But glory to the statutes, they help at times. In this case, there is a universal official method.
The hero of our story is an amphibious vehicle GMC DUKW-353. In a soldier's way - "Duckling" (DUСK).
The machine is revolutionary in many ways. Starting from destination and ending with manufacturers.
In April 1941, a joint product of an automobile concern and … a shipbuilding company appeared! The release of the new amphibious transport amphibious long-base 2, 5-ton amphibious truck GMC DUKW-353 was the concern of General Motors Corporation and the shipbuilding company Sparkman and Stephen from New York.
So much for a wonder machine. For the full program.
It should be noted that the car, which is known throughout the world as the "Duckling", in 1941 looked somewhat different. Its appearance in its modern form in the series began only a year later, in the spring of 1942. And two pre-production amphibians have remained a "testing ground" for design solutions. We will return to the prototypes later.
Today, when most combat vehicles have learned, if not to swim, then to walk along the bottom and not sink, it is difficult to imagine a time when they did not even think about amphibians. Modern youth is surprised that during the Great Patriotic War, our soldiers crossed the rivers on rafts, boats and in general on everything that could keep afloat.
And this is despite the fact that, by and large, the Soviet Union is the only country in the world where they were able to fully make amphibious tanks before World War II.
Meanwhile, even at the end of the 30s of the last century, there was no talk of floating cars. What for? A car is a tractor, it is a quick way to move personnel, it is, if you will, a means of delivering goods and communications. And he doesn't need to swim.
But already in the late 30s - early 40s, the military began to think about just such a vehicle. Not about the car yet. Rather, about the boat.
The fact is that it was clear to everyone that there would be no war on the American continent. As well as the fact that the United States will have to participate in the upcoming war. This means that the American army will move to other continents and islands.
Consequently, machines will be needed that can cover the distance between the amphibious assault ships and the shore. Vehicles that could transport soldiers and weapons from side to shore. Better yet, right up to the position. Either across a river or lake. Rhine, for example. Or Mine.
It was this task that was formulated before the designers and engineers of the United States. Create something, I don't know what, but to be good! Like that.
The main work on the creation of a new vehicle began with the two largest US companies - Ford and General Motors. However, the companies “ripped apart” orders for the necessary machines. Ford went into waterfowl jeeps, and General Motors went into trucks.
Very often you have to read about what the first amphibians were designed by specialists from the Marmon-Herrington company. Here it is necessary to clarify where such rumors came from and what this company was doing at that time.
The independent car company Marmont & Harrington was in a difficult position by 1935. And it was then that the management agreed to a contract with Ford. Marmont & Harrington began converting rear-wheel-drive Fords into four-wheel drive. In total, by 1940, the company offered about 70 all-wheel drive models and their modifications based on Ford cars.
It was this experience that led to the participation of "Marmon" in the creation of new amphibians. In this case, the Marmon Herrington specialists not only completed the layout of the machine, but also designed power take-offs with a propeller and winch drive, the propeller itself with a water rudder, bilge pumps, engine heat exchangers with a powerful ventilation system and a number of other units.
The shipbuilders also worked on the creation of the "Duckling". More precisely, the shipbuilding company (naval architecture firm) Sparkman & Stefen. It was the specialists of this company that developed the body of this car. Experts immediately abandoned the classic cutter-type boat. The presence of wheels practically eliminated all the advantages of this case.
The boat of the new car was designed as a pontoon. The pontoon type made it possible to increase the buoyancy and carrying capacity due to two floats in front (engine compartment) and behind the hull. The body was welded from 1, 9 mm steel sheet. At the same time, the purpose of the car was also taken into account.
Power braces and amplifiers not only performed their main function in water, but also did not interfere with the vehicle when driving on land. The body had recesses for wheels, axles, propeller shafts and a propeller. But most importantly, the amphibian hull was not load-bearing.
Now it is necessary to return to the prototypes of the "Duckling". The prototypes were designed based on the GMC ACKWX 353. It was this truck that was planned as the basis for a new type of vehicle. However, by the time the serial production began, the GMC CCKW-353 had become the base truck.
So, under the waterfowl hides already known to our readers "Jimmy"!
So how was our hero arranged? Let's walk through the components and assemblies of the amphibian, if possible without returning to the original truck.
So, inside the boat was installed almost serial, with some changes related to "waterfowl abilities", chassis "Jimmy".
The boat itself is divided into three compartments or parts. Accordingly, bow (motor), landing (cargo) and stern.
In the bow there was an engine and a radiator, access to which was possible through two special hatches. The first hatch provided servicing of the radiator, as well as the muffler, and served to exit the heated air from the engine compartment. The second hatch provided direct access to the engine.
Behind the engine was the control compartment - the instrument panel, steering wheel, driver's (or steering) seat and the right seat for his assistant or commander. This compartment was protected at the front by a windshield and on the sides by pull-down tarpaulin sidewalls. An awning could be pulled from above. On some of the machines above the control compartment, a 12.7 mm Browning M2 heavy machine gun could be installed on the turret.
In addition to the usual GMC controls, the control compartment contained levers for activating the propeller, pump valves, and toggle switches for activating tire inflation. On amphibious DUKW with adjustable tire pressure, a two-cylinder compressor permanently connected to the engine was mounted.
The cargo compartment, designed for 25 people, had internal dimensions of 3780 x 2080 x 710 mm. There was no aft ramp. Loading and unloading of people and cargo was carried out through the sides. For the convenience of the military, the troop compartment could be covered from above with a tarpaulin awning, which was stretched over special arcs.
By the way, the "Duckling", although it is a waterfowl, is a truck. And the standards of the army truck extended to him in the same way as to the land brothers. Hence the standard carrying capacity. On land the car transported 2,429 kilograms of cargo, but on the water in general 3,500 kilograms!
The suspension and chassis (two-spar frame, box-type spars) of the DUKW amphibians did not differ from the base truck. All tires were oversized single-sided tires with a large tread pattern, designated "reversible all-terrain vehicle", with a single track.
To increase the cross-country ability and ground clearance, they were supplied with ten-layer tires 11.00-18 instead of 7.5-20 conventional trucks. The centralized tire inflation applied to this vehicle made the GMC DUKW the first production American car with such a system.
By the way, the centralized tire inflation system on the go made it possible to adjust the pressure from the standard 2, 8 kg / sq. cm to 0.7 kg / sq. cm. Thus, the car at normal tire pressure had the maximum possible speed when driving on hard surfaces (highway) and maximum cross-country ability in soft ground (when going ashore).
In general, the passability of the amphibian was very good: an important parameter, the steepness of the ascent to be overcome, especially relevant when going ashore, was 31 degrees, the turning radius on land was 11 meters.
The problem of controlling an amphibian in motion is solved in a very interesting way. Navigation control was carried out using a rudder located immediately behind the propeller. The Duck does not have a special mechanism for turning on / off the water rudder. The steering wheel was constantly connected to the steering mechanism by a cable transmission and could turn in both directions in sync with the turning of the front wheels of the car.
The design of the propeller is no less interesting. A three-blade propeller with a diameter of 635 mm was installed in a special tunnel located at the rear of the machine and connected to the power take-off with three cardan shafts at once. That provided the maximum speed of movement on water 9, 6 km / h!
The combination of these mechanisms gave excellent results when driving on the water. The amphibian had a circulation radius of up to 6, 2 meters! And the water reserve is 62 km!
By the way, the marine use of these special machines also led to the appearance in their characteristics of atypical water parameters: the freeboard height (from the waterline to the deck) in the bow is 584 mm, in the aft part is 457 mm, the draft to the front wheels is 1, 12 meters, along the rear wheels 1, 24 meters.
An important part of any floating machine is the mechanisms for dumping water from the hull. Considering that the DUKW operated at wave heights of up to 3 meters, and the body was not sealed initially, the designers placed two pumps in the car at once to pump out water. Centrifugal and gear. Both pumps were driven by a propeller shaft.
There is a winch and a fuel tank in the aft part of the machine. The winch was originally designed to facilitate handling. The pulling force of the winch is 9 tons. But soon after the first combat use of amphibians, it became clear that the winch could also be used for self-recovery.
By the way, during the landing, the Duckling transported not only ammunition, paratroopers and other cargoes to the coast, but also quite serious artillery. For example, guns and mortars with calculations.
Like most American cars of that time, the British were the first to test amphibians in combat conditions during the landing on the island of Sicily in 1943. "Ducklings" showed themselves from the best side. Therefore, it was decided to increase their production.
If from March 1942 the factories of Yellow Truck & Coach Mfg were engaged in mass production of GMC DUKW-353, then from 1943 Pontiac also began assembling these cars. In 1943, 4,508 amphibians of this type were manufactured, and by the end of 1945 - 21,147 units.
The importance of this car for the American army was recognized fairly quickly. Almost immediately after the introduction of these vehicles into the American army, the amphibious engineering command was created. It was to this command that engineering regiments and battalions equipped with GMC DUKW were subordinated.
Approximately the same scheme was used in our country. True, no special command was created. The amphibians were part of special separate battalions of amphibious vehicles, along with light amphibious tanks.
Perhaps the creation of a special management structure for this type of engineering machines did not happen because they began to enter the USSR only in the second half of 1944. This led to a fairly targeted use of amphibians on the Soviet-German front.
It is known about the widespread use of this technique when crossing the Daugava and Svir rivers. GMC DUKW was of great help during the Vistula-Oder operation. Many lives of Soviet soldiers were saved then by these unprepossessing motorboats …
The use of the GMC DUKW-353 in the Soviet-Japanese war in August 1945 was even more successful. During the battles in Manchuria, the use of amphibians made it possible to solve combat missions with significantly lower losses than when using ordinary means of crossing.
Well, the traditional technical data of the hero of the material:
Dimensions:
Length: 9.45 m
Width: 2.5 m
Height: 2.17 m.
Full weight: 6.5 tons.
Carrying capacity: 2,300 kg (on land), 3,500 (water)
Power plant: 6-cylinder petrol engine GMC power 94 hp
Maximum speed: 80 km / h on land, 10, 2 (9, 6) km / h on water
Cruising in store: 640 km on land, 93 (62) km on water
Crew: 2-3 people
And the last thing. There is nothing to compare this miracle of nature with. Unfortunately, we did not have anything of the kind then. It's a pity.
