Amphibious vehicle

A DUKW (commonly DUCK), during World War II

Propeller on a French VAB

An amphibian or amphibious vehicle, is a vehicle that, like an amphibian, can move on land as well as on water.

The first known self-propelled amphibious vehicle, a steam dredger named the Orukter Amphibolos, was demonstrated by United States inventor Oliver Evans in 1805, although it is not known to ever have travelled overland. A year later in 1806 the French Fournier blended a boat-like hull with a car frame to produce the first true amphibious vehicle.

Several amphibious automobiles have been developed, including the Amphicar in the 1960s and the contemporary Gibbs Aquada.

Military applications

Tanks and Armored Vehicles

Many modern tanks and armoured personnel carriers have an amphibious mode in which a fabric skirt adds buoyancy, and the tracks, sometimes with added propellor, to provide motive power. The Sherman DD tank used in the D-Day invasion had this setup.

Some military vehicles are not truly amphibious but are capable of "wading" using waterproof screens to keep the upper hull dry. In WWII the tanks following the Sherman DDs were given waterproofed hulls and trunking was fixed to the engine intakes and exhausts to allow them to come ashore from landing craft in shallow water. The Germans gave their Tiger tank a long schnorkel, essentially a long tube on the commanders hatch that allowed it to wade through 4 metres of water.

A modern amphibious vehicle, the Véhicule de l'Avant Blindé or VAB ("Armoured Vanguard Vehicle" in French), can be used as a personnel carrier, anti-tank missile platform and even for riot control with a water cannon. The United States Marine Corps currently uses the AAV7A-1 Amphibious Assault Vehicle.

Trucks

Less heavily armoured vehicles need only a waterproof hull and a propellor. The most famous such vehicle of World War II was the DUKW Amphibious Truck. It was deployed in the Pacific theatre to establish and supply beachheads. It was designed as a wartime project by Sparkman & Stephens, the famous yacht design firm who also designed the hull for the Ford GPA amphibious jeep. Second best known is the German Schwimmwagen, a small jeep-like vehicle designed by the Porsche engineering firm in 1938 and widely used throughout the war. The amphibious bodywork was designed by Erwin Komenda, the firm's body construction designer, using the engine and drive train of the Kübelwagen.

One of the amphibious jeeps, Half-Safe, was driven and sailed around the world by Ben Carlin in the 1950s.

During the Vietnam War, the US Army used the amphibious Gama Goat to move supplies through the canals and rice paddies of Southeast Asia.

The British used the wheeled Alvis Stalwart as their amphibious cargo carrier.

Amphibious vehicles are slowly being supplanted by air cushion vehicles, such as hovercraft, in many modern militaries.

See also

* Amphibious assault ship

Further reading

* Ben Carlin, Half-Safe, Andre Deutsch Ltd 1955
* Ben Carlin, The Other Half of Ben Carlin, ISBN 0959873112, Guildford Grammar School Foundation 1989

External links

* Amphicars
* Aquada
* Portland Ducks - Amphibious Land & Water Tours
* Dutton Mariner - Amphibious car
* Cool Amphibious Manufacturers International - car, truck and Terra Wind RV
* Heavylift Hovercraft
* Half-Safe
* The Amphibious Jeep Half-Safe
* Various military amphibious vehicles
* "Amphibious" Land Rover