Another Lend-Lease. "Duckling" GMC DUKW-353

32
Do not believe it, but the material about the next hero of our series is very difficult to even start. It is difficult because it is really an outstanding machine. A car that was born during World War II and still lives even today. And precisely because it is known to all and not known to almost anyone.

Okay, try to start.



So, the hero of our story is a car ... No, something is not quite right.

The hero of our story transporter ... Again, not that.

The hero of our story is a boat ... No, by again.

The hero of our story is a pontoon-type ferry ... Lord, what is it really like?



Yes, we admit, never before have we had such problems. Describe, you understand, then, it is not entirely clear what. But glory to the statutes, they sometimes help. In this case there is a universal way-official.

The hero of our story is the amphibious vehicle GMC DUKW-353. In soldierly - "Duckling" (DUCK).



The car is largely revolutionary. Starting from the destination and ending with the manufacturers.

In April, 1941, the joint product of the automobile concern and ... shipbuilding company! The release of the amphibious assault transport of the long-base 2,5-ton amphibious truck GMC DUKW-353 was carried out by the concern General Motors Corporation and the shipbuilding company Sparkman and Stephen from New York.

So much for the wonder machine. According to the full program.

It should be noted that the car, which is known worldwide as the “Duckling”, looked different in 1941 year. His appearance in the modern form in the series began only a year later, in the spring of 1942. And two pre-production amphibians remained a “testing ground for design” design solutions. For prototypes we will return.



Today, when most combat vehicles have learned, if not to swim, then walk along the bottom and not to sink, it is difficult to imagine a time when amphibians did not even think about it. Young people today are surprised that during the Great Patriotic War, our soldiers forced the rivers on rafts, boats and in general on everything that could keep afloat.

And this despite the fact that, by and large, the Soviet Union is the only country in the world where they were able to fully make floating Tanks before the Second World War.

Meanwhile, even at the end of the last century 30, 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 cargo delivery and communication. And he does not need to swim.

But at the end of the 30-x - the beginning of the 40-s, the military began to think about just such a vehicle. Not yet about the car. Rather, about the boat.

Another Lend-Lease. "Duckling" GMC DUKW-353


The fact is that everyone understood 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. So, the American army will move to other continents and islands.

Consequently, vehicles will be needed that can bridge the distance between the amphibious assault vessels and the coast. Machines that could transport soldiers and weapons from side to side. And even better, right up to the position. Or, across the river or lake. Raine, for example. Or Mine.



This task was formulated before the designers and engineers of the United States. Create something, do not know that, but that was 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 company "razderbanit" orders for the necessary machines. Ford took up the water jeeps and General Motors trucks.

Very often, one has to read that 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.

Marmon & Harrington, an independent car company, was in a difficult position by 1935. And it was then that the management went to the contract with Ford. "Marmont and Harrington" began to redo rear-wheel drive "Fords" in all-wheel drive. In total, for 1940, the company offered around 70 all-wheel drive models and their modifications based on Ford cars.

It is this experience that determined the participation of "Marmon" in the creation of new amphibians. In this case, the specialists of Marmon Herrington not only completed the layout of the machine, but also designed power takeoffs with a drive for the screw and winch, the screw with a water wheel, bilge pumps, engine heat exchangers with a powerful ventilation system and a number of other units.

Worked on the creation of "Duck" and shipbuilders. More precisely, the shipbuilding company (maritime architectural firm) "Sparkmen and Stefen". It was the specialists of this company who developed the body of this car. From the classic boat-type boat specialists immediately refused. The presence of wheels virtually eliminated all the advantages of this body.

The boat of the new car was designed as a pontoon. Pontoon type allowed to increase the buoyancy and carrying capacity due to two floats in front (engine compartment) and rear of the case. The housing was welded from mm 1,9 steel. At the same time, the purpose of the car was taken into account.



Power braces and amplifiers not only performed their main function in the water, but did not interfere with the car when driving on land. The hull had recesses for wheels, axles, drive shafts and a propeller. But most importantly, the body of the amphibian was not carrying.

Now it is necessary to return to the “Duckling” prototypes. The prototypes were designed on the basis of the GMC ACKWX 353. It was this truck that was planned as the basis of a new type of car. However, by the time the serial production began, the GMC CCKW-353 became the base truck.

So, already known to our readers "Jimmy" is hiding under the water-floating body!



So how was our hero? We will go through the nodes and aggregates 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", the chassis "Jimmy".





The boat itself is divided into three compartments or parts. Accordingly, the bow (motor), airborne (cargo) and feed.

In the nose were the engine and radiator, access to which was possible through two special hatches. The first hatch provided maintenance for the radiator as well as the silencer, and served to exit heated air from the engine compartment. The second hatch provided direct access to the engine.





Behind the engine was located the control compartment - the instrument panel, the steering wheel, the driver's (or steering) seat, and the right-hand seat for his assistant or commander. This front compartment was protected by a windshield, and on the sides - by fastening canvas sidewalls. Above could stretch the awning. On parts of the machines above the control compartment, an 12,7-mm M2 X-Browning Heavy-Duty Browning Machine Gun could be mounted on the turret.





In addition to the usual GMC controls, the control compartment contained levers for turning on the propeller, pump valves, and tumblers for turning on tire inflation. On DUKW amphibians with adjustable air pressure in tires, a two-cylinder compressor permanently connected to the engine was mounted.

The load compartment, designed for 25 people, had internal dimensions 3780 x 2080 x 710 mm. Aft ramp was not. Loading and unloading of people and goods were carried out through the side. For the convenience of servicemen, the troop compartment could be covered from above with a canvas awning that was stretched over special arcs.





By the way, the “Duckling”, though waterfowl, is a truck. And the standards of the army truck were applied to it in the same way as to the land brothers. Hence the standard load capacity. On land, the car transported 2 429 kilograms of cargo, but on the water in general 3 500 kilograms!

Suspension and running gear (two-spar frame, box-type side members) of the DUKW amphibian did not differ from the base truck. All tires were single-pitch, oversized with a large tread pattern, denoted “reversible all-terrain vehicle”, with a single track.

For better maneuverability and ground clearance, they were supplied with 11.00-18 ten-layer tires instead of 7.5-20 conventional trucks. The centralized tire inflation applied to this car made the GMC DUKW the first production American car with a similar system.

By the way, the centralized tire inflation system on the go made it possible to adjust the pressure from standard 2,8 kg / sq. cm to 0,7 kg / sq. cm. Thus, a car with normal tire pressure had the highest possible speed when driving on hard surfaces (highway) and maximum permeability in soft ground (when going ashore).



In general, the amphibian's passability was very good: an important parameter, the steepness of the climb, particularly relevant when going ashore, was 31 degree, turning radius on land 11 meters.

It is very interesting to solve the problem of control of amphibians in motion. Control when swimming was carried out using the steering wheel, located immediately behind the propeller. The “Duckling” does not have a special mechanism for switching on / off the water wheel. The steering wheel was constantly connected to the steering mechanism by a cable drive and could turn in both directions synchronously with the turn of the front wheels of the car.

No less interesting is the design of the propeller. A three-blade propeller with a diameter of 635 mm was installed in a special tunnel located in the rear part of the machine and connected to the power take-off with three cardan shafts at once. What provided the maximum speed of movement on water 9,6 km / h!



The combination of these mechanisms gave an excellent result in water management. Amphibian had a circulation radius up to 6,2 meter! And the power reserve on the water 62 km!

By the way, the marine use of these special machines led to the appearance of atypical water parameters in their characteristics: the height of the freeboard (from the waterline to the deck) in the nose of the 584 millimeter, in the stern of the 457 millimeters, the draft to the front wheels - 1,12 meter, on the rear wheels of the 1,24 meter

An important part of any floating machine are the mechanisms of water discharge from the hull. Considering that DUKW worked at a wave height of up to 3 meters, and the casing was not sealed initially, the designers placed two pumps in the car at once for pumping out water. Centrifugal and gear. Both pumps were driven by a propeller shaft.

In the stern of the machine is a winch and fuel tank. Initially, the winch was designed to facilitate loading and unloading. The effort of the winch 9 t. But soon after the first combat use of amphibians, it became clear that the winch could also be used for self-pulling.





By the way, the “Duckling”, when landing, 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 the time, the British were the first in the DUKW amphibious fighting environment when they landed an assault on the island of Sicily in 1943. "Ducklings" showed themselves from the best side. Therefore, it was decided to increase their release.

If from March 1942, the Yellow Truck & Coach Mfg factories were engaged in mass production of GMC DUKW-353, then from 1943 the assembly of these cars was also started by Pontiac. In 1943, 4 amphibians of this type were manufactured, and by the end of 508 - 1945 units.



The importance of this car for the American army recognized fairly quickly. Almost immediately after the entry of these cars into the American army, an amphibious engineering command was created. It was this command that was subordinated to the engineering regiments and battalions equipped with GMC DUKW.

About the same scheme used in our country. True, the special command did not create. Amphibians were part of special separate battalions of amphibious vehicles, along with light amphibious tanks.

It is possible that the creation of a special management structure for this type of engineering machinery did not happen because they began to enter the USSR only in the second half of 1944. This led to a rather point application of amphibians on the Soviet-German front.

It is known about the wide use of this technique when crossing the rivers Daugava and Svir. Great help GMC DUKW provided during the Vistula-Oder operation. Many lives of Soviet soldiers were rescued by these unpretentious motorboats then ...

Even more successful was the use of GMC DUKW-353 in the Soviet-Japanese war in August 1945. During the fighting in Manchuria, the use of amphibians made it possible to solve combat missions with significantly less losses than when using ordinary means of ferrying.



Well, the traditional technical data of the hero of the material:

Dimensions:
Length: 9,45 m
Width: 2,5 m
Height: 2,17 m.

Mass complete: 6,5 t.

Load capacity: 2 300 kg (on land), 3 500 (on water)

Powerplant: 6-cylinder gasoline engine GMC horsepower 94 hp
Maximum speed: 80 km / h on land, 10,2 (9,6) km / h on water
Power reserve: 640 km on land, 93 (62) km on water
Crew: 2-3 person

Well, the last. Comparing this miracle of nature, you understand, there is nothing. Unfortunately, we didn’t have anything like that at the time. It's a pity.
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32 comments
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  1. +16
    12 December 2018 15: 32
    In the post-war years, we have created almost a copy of this amphibian, called BAV. The first was based on ZiS-151 and was called ZiS-485, further modification was already going on ZiL-157 and was called ZiL-485A, I still found such machines in my crazy youth, at the Shilovsky training ground, near Novosibirsk. They often traveled from the test site to Yarkovo along the Novosibirsk-Ordynskoye road, and we, traveling in an intercity bus, looked at them through the window. And at one time in one of the February issues of the magazine "Modelist-Constructor" there was an article with drawings dedicated to our version of "Duck".
    1. +3
      12 December 2018 18: 08
      In the postwar years, we practically created a copy of this amphibian, called BAS. The first was based on the ZiS-151 and was called the ZiS-485, further modification was already on the ZiL-157 and was called ZiL-485A

      By the way, there was also a purely civilian version on the ZIL 485 chassis. smile
      "Trawler-amphibious UROM-2 on chassis ZIL 485 for fishing in remote forest lakes and ponds. Used for transportation by land and water of fishing teams, their equipment and catch." Source: http: //www.autowp.ru/category/amphibia/83059/pictures/o8epzn


      UROM-2 '1972
    2. 0
      16 December 2018 00: 52
      In Brazil, they also made a copy of DUKW. CAMANF was called.
  2. 0
    12 December 2018 15: 32
    Thank you so much for the article. Here is a workaholic of war !!! Do not believe it, I saw this in 1986 in personal use in the Novgorod region.
  3. +3
    12 December 2018 15: 58
    In the photo where Soviet soldiers unload the gun ZIS-3 BAV car
  4. -10
    12 December 2018 16: 01
    Compare this miracle of nature, you understand, there is nothing. Unfortunately, we had nothing of the kind then. It's a pity

    Yeah.

    Americans they are so ... "stupid"
    ====================
    DAZ -485 / ZIS-485 BAS

    Your stories about landlysis can harm Soviet fans who believe that our country possessed some extraordinary technological capabilities, capabilities, etc.
    1. +10
      12 December 2018 16: 31
      They can, but only to stubborn "patriots", a true admirer of the USSR knows very well about the deep ass in which the country was ..., and how it got out of there and how much homegrown patriotism cost the country and how much time and effort was saved by following Lenin's slogan - to study .. ..,
    2. +13
      12 December 2018 16: 52
      Quote: Aibolit
      Your stories about landlysis can harm Soviet fans who believe that our country possessed some extraordinary technological capabilities, capabilities, etc.

      Normal fans of the USSR know what and how it really was. And from where did our auto industry, and the aircraft industry, and engine building. And so on, so on. Especially when you consider what RI simply did not have in fact, and suddenly appeared in just 24 years. After the collapse of the USSR, the Russian Federation lost a lot of things. Even simple ballpoint pens with an inscription made in Russia are somehow not found, even ordinary pencils are increasingly made in Russia. Electronics and elementary base for it? No, in Russia there isn’t such a thing yet. Although only in Novosibirsk there were NOTA and Comet plants, and also the Berda VEGA ... As one effective reformer once said, why should we spend on production if we can buy all this ...
      1. -6
        12 December 2018 17: 03
        Quote: Fitter65
        Especially when you consider what RI simply did not have in fact, and suddenly appeared in just 24 years.

        and why in the Russian Empire "it just was not in fact"?
        1. The Mongol-Tatar yoke ended in 1472
        2. We didn’t have to, how did the Americans cross the ocean and build everything from scratch
        3.RI - "gendarme of Europe" / V. I. Lenin "Events in the Balkans and Persia" /
        4. The contribution of Russia to the achievements of civilization is quite large:
        from gypsum / anesthesia Pirogov
        -to "a mathematical tool with a promising visual tube, with accessories and spirit level for quickly navigating from the battery or from the ground to the horizontal and elevation location shown in the target." Andrey Konstantinovich NARTOV (1693-1756)
        or
        the first detonation detonation of explosives (they blasted the ice on the Neva) using email. cable was carried out in 1812 in St. Petersburg / U. Bickford is "resting" because in 1930. banged /
        Why the share of introduced Russian developments in the world is only 0,3% of the world;
        and in the USA - 36%.
        riddle
        1. -1
          12 December 2018 20: 09
          riddle

          "Ah, the chest just opened" ...
          https://rg.ru/2017/09/28/rodina-filosofskij-parohod.html
          1. +1
            12 December 2018 20: 20
            Quote: VictorZhivilov
            "Ah, the chest just opened."

            and until 1922 without Trotsky?
            Let me remind you of the Russo-Japanese War (and before it the Battle of Sevastopol).
            With sailboats and smooth-loading muzzle loading tubes, against parachutes and fittings
            Fleet technical backwardness ..
            1. 0
              12 December 2018 22: 35
              and until 1922 without Trotsky?
              Let me remind you of the Russo-Japanese War (and before it the Battle of Sevastopol).
              With sailboats and smooth-loading muzzle loading tubes, against parachutes and fittings
              Fleet technical backwardness ..

              You hint that ... "the British do not clean their guns with bricks." smile
      2. +2
        12 December 2018 20: 26
        And where did our auto industry go from

        And note, this is the first all-Russian car. But, unfortunately, the series never went ...
        "The first car with an internal combustion engine in Russia. Its creators were EA Yakovlev, owner of the First Russian Plant of Kerosene and Gas Engines" and St. Petersburg engineer PA Frese, director of the Joint Stock Company for the Construction of Frese and Co crews. visiting the World Exhibition in Chicago in 1893, and inspecting the exposition of one of the first mass-produced cars of the Benz brand, Yakovlev and Frese decided to join their efforts in order to build such a car.It took three years to implement this plan.Yakovlev manufactured the engine and transmission, and Frese - chassis and body. In May 1896, the creation of the car was completed, then it was tested, and on July 1 of the same year the first Russian car was presented as an exhibit at the All-Russian industrial and art exhibition in Nizhny Novgorod, where he made demonstration trips.He had an evaporative water-cooled engine located at the rear di, the original patented by P.A. Frese steering design, belt transmission. Gears were switched by two levers under the steering column. The tires were solid rubber, the wheels were wooden, and the springs were completely elliptical (and not semi-elliptical, as on the cars of our time). According to the official version, only one such car was built. "Source: http://www.autowp.ru/unsorted/akovlev-freze/pictures/ln3048/


        Yakovlev-Frese '1896

        More about where our automotive industry came from ...
        "On August 2 (July 20, old style), 1916, a solemn prayer service and the foundation of an automobile plant, which by March 1917 was to produce 150 F-15 one-and-a-half-ton trucks under the license of the Italian company FIAT, took place in Tyufelevoy Roscha. house "Kuznetsov, Ryabushinskiy and K." Wartime difficulties and the weakness of the country's machine-tool base thwarted plans to build the plant on schedule. Nevertheless, the Ryabushinskys bought sets of F-15 vehicles from Italy, which ensured the assembly of 432 trucks in 1917, 779 - in 1918 and 108 cars - in 1919. However, the plant for the manufacture and assembly of their own cars was not completed. The reason for this was the October Revolution and the Civil War. " Source: http://www.autowp.ru/amo
        1. 0
          12 December 2018 23: 14
          Is licensed Fiat a Russian car industry?
        2. 0
          13 December 2018 10: 29
          Quote: VictorZhivilov
          And note, this is the first all-Russian car. But, unfortunately, the series never went ...

          You can recall the Lessner factory, which began to produce cars, continued production for several years - and closed due to lack of demand. Lessner spat on this matter - and switched to the issue of torpedoes. For them, the order was stable. smile
          Quote: VictorZhivilov
          On August 2 (July 20, old style), 1916, a solemn prayer service and the foundation of an automobile plant, which by March 1917 was to produce 150 F-15 one-and-a-half-ton trucks under the license of the Italian company FIAT, took place in Tyuffel Grove. The plant was founded by the Kuznetsov, Ryabushinskiye and K trading house.

          Hehehehe ... and in this case everything again rests on the economy and market size. Do you know why Ryabushinsky took up the factory in 1916? Yes, because it was then that state credit was allocated for the development of industry. That is, again, private industry developed on state money. And without them, she sat evenly, for sales in the domestic market did not cover the costs.
          EMNIP, at the end of the XNUMXth century, the director of the Kazi Baltic Plant wrote in relation to the domestic ship industry that the Russian shipbuilding industry is a chimera, incapable of independent life and surviving only at the expense of state orders.
  5. +2
    12 December 2018 16: 24
    Thank. The series of articles continues to delight.
  6. +1
    12 December 2018 16: 32
    hi Thank. Movies on the topic:
    Bundeswehr training film: "Use and operation of the GMC DUKW-353". Film 1957
    1. +1
      12 December 2018 18: 09
      Thank you for the movie. Indeed, the information there is good. And documentary always inspires faith.
  7. -2
    12 December 2018 16: 39
    the only country in the world where they could fully into amphibious tanks before WWII.

    Could what? Create \ adopt \ produce ...
    1. +2
      12 December 2018 17: 14
      Quote: Senior Sailor
      Create \ adopt \ make
      could in t37
  8. BAI
    +1
    12 December 2018 16: 55
    Compare this miracle of nature, you understand, there is nothing. Unfortunately, we had nothing of the kind then.

    But they were with others, the same Germans. In particular - such a thing:

    Vw schwimmwagen
    1. +1
      12 December 2018 17: 54
      laughing Rather, it should be compared with the Ford amphibian
      1. +2
        12 December 2018 22: 32
        laughing Rather, it should be compared with the Ford amphibian


        Studebaker M29 "Weasel" (T15) '1943–45
        1. 0
          31 January 2019 22: 14
          This is not a floating version.
  9. +3
    12 December 2018 18: 15
    Found an interesting book in the archive.

    What we call "Operating Instructions". It is the instruction manual. And the technical description "TM 9-802 Truck, Amphibian, 2 1/2 Ton, 6 X 6 GMC DUKW-353" for more than 400 pages - this goes without saying.
    1. +3
      12 December 2018 18: 16

      It is shown how to overcome the wave correctly.
      1. +3
        12 December 2018 18: 18

        And this is the transportation of "quite serious arilleria".
  10. +1
    12 December 2018 20: 55
    Thank you for the interesting, informative article. I look forward to continuing ... Good luck to the author and let him continue to please us with such wonderful material. smile
    Well, the last. Comparing this miracle of nature, you understand, there is nothing. Unfortunately, we didn’t have anything like that at the time. It's a pity.

    Yes, we didn’t have anything like that in those years ... but, the Japanese had it.

    Toyota Su-Ki Amphibious '11.1943 .08.1944–XNUMX
  11. +2
    13 December 2018 06: 58
    Thanks for the series of articles.
    Another interesting topic not covered on the topic of land lease is telephony.
    Military field telephones: EE-8, IAA-44,

    "A huge role was played by the communications and radio equipment obtained under the Lend-Lease. According to experts, in this area the USSR lagged behind the allies by almost 10 years. In 1942-1943. Allied supplies made it possible to equip 150 divisions with radio stations, and 329 divisions with field telephones. The 400-watt radio stations fully provided reliable communications to the Soviet headquarters of the fronts, armies and airfields (domestic industry began to produce them only at the end of 1943) The arrival of the American B-100 radio stations in the Red Army established the previously absent division-regiment link. And the import of telephone cables in 1943 exceeded three times its production in the USSR (in total, 2 million km were delivered).

    It is difficult to overestimate the delivery of 445 British and American radars in 1942-1943. (in the USSR at this time only began to develop prototypes). 200 high-frequency telephony stations (there was no production in the USSR) provided reliable communication between Moscow and such large cities as Leningrad, Kiev, Kharkov, Sverdlovsk, Kuibyshev and others. "

    The high-frequency headquarters of Stalin’s high command were American.
    1. +2
      13 December 2018 10: 33
      Quote: Grad-1
      It is difficult to overestimate the supply of 445 English and American radars in 1942-1943. (in the USSR at that time only began to develop prototypes).

      But Aunt Vika slanders that in the USSR in 1941 37 radars of the RUS-2 of all models were released, in 1942 - 53 radars, in 1943 - 68 radars.
      1. 0
        13 December 2018 14: 11
        there is another info
        “To summarize: the number of early warning radars of the Redoubt type produced before the end of the war was: RUS-2 (two-antenna) - 12; RUS-2 (single-antenna automobile) - 132; RUS-2s (single-antenna collapsible) - 463”.
        About radar came across infa only in the memoirs of Savitsky E.Ya.
        1. 0
          31 January 2019 22: 21
          And how do you think the radar station differs from the RUS "Aircraft Locator" except for the name?

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