DUKWs
by Tony Wilson
Added to website 10 November 2010
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Ee Oop Me Duck
The phrase “Ee oop me Duck” has been a term of greeting used by some in parts of the North East Midlands for many years. However, and apart
from the feathered variety, there is yet another use for this word but not necessarily with the same spelling.
I refer of course to the DUKW. Universally known as the DUCK this amphibious truck made its first appearance in 1942 being a version of the
standard American produced GMC 6X6 truck and fitted with a boat-like hull to provide buoyancy. The name was derived from the GMC model designation
system. D indicated it being built in 1942; U for it being amphibious, K for it being an all wheel drive model and W denoted twin rear wheels.
From this came DUKW this subsequently being shortened to Duck.
DUKW Specifications
Crew 1 + 1
Weights: Unloaded 6750Kg (14880 LBS) Loaded 9097 Kg (20055 Lbs.) Payload 2347 Kg (5175 Lbs)
Powerplant 1 GMC Model 270 Engine developing 68.2 KW (91.5 bhp)
Dimensions Length 9.75 m (32.0 Ft) Width 2.51 m (8 Ft-2.9") height 2.69 m (8'-10")
Performance Maximum land speed 80 km/h (50mph) Maximum water speed 9.7 km/h (6 mph).
The Duck was produced profusely with 21,147 having been built by the end of the Second World War. The US Army, the British and many other allied
armed forces used the vehicle type. Being based on a widely used truck chassis it was a simple amphibious vehicle to maintain and operate. Its
performance was such that it could be driven over most types of terrain.
In water a single propeller at the rear was driven from the engine and propelled the duck with steering using a rudder behind the propeller.
Extra steering control could be achieved by making use of the front wheels.
The driver was seated in front of the main cargo compartment, this being spacious enough to carry loads such as light artillery weapons. It was
capable of firing some weapons during runs onto beaches. The driver was seated behind a folding windscreen and a canvas cover could be erected
over the cargo area. For driving over soft areas such as beaches the six wheels used a central tyre pressure control system.
The duck was intended for carrying supplies from ships over beaches, but it was also used for many other purposes. One advantage was that it
did not always have to unload its supplies directly onto the beach and was also able to be driven with its load well forward to where the goods
were required and then retreat.
Many were used as troop transports. Some were fitted with special weapons and some were armed with heavy machine guns for self-defence
or anti-aircraft use. A tow hook was fitted at the rear and some models also had a self-recovery winch. Twin bilge pumps were fitted
as standard.
Many Ducks were sent to the USSR and the type so impressed the Soviet Army that the USSR produced its own copy known as the BAV-485. This
differed from the original by having a small loading ramp at the rear of the cargo area. Many of these BAV-485's are still in use by the
Warsaw Pact Nations and the DUKW still serves on with a few Western Armed forces. The British Army did not pension off their Ducks until
the late 70's.
The Duck has given good service wherever it was used. It had some limitations in that the load carrying capacity was rather
light and performance in rough water left something to be desired, but the Duck was a good sturdy vehicle that was well liked by
all who came into contact with it.
So what has the Duck or DUKW got to do with transport in the 21st Century? Well since the turn of the century several of the refurbished
machines have operated a tourist service on, in and around the River Thames in central London. Acquired by an enterprising entrepreneur who
saw a gap in the lucrative London market, they operate in a bright yellow livery and provide very much an alternative to the usual tourist
trail run by the two main protagonists, Arriva (The Original London Sightseeing Tour) and the Big Bus Company. This alternative is provided
by a period of time spent on (or in), the River Thames, being as these vehicles still float on water due to their amphibious capabilities.
Tony Wilson
6 November 2010
1. After months of legal wrangling with the licensing authorities, one of the first DUKWs operated as Frog Tours roared into Parliament Square
from Bridge Street, on a cloudless blue sky day in April 2000. Adorned with the name Mistress Quickly the strange vehicle caused many a head to
turn from the usual tourist sights of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.
2. A year later and two of the DUKWs navigated their way along the south side of the River Thames near to Lambeth Bridge having entered the
river on a slipway adjacent to the ‘secret location’ of the MI6 building (top left of the picture), alongside of Vauxhall Bridge.
3. Having passed beneath Lambeth Bridge and with Lambeth Palace on their starboard (right-hand) side, the two DUKWs made their way towards
Westminster Bridge and the Houses of Parliament for about a twenty minute jaunt on the river before they returned to dry land. The London Eye
can just be made out on the upper right hand side of the picture.
4. By May 2003 matters had taken a bit of a turn and the company was reconstituted along with a name change to Duck Tours. Here we see the rear
offside aspect of one of the vehicles. This illustrates the excellent ease with which passengers could board and alight from these high wheel-based,
user-friendly vehicles. Steps appeared to be provided for passengers on either side of the vehicle dependant upon which side of the road, or
indeed the river, was served. At this time the start and finish of the tour was on the South Bank at Waterloo adjacent to the London Eye.
5. During 2004 one of the DUKWs was repainted into this wartime commemorative livery for the significant event of the D-Day landings that
occurred during World War 2. Here Mistress Quickly in her new colour trundled out of Whitehall into the south side of Trafalgar Square during
September 2004, somewhat ironically alongside a vehicle that was associated with the German car makers Mercedes-Benz.
6. Keeping to the military theme, another of the DUKWs this time one named Cleopatra, circumnavigated from the north side of Parliament Square
into the east side under the watchful eye of Churchill on his plinth with a full compliment of passengers. Note the placard that adorned the
statue that promoted Free Speech. For many years now an individual has waged a single-handed war of words at Parliament from a site on the
island in the Square and on this day had been joined by several other supporters. Significant were it not for the bravery and commitment
by the original crews of the DUKWs, we today may not have the freedoms to which we are accustomed.
7. Battle stations! Mistress Quickly appears to almost broadside one of the opposition on Millbank near to the Houses of Parliament. These
two were captured just off of Lambeth Bridge the DUKW in the company of an Arriva tri-axled MCW Metrobus. Twenty-one of these 12.0metre
long step-entrance buses were acquired through Ensignbus after they were repatriated from the Far East.
8. This image illustrates a couple more of the opposition that operated on the more traditional land-based tourist trail in June 2007. Here two
members of the Arriva ‘Low Floor Tourist Bus Display Team’ glided gracefully into Parliament Square from Bridge Street, just like the first
images in this article. On the left is VLY 602, one of ten Volvo B7TL with an Ayats body, alongside of VLE 612 an East Lancs Visionaire
bodied Volvo B9TL. Purpose built for the tourist work, one is obviously a full open-topper, whilst the other is a part open-topper that
allowed for all-year round and operation during inclement conditions.
9. Other deliveries onto the tourist trail in recent years have been twenty further examples of the Volvo B9TL / East Lancs combination, but
this time to the Big Bus Company. Here their DA 208 a similar vehicle to that operated by Arriva passed around the Marble Arch during March 2009.
However, more recently in 2010 six tri-axled versions of the same combination entered service.
10 ABOVE & 11 - 14 BELOW: But not all the DUKWs run in London. In 2003 another such operation was established in Liverpool with their waterborne element
concentrated on the Albert Dock area. Here a set of five images illustrate how the vehicles entered the water from dry land.
15. And finally. Another type of similar operation this time away from the mainland but nevertheless a part of our British way. For some years
there has been a tourist service on Jersey that during high tides has linked St.Helier with the remains of a fortification out in the bay. Here
back in May 2007 three of the fleet of ‘Puddle Ducks’ rested on the slipway between duties. These have since been replaced by a more up to date
version.