A central tire inflation system ( CTIS ) is a system to provide control over the air pressure in each of a vehicle's tires as a way to improve performance on different surfaces.
73-619: The DUKW (GMC type nomenclature, colloquially known as Duck ) is a six-wheel-drive amphibious modification of the 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 -ton CCKW trucks used by the U.S. military during World War II and the Korean War . Designed by a partnership under military auspices of Sparkman & Stephens and General Motors Corporation (GMC), the DUKW was used for the transportation of goods and troops over land and water. Excelling at approaching and crossing beaches in amphibious warfare attacks, it
146-432: A sail -powered wagon in 1849. On testing, it reportedly tipped over 50 feet (15 m) from shore, from an apparent lack of ballast to counteract the force of the wind in the sail. In the 1870s, logging companies in eastern Canada and the northern United States developed a steam-powered amphibious tug called an "Alligator" which could cross between lakes and rivers. The most successful Alligator tugs were produced by
219-700: A 1948 expedition to Macquarie Island . Australian DUKWs were used on Antarctic supply voyages until 1970. From 1945 to 1965, the Australian Commonwealth Lighthouse Service supply ship Cape York carried ex-Army DUKWs for supplying lighthouses on remote islands. One DUKW is in use by the Technisches Hilfswerk (THW) of Germersheim in Germany , a civil protection organisation. DUKWs are still in use as tourist transport in harbor and river cities across
292-756: A derivative, the BAV 485 , adding a rear loading ramp. The Zavod imeni Stalina factory built it on the structure of its ZiS-151 truck, and production continued until 1962, with over 2,000 units delivered. Many were used after WWII by civilian organizations such as the police, fire departments, and rescue units. DUKWs were used for oceanographic research in Northern California, as related by participant Willard Bascom . Drivers learned that DUKWS were capable of surfing large winter Pacific waves, with care (and luck). The Australian Army lent two DUKWs and crew to Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions for
365-690: A ferry or as a floating bridge for trucks and heavy combat vehicles. Gibbs has also developed other types of fast amphibians including the Phibian, a 30-foot (9.1 m) amphibian that is aimed at first responder market, and the Humdinga, a 21-foot (6.4 m) amphibian that is capable of traversing extreme terrain. Many modern military vehicles, ranging from light wheeled command and reconnaissance vehicles, through armoured personnel carriers (APCs), tanks and amphibious warfare ships , are manufactured with amphibious capabilities. The French Panhard VBL
438-636: A number of amphibious APCs, fighting vehicles and tanks, both wheeled and tracked. Most of the vehicles the Soviets designed were amphibious or could ford deep water. Wheeled examples are the BRDM-1 and BRDM-2 4x4 armoured scout cars, as well as the BTR-60 , BTR-70 , BTR-80 and BTR-94 8x8 APCs and the BTR-90 infantry fighting vehicle . The M29 Weasel (Studebaker Weasel), whilst originally designed as
511-407: A similar way to a paddle wheel . The SBK Engineering Shuttle-Bike consists of two inflatable floats with straps that allow the carrying of a bicycle with a passenger. The ensemble, when deflated, fits in a backpack for carrying by the cyclist. Several amphibious cycles have been created by engineering students as university projects. Gibbs Sports Amphibians Inc. introduced a motorized version of
584-838: A snow vehicle, operated successfully in an amphibious role by the addition of front and rear floats. The basic vehicle will float but its bow is square so the additional floats add stability and load carrying capacity. Tracked armored vehicles with amphibious capabilities include those that are intended for use in amphibious assault . The United States started developing a long line of LVT ( Landing Vehicle Tracked ) designs from around 1940. Many tracked armored vehicles that are primarily intended for land-use, such as armoured fighting vehicles and armoured personnel carriers nevertheless also have amphibious ability, tactically useful inland, reducing dependence on destroyable and easily targeted bridges. To provide motive power, they use their tracks , sometimes with an added propeller or water jets. As long as
657-496: A vehicle through muddy terrain with a twisting motion. Most land vehicles – even lightly armoured ones – can be made amphibious simply by providing them with a waterproof hull and perhaps a propeller. This is possible as a vehicle's displacement is usually greater than its weight, and thus it will float. Heavily armoured vehicles however sometimes have a density greater than water (their weight in kilograms exceeds their volume in litres ) and will need additional buoyancy , in
730-447: A watercraft or a land vehicle. The design that came together with all the features needed for a practical all-terrain amphibious vehicle was by Peter Prell of New Jersey. His design, unlike others, could operate not only on rivers and lakes but the sea and did not require firm ground to enter or exit the water. It combined a boat-like hull with tank-like tracks. In 1931, he tested a scaled down version of his invention. An amphibious cycle
803-406: Is a human-powered vehicle capable of operation on both land and water. "Saidullah's Bicycle" uses four rectangular air filled floats for buoyancy, and is propelled using two fan blades which are attached to the spokes. Moraga's "Cyclo Amphibious" uses a simple tricycle frame to support three floaters which provide both the floatation and thrust. The wings on the powered wheels propel the vehicle in
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#1732772450310876-487: Is a DUKW hull copy manufactured in 1993 with unused World War II-vintage running gear parts. In 1999, a refurbishment programme began to extend their service life to 2014. DUKWs were removed from service in 2012. The DUKWs were used for safety, allowing all ranks to undertake training drills for boat work for the landing craft ranks, and drivers undertaking wading drills from the Landing Craft Utility . In
949-532: Is a compact, lightly armoured 4x4 all-terrain vehicle that is fully amphibious and can swim at 5.4 km/h (3.4 mph). The VAB is a French fully amphibious APC, powered in the water by two water jets, mounted one on either side of the rear hull ( see detail picture above ). It entered service in 1976 and around 5000 were produced in many configurations. During the Cold War the Soviet bloc states developed
1022-481: Is capable of traversing swamps, ponds, and streams as well as dry land. On land these units have high grip and great off-road ability, that can be further enhanced with an optional set of tracks that can be mounted directly onto the wheels. Although the spinning action of the tires is enough to propel the vehicle through the water – albeit slowly – outboard motors can be added for extended water use. In October 2013, Gibbs Amphibians introduced
1095-421: Is greatly improved. Softer tires also cushion against rough terrain and road damage, such as washboarding , more effectively. Reducing tire pressure also reduces the extent to which the tires grind against loose surfaces, significantly reducing dust and silt. Another function of CTIS is to maintain tire pressure if there is a slow leak or puncture. In this case, the system controls inflation automatically based on
1168-620: Is used in logging, mining, and power line maintenance, as it significantly reduces environmental impact when transporting logs, or travelling on gravel or dirt roads. From 1984, General Motors offered CTIS for the Chevrolet Blazer and various pickups . There have been attempts at employing central tire inflation systems on aircraft landing wheels (notably on the Soviet Antonov An-22 military transport) to improve their preparedness for unpaved runways . CTIS
1241-719: The 10th Mountain Division in the final days of the war. One sank while crossing from Torbole sul Garda to Riva del Garda on the evening of 30 April 1945, drowning 25 out of the 26 onboard. A documentary about the event, The Lost Mountaineers , premiered in 2023. Two other DUKWs used in operation sank without casualties. After World War II, reduced numbers were kept in service by the United States, Britain, France, and Australia, with many stored pending disposal. Australia transferred many to Citizens Military Force units. The U.S. Army reactivated and deployed several hundred at
1314-529: The Bronco All Terrain Tracked Carrier of Singapore. Central Tire Inflation System Lowering the air pressure in a tire creates a larger contact patch between the tire and the ground, and makes driving on softer ground much easier. It also does less damage to the tire surface. This is important on work sites and in agricultural fields; by giving the driver direct control over the air pressure in each tire, maneuverability
1387-864: The D-Day beaches of Normandy and in the Battle of the Scheldt , Operation Veritable , and Operation Plunder . In the Pacific, USMC DUKWs were used to cross the coral reefs of islands such as Saipan and Guam and the tires were not affected by the coral. Some DUKWs used in WWII were reported to have capsized while landing at Omaha Beach during the Normandy invasion. DUKWs were also used in Lake Garda in Italy by
1460-403: The D-Day invasion had this setup. When in water the waterproof float screen was raised and propellers deployed. The M2 and M3 Bradleys also need such a skirt. At the end of World War I a Mark IX tank had drums attached to the side and front and was tested as an amphibious vehicle launched into Hendon Reservoir . A modified Medium Mark D successfully swam in a river near Christchurch. By
1533-706: The First Indochina War . Some French DUKWs were given new hulls in the 1970s, with the last being retired in 1982. Britain deployed DUKWs to Malaya during the Malayan Emergency of 1948–60. Many were redeployed to Borneo during the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation of 1962–66. The Royal Marines used five of these vehicles for training at 11 (Amphibious Trials and Training) Squadron, 1 Assault Group Royal Marines at Instow , North Devon. Four were manufactured between 1943 and 1945. The fifth
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#17327724503101606-757: The Lend-Lease program; 535 were acquired by Australian forces, and 586 were supplied to the Soviet Union, which built its own version, the BAV 485 , after the war. DUKWs were initially sent to Guadalcanal in the Pacific theater , but were used by an invasion force for the first time in the European theater , during the Sicilian invasion, Operation Husky , in the Mediterranean. They were used on
1679-557: The PZInż 130 but dropped the idea of amphibious tanks as obsolete. A pontoon based tank, the L1E3 , was produced by Vickers in 1939. It was tested but further work was halted during WW2. It was tested again at the end of the war. In World War II the British further developed amphibious tanks. The Crusader was trialled with two pontoons that could be attached or removed, the tracks driving
1752-757: The Splashtours brand. The buses have a Volvo chassis and carry 43 passengers. The operation started in 2010 in Katendrecht , Rotterdam, was copied in Amsterdam in 2011 but suspended in 2012 after technical problems, and then relaunched in 2019. A tour of Lübeck was launched in 2014. In 2010 it was tested as a replacement for the ferry at Renfrew, Scotland, but not adopted. A similar service, using different vehicles, operates in Porto . Some amphibious vehicles, rather than being designed for land transport with
1825-628: The Willys MB jeep, the Ford GPA or 'Seep' (short for Sea jeep ) was developed during World War II as well. A specially modified GPA, called Half-Safe , was driven and sailed around the world by Australian Ben Carlin in the 1950s. One of the most capable post-war amphibious off-roaders was the German Amphi-Ranger , that featured a hull made of seawater-resistant AlMg2 aluminium alloy. Extensively engineered, this costly vehicle
1898-652: The 152 mm "gun-launcher" (which could fire the MGM-51 Shillelagh missile), and could swim across bodies of water. The M551 upon arrival in Vietnam began replacing the M48A3 Patton in all cavalry squadrons, leaving only the M48A3 in the U.S. Army's three armored battalions in Vietnam, the 1/77th, 1/69th, and the 2/34th Armor . The Sheridan needed no modifications for river crossings: crewmen simply raised
1971-561: The APC reached the other side, water would often fill the insides up to their armoured roofs, spilling through the hatches' cracks and emptying onto the earth once safely ashore. Often a fold-down trim vane is erected to stop water washing over the bow of the tank and thus reducing the risk of the vehicle being swamped via the driver's hatch. During the Cold War , the Swedish Stridsvagn 103 main battle tank carried flotation gear all
2044-615: The DUKW melted. The DUKW later proved its seaworthiness by crossing the English Channel . The final production design was perfected by a few engineers at Yellow Truck & Coach in Pontiac, Michigan. The vehicle was built by Yellow Truck and Coach Co. ( GMC Truck and Coach Div. after 1943) at their Pontiac West Assembly Plant and Chevrolet Div. of General Motors Corp. at their St. Louis Truck Assembly Plant ; 21,147 were manufactured before production ended in 1945. The DUKW
2117-716: The DUKW. An improved version of the Terrapin never got beyond prototype stage. During the war, Germany produced the Landwasserschlepper . In the 1950s, the Soviets developed the GAZ-46 , BAV 485 , and PTS . During the Vietnam War , the US Army used the amphibious articulated Gama Goat and the larger M520 Goer truck-series to move supplies through the canals and rice paddies of Southeast Asia . The latter
2190-464: The Sherman DD was used on D-Day to provide close fire support on the beaches during the initial landings. The Sherman DD could not fire when afloat as the buoyancy screen was higher than the gun. A number swamped and sank in the operation, due to rough weather in the English Channel (with some tanks having been launched too far out), and to turning in the current to converge on a specific point on
2263-732: The United Arab Emirates, with six additional vehicles being sold to the Crown Prince of Dubai. The WaterCar has also been sold to tech enthusiasts and residents of Silicon Valley. Other amphibious cars include the US Hydra Spyder and the Spira4u. Amfibus amphibious buses made by Dutch Amphibious Transport (DAT) in Nijmegen , Netherlands are used to operate tours of Amsterdam , Rotterdam and Lübeck , under
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2336-556: The United States and Canada. The wagon was designed in such a way as to be able to cross rivers and streams. The first known self-propelled amphibious vehicle, a steam-powered wheeled dredging barge, named the Orukter Amphibolos , was conceived and built by United States inventor Oliver Evans in 1805, although it is disputed to have successfully travelled over land or water under its own steam. Inventor Gail Borden , better known for condensed milk , designed and tested
2409-646: The Vietnam War, the M520 Goer developed a reputation of being able to go where other trucks could not. For taking vehicles and supplies onto the beaches the US used the 1950s designed LARC-V and the huge LARC-LX which could carry 60 tons of cargo. The British Army used the 6x6 wheeled Alvis Stalwart as their amphibious cargo carrier. In the water vectored thrust water-jet propulsion units drove it along at about 6 knots. The M3 Amphibious Rig can be used as
2482-642: The ability to cross water, are designed as water-transport vehicles with the ability to travel on land. The distinction is that the vehicles are designed to be high performing on water, with the land transport ability added to give additional functionality, rather than being the main function. Sealegs Amphibious Craft are an example of this, which are a range of aluminium three-wheeled fabricated boats (mostly RIBs ) designed and manufactured in Auckland, New Zealand since 2005. These craft can travel up to 39 knots on water, but travel at only 7.5 km/h on land, showing
2555-668: The amphibious cycle that resembles a jet ski on water and motorcycle on land. The model can reach up to 80 mph by land and 45 mph by water. Amongst the smallest non-air-cushioned amphibious vehicles are amphibious ATVs (all-terrain vehicles). These saw significant popularity in North America during the 1960s and early 1970s. Typically an amphibious ATV (AATV) is a small, lightweight, off-highway vehicle, constructed from an integral hard plastic or fibreglass bodytub, fitted with six (sometimes eight) driven wheels, with low pressure, balloon tires. With no suspension (other than what
2628-581: The battlefield, which allowed waves to breach over the screens. Those making it ashore, however, provided essential fire support in the first critical hours. Before World War II, The Soviets produced light amphibious tanks called the T-37A and T-38 . A third serial model, the T-40 , started production after the beginning of the war. A 14-ton tank, the PT-1, was created but was not mass-produced. In addition, an attempt
2701-498: The cloth sides that were tucked inside rubber tubes along the hull's upper edges, raised the driver's front shield which had an acrylic glass window, the driver turned on his bilge pumps, shifted his transmission lever to water operations and the Sheridan entered the water. For newly arrived Sheridans, this might work as engineered. For "war-weary" M551s, the driver's window was often "yellowed" or cracked as to obscure his vision, and
2774-523: The company launched their first commercial vehicle, The Panther, which has been featured on ABC's The Bachelor as well as USA's Royal Pains . The WaterCar can do 80 mph (129 km/h) on land, and 44 mph (38 knots; 71 km/h) on sea, and can transition from land to sea in less than 15 seconds. Since its release, WaterCar has been popular in the Middle East, selling to the Embassy of
2847-479: The design is made amphibious, giving them all-terrain capability in the truest sense. Usually, the front unit houses at least the engine, gearboxes, fuel tank(s) and the driver's compartment, and perhaps there is some space left for cargo or passengers, whereas the rear unit is the primary load carrier. Examples of this concept are the Russian Vityaz , Swedish Volvo Bv202 and Hagglunds Bv206 designs, and
2920-634: The early 1930s, Vickers had developed an amphibious tank. By using very thin armour, flotation could be achieved without external buoyancy aids. The British Army trialled the Vickers-Carden-Loyd Light Amphibious Tank but did not adopt it for service use. An order was placed with Vickers by the USSR for a small number of tanks. After negotiations to purchase the Vickers tank by Poland failed, they developed their own design
2993-709: The early 2000s after it was developed by a team assembled by founder Alan Gibbs before the company's engine supplier, Rover, was unable to continue providing engines. Gibbs and new partner Neil Jenkins reconstituted the company and are now seeking U.S. regulatory approval for the Aquada. In 2010, a Southern California-based company named WaterCar set the Guinness World Record for Fastest Amphibious Vehicle, with their prototype, The Python, which reached top land speeds of 204 km/h (127 mph) and water speeds of 96 km/h (60 mph; 52 knots). Since then,
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3066-479: The firm of West and Peachey in Simcoe, Ontario . Until the late 1920s, the efforts to unify a boat and an automobile mostly came down to simply putting wheels and axles on a boat hull, or getting a rolling chassis to float by blending a boat-like hull with the car's frame. One of the first reasonably well-documented cases was the 1905 amphibious petrol-powered carriage of T. Richmond (Jessup, Iowa, USA). Just like
3139-426: The first integral bodies ever used on a car. Since the 1920s, many diverse amphibious vehicles designs have been created for a broad range of applications, including recreation, expeditions, search & rescue, and military, leading to a myriad of concepts and variants. In some of them, the amphibious capabilities are central to their purpose, whereas in others they are only an expansion to what has remained primarily
3212-596: The flattest of landmasses so are also not considered to be amphibious vehicles. Two main categories of amphibious vehicles are those that travel on an air cushion ( Hovercraft ) and those that do not. Among the latter, many extend the off-road capabilities of land vehicles to all kinds of terrain, including ice, snow, mud, marsh , swamp etc. This explains why many designs use tracks in addition to or instead of wheels, and in some cases have articulated body configurations or other unconventional designs such as screw-propelled vehicles which use auger-like barrels which propel
3285-444: The form of inflatable floatation devices, much like the sides of a rubber dinghy, or a waterproof fabric skirt raised from the top perimeter of the vehicle, to increase its displacement. For propulsion in or on the water some vehicles simply spin their wheels or tracks, while others use screw propeller (s) or water jet(s) . Most amphibians will work only as a displacement hull when in the water – few can hydroplane , skimming over
3358-790: The globe. The first "duck tour" company was started in 1946 by Mel Flath in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin . The company is still in operation under the name Original Wisconsin Ducks. Amphibious vehicle An amphibious vehicle (or simply amphibian ) is a vehicle that works both on land and on or under water. Amphibious vehicles include amphibious bicycles , ATVs , cars , buses , trucks , railway vehicles , combat vehicles , and hovercraft . Classic landing craft are not amphibious vehicles as they do not work on land, although they are part of amphibious warfare . Ground effect vehicles , such as ekranoplans , will likely crash on any but
3431-460: The latter 1940s and throughout the 1950s, while Speir, now project engineer for the Army's Amphibious Warfare Program, worked on "bigger and better" amphibious vehicles such as the "Super Duck", the "Drake", and the mammoth BARC (Barge, Amphibious, Resupply, Cargo), many DUKWs were made surplus and used as rescue vehicles by fire departments and Coast Guard stations. In 1952, the Soviet Union produced
3504-528: The long-awaited Quadski, the first amphibious vehicle capable of traveling 45 mph on land or water. The Quadski was developed using Gibbs' High-Speed Amphibian technology, which Gibbs originally developed for the Aquada, an amphibious car, which the company has still not produced because of regulatory issues. Amphibious automobiles have been conceived from ca. 1900; however, the Second World War significantly stimulated their development. Two of
3577-726: The most significant amphibious cars to date were developed during World War II. The most proliferous was the German Schwimmwagen , a small jeep-like 4x4 vehicle designed by the Porsche engineering firm in 1942 and widely used in World War II . The amphibious bodywork was designed by Erwin Komenda , the firm's body construction designer, using the engine and drive train of the Kübelwagen . An amphibious version of
3650-619: The opposite bank has a shallow enough slope for the vehicle to climb out within a few miles, they can cross rivers and water obstacles. An American example is the M113 Armored Personnel Carrier . Soviet examples are the PT-76 amphibious tank, and the BTR-50 and MT-LB APCs based on its chassis. Some heavier tanks have an amphibious mode in which a fabric skirt is needed to add buoyancy . The Sherman DD tank used in
3723-620: The outbreak of the Korean War with the 1st Transportation Replacement Training Group providing crew training. DUKWs were used extensively to bring supplies ashore during the Battle of Pusan Perimeter and in the amphibious landings at Incheon . Ex-U.S. Army DUKWs were transferred to the French military after World War II and were used by the Troupes de marine and naval commandos . Many were used for general utility duties in overseas territories . France deployed DUKWs to French Indochina during
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#17327724503103796-433: The preference for water performance in design. Various versions of this type of amphibious boat design have been produced, including the French Iguana Yacht , an amphibious motorboat featuring all-terrain tracks (covered in the "Tracked" section below). Recently, Gibbs Amphibians has developed a new type of amphibian, one capable of high speeds on both land and water. The vehicles use a patented hydraulic system to raise
3869-403: The rubber tubes that contained the rolled up side sleeves were often cracked or frozen into place. The Sheridan could still cross a body of water, but like its swimming cousin, the M113 armoured personnel carrier , also built of aluminium) the river had to be narrow, less than 100 yards (100 m). In all cases, the bilge pumps had to be working properly, and even then by the time the Sheridan or
3942-405: The selected pressure the driver has set. CTIS also extends truck, tire, and drive train life, by significantly reducing vibration and shock loading. Feedback from Australian logging contractors show a doubling of transmission and differential life. The technology is extensively used in many off-road transport operations. In many countries, especially Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, CTIS
4015-451: The size of the boat. When the tide is out the boats can run on the tidal flats using their wheels. When the tide is in, they use a propeller to move through the water. Oyster farmers in Jersey make use of similar boats. Currently, Constructions Maritimes du Vivier Amphibie has a range of models. With more than 20,000 units produced, the DUKW was the most successful amphibious truck of World War II . This 31-foot (9.4 m) 6x6 truck
4088-407: The tank in the water. The "Medium Tank A/T 1" was a tank with inbuilt buoyancy some 24 ft (7.3 m) long and 11 ft (3.4 m) tall. The Valentine, then the M4 Sherman medium tank were made amphibious with the addition of a rubberized canvas screen to provide additional buoyancy and propellers driven by the main engine to give propulsion. These were DD tanks (from "Duplex Drive") and
4161-465: The time and was, therefore, theoretically, always amphibious. According to a 1999 article in Military Parade magazine, multi-unit, all-terrain transport vehicles were first proposed by the British in 1913, and by the 1950s, over 40 types of articulated tracked vehicles (ATV) were in production. The articulated tracked concept is chosen primarily for its combination of high maneuverability, cross-country abilities, and load-carrying capacity. In some cases
4234-503: The tires offer) and no steering wheels, directional control is accomplished through skid-steering – just as on a tracked vehicle – either by braking the wheels on the side in the direction of the desired turn or by applying more throttle to the wheels on the opposite side. Most contemporary designs use garden tractor type engines, that will provide roughly 25 mph (40 km/h) top speed on land. Constructed this way, an AATV will float with ample freeboard and
4307-400: The top up. It was not an armored vehicle, being plated with sheet steel between 1 ⁄ 16 and 1 ⁄ 8 inch (1.6 and 3.2 mm) thick to minimize weight. A high-capacity bilge pump system kept it afloat if the thin hull was breached by holes up to 2 inches (51 mm) in diameter. One in four DUKWs mounted a .50-caliber Browning heavy machine gun on a ring mount. The DUKW
4380-424: The transmission drove an air-compressor and winch. It weighed 13,000 lb (5,900 kg) empty and operated at 50 miles per hour (80 km/h) on road and 5.5 knots (6.3 mph; 10.2 km/h) on water. It was 31 feet (9.45 m) long, 8 feet 3 inches (2.51 m) wide, 7 feet 2 inches (2.18 m) high with the folding-canvas top down and 8 feet 9 inches (2.67 m) high with
4453-406: The water like speedboats . Some of the earliest known amphibious vehicles were amphibious carriages, the invention of which is credited to the Neapolitan polymath Prince Raimondo di Sangro of Sansevero in July 1770 or earlier, or Samuel Bentham whose design of 1781 was built in June 1987. The conestoga wagon , a type of a heavy covered wagon, was popular during the 18th and 19th century in
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#17327724503104526-535: The wheels into the wheel wells, allowing the vehicles to plane on water. These vehicles can transition between land and water modes in about five seconds. The first Gibbs fast amphibian is the Quadski , introduced in October 2012. It went on sale in January 2013. Since 1977, several boat builders in Brittany have built specialized amphibious vehicles for use in the area's mussel and oyster farming occupations. The boats are made of aluminium, are relatively flat-bottomed, and have three, four, or six wheels, depending on
4599-403: The world's first petrol-powered automobile (1885, Carl Benz), it was a three-wheeler. The single front wheel provided direction, both on land and in the water. A three-cylinder petrol combustion-engine powered the oversized rear wheels. In order to get the wheels to provide propulsion in the water, fins or buckets would be attached to the rear wheel spokes. Remarkably the boat-like hull was one of
4672-467: Was based on a 1950s civil construction vehicle and became the US Army's standard heavy tactical truck before its replacement by the HEMTT . Although the vehicles' wheels were mounted without suspension or steering action, and land speeds over 20 mph (32 km/h) were ill-advised, its articulated design provided it with good maneuverability and helped it to keep all four wheels firmly in touch with uneven ground. Coupled with its amphibious capability, in
4745-503: Was built around the GMC AFKWX, a cab-over-engine (COE) version of the GMC CCKW six-wheel-drive military truck, with the addition of a watertight hull and a propeller. It was powered by a 269.5 cu in (4,416 cc) GMC Model 270 straight-six engine . A five-speed overdrive transmission drove a transfer case to drive the axles, then a two-speed transfer case for the propeller. The propeller and front axle were selectable from their respective transfer cases. A power take-off on
4818-430: Was first used in production on the American DUKW amphibious truck , which was introduced in 1942. The Czech Tatra T813 's central inflation and deflation system was designed to maintain pressure even after multiple bullet punctures. Military-spec Tatra trucks are equipped with CTIS as standard. Several trucks used by the U.S. military, such as the HMMWV , HEMTT , and FMTV , are equipped with CTIS. The feature
4891-431: Was initially rejected by the armed services. When a United States Coast Guard patrol craft ran aground on a sand bar near Provincetown, Massachusetts , an experimental DUKW happened to be in the area for a demonstration. Winds up to 60 knots (110 km/h; 69 mph), rain, and heavy surf prevented conventional craft from rescuing the seven stranded Coast Guardsmen, but the DUKW had no trouble, and military opposition to
4964-500: Was intended only to last long enough to meet the demands of combat. Surviving DUKWs have since found popularity as tourist craft in marine environments. The name DUKW comes from General Motors Corporation model nomenclature : Decades later, the designation was explained erroneously by writers such as Donald Clarke, who wrote in 1978 that it was an initialism for "Duplex Universal Karrier, Wheeled". The U.S. Navy-Marine Corps alternative designation of LVW (Landing Vehicle, Wheeled)
5037-423: Was made to attach pontoons to the T-26 . While successful, the project was closed due to the high vulnerability and unwieldiness of the construction. Some light tanks such as the PT-76 are amphibious, typically being propelled in the water by hydrojets or by their tracks. In 1969, the U.S. Army rushed the new M551 Sheridan to Vietnam. This 17-ton light tank was built with an aluminium hull, steel turret, and
5110-553: Was proven seaworthy at a Gale force 10 storm off the North Sea coast (Pohl, 1998). Only about 100 were built – those who own one have found it capable of crossing the English Channel almost effortlessly. Purely recreational amphibian cars include the 1960s Amphicar and the contemporary Gibbs Aquada . With almost 4,000 pieces built, the Amphicar is still the most successfully produced civilian amphibious car to date. The Gibbs Aquada stands out due to its capability of high-speed planing on water. Gibbs built fifty Aquadas in
5183-455: Was seldom used. The DUKW was designed by Rod Stephens Jr. of Sparkman & Stephens , Inc. yacht designers, Dennis Puleston , a British deep-water sailor resident in the U.S., and Frank W. Speir from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology . Developed by the National Defense Research Committee and the Office of Scientific Research and Development to solve the problem of resupply to units which had just performed an amphibious landing, it
5256-452: Was the first vehicle to allow the driver to vary the tire pressure from inside the cab . The tires could be fully inflated for hard surfaces such as roads and less inflated for softer surfaces, especially beach sand. This added to its versatility as an amphibious vehicle. This feature is now standard on many military vehicles. The DUKW was supplied to the U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps and Allied forces , and 2,000 were supplied to Britain under
5329-511: Was used to establish and supply beachheads. It was designed as a wartime project by Sparkman & Stephens , a yacht design firm who also designed the hull for the Ford GPA 'Seep' . Britain developed the Terrapin 8x8 amphibious cargo carrier which was used by 79th Armoured Division during the Walcheren campaign. While offering greater capacity than the DUKW, ease of operation favoured
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