124-645: The Ford GPA "Seep" (Government 'P' Amphibious, where 'P' stood for its 80-inch wheelbase), with supply catalog number G504 , was an amphibious version of the World War II Ford GPW jeep . Over 12 thousand were made and they served with Allied forces in the many theatres of WW2, including the Pacific, Eastern front, and from D-day to the end. After the war as surplus they found many niche roles, and today examples can be found in museums collections or at military history shows. Design features concept
248-432: 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
372-531: A 3 speed transmission and 2-speed transfer case. It had two live axles on a leaf suspension, with 4 wheel drum brakes. The engine also could power a prop and a bilge pump. It had a spray shield and windshield wiper. In contrast to the DUKW, the GPA did not perform well in the field. At some 1,600 kg (3,500 lb) the production truck had become much heavier than the original 1,200 kg (2,600 lb) specified in
496-537: A GPA from Levy's Surplus in Toronto , Ontario, Canada, and called it "The Amphib". Among many changes, he grafted on a roof from a Dodge station wagon and lengthened the hull at the stern. He used the top halves of the doors, but knowing that he might be tied up alongside a dock, he added a round roof hatch. He planned to travel from Toronto to England via the US, Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, South America including Brazil, Africa,
620-471: A considerable threat to the Allied invasion fleet. Eisenhower called a meeting for 2 May with Montgomery, Cunningham and Tedder, in which Montgomery made new proposals to concentrate the Allied effort on the southeast corner of Sicily, discarding the intended landings close to Palermo and using the south-eastern ports. After Alexander joined the meeting on 3 May, Montgomery's proposals were finally accepted on
744-442: A derivative of the GPA after the war. The GAZ-46 MAV , which closely resembled the GPA, entered production in 1952. The GAZ-46 was exported to many USSR-allied countries. GPAs were also sold as surplus and were purchased by farmers, ranchers, adventurers, and others. By the 1970s, collectors had discovered them, and started restoring them back to their original specifications. They appear at various military vehicle shows. The GPA
868-690: 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
992-706: A modified Seep, that he called "Half-Safe" on a journey around the world. The Guinness World Records recognises Carlin as having completed the "first and only circumnavigation by an amphibious vehicle". A young American couple, Helen and Frank Schreider, converted one which they called "La Tortuga" and traveled from Los Angeles to the Southern tip of South America (1954–1956). They later converted another one called "Tortuga II" which they used on National Geographic expeditions in India (1959) and Indonesia (1961). World War II British paratrooper veteran Lionel Force purchased
1116-586: A naval bombardment and seaborne landing by the British 1st Infantry Division ( Operation Corkscrew ) the island garrison surrendered. The Pelagie Islands of Lampedusa and Linosa , some 140 km (90 mi) west of Malta, followed in short order on 12 June. The Allies used a network of tunnels and chambers located below the Lascaris Battery in Valletta , Malta (the "Lascaris War Rooms"), for
1240-636: 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
1364-462: A proper rudder. The construction of the vehicle was developed in competition by Marmon-Herrington and Ford Motor Company . Marmon-Herrington specialized in all-wheel-drive vehicles. The Marmon-Herrington prototype's hull formed an integral unibody structure, created by cutting shapes out of steel sheet and welding those together. The Ford entry, however, used a sturdy chassis and internal frame, to which more or less regular automobile type sheet-steel
SECTION 10
#17327727933301488-407: 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
1612-838: 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
1736-496: 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
1860-447: 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
1984-406: 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
2108-532: 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
2232-481: 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
2356-702: The 1st Canadian Infantry Division ). The Western Task Force (Task Force 343) was commanded by Lieutenant General George S. Patton and consisted of the American Seventh Army . The two task force commanders reported to Alexander as commander of the 15th Army Group. The U.S. Seventh Army consisted initially of three infantry divisions, organized under II Corps , commanded by Lieutenant General Omar Bradley . The 1st and 3rd Infantry Divisions , commanded by Major Generals Terry Allen and Lucian Truscott respectively, sailed from ports in Tunisia , while
2480-820: The 231st Independent Infantry Brigade Group from Suez. The 1st Canadian Infantry Division was included in Operation Husky at the insistence of the Canadian Prime Minister , William Mackenzie King , and the Canadian Military Headquarters in the United Kingdom. This request was granted by the British, displacing the veteran British 3rd Infantry Division . The change was not finalized until 27 April 1943, when Lieutenant-General Andrew McNaughton , then commanding
2604-862: The 45th Infantry Division , under Major General Troy H. Middleton , sailed from the United States via Oran in Algeria . The 2nd Armored Division , under Major General Hugh Joseph Gaffey , also sailing from Oran, was to be a floating reserve and be fed into combat as required. On 15 July, Patton reorganized his command into two corps by creating a new Provisional Corps headquarters, commanded by his deputy army commander, Major General Geoffrey Keyes . The British Eighth Army had four infantry divisions and an independent infantry brigade organized under XIII Corps , commanded by Lieutenant-General Sir Miles Dempsey , and XXX Corps , commanded by Lieutenant-General Sir Oliver Leese . The two divisions of XIII Corps,
SECTION 20
#17327727933302728-554: The 5th and 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Divisions , commanded by Major-Generals Horatio Berney-Ficklin and Sidney Kirkman , sailed from Suez in Egypt . The formations of XXX Corps sailed from more diverse ports: the 1st Canadian Infantry Division, under Major-General Guy Simonds , sailed from the United Kingdom , the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division , under Major-General Douglas Wimberley , from Tunisia and Malta , and
2852-731: The Battle of Sicily and Operation Husky , was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis powers ( Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany ). It began with a large amphibious and airborne operation , followed by a six-week land campaign, and initiated the Italian campaign . To divert some of the Axis forces to other areas,
2976-499: The Bronco All Terrain Tracked Carrier of Singapore. Invasion of Sicily Allied victory Peak strength : Asia-Pacific Mediterranean and Middle East Other campaigns Coups 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 Invasion of Italy Winter Line Gothic Line 1945 Spring Offensive Invasion Inland The Allied invasion of Sicily , also known as
3100-553: The Canadian First Army in the United Kingdom, deemed Operation Husky to be a viable military undertaking and agreed to the detachment of both the 1st Canadian Infantry Division and the 1st Canadian Tank Brigade . The "Red Patch Division" was added to Leese's XXX Corps to become part of the British Eighth Army. In addition to the amphibious landings, airborne troops were to be flown in to support both
3224-454: 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
3348-502: 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
3472-544: The Panzer Division Hermann Göring and the 15th Panzergrenadier Division . The Panzer division had 99 tanks in two battalions but was short of infantry (with only three battalions), while the 15th Panzergrenadier Division had three grenadier regiments and a tank battalion with 60 tanks. About half of the Italian troops were formed into four front-line infantry divisions and headquarters troops;
3596-757: 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
3720-628: 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
3844-510: The "Niscemi" Armoured Combat Group and Livorno Division infantry nearly reached the Allied position at Gela, but gunfire from the destroyer USS Shubrick and the light cruiser USS Boise destroyed several tanks and dispersed the attacking infantry battalion. The 3rd Battalion, 34th Regiment, "Livorno" Infantry Division, composed mainly of conscripts, made a daylight attack on the Gela beachhead two days later, with infantry and armor of
Ford GPA - Misplaced Pages Continue
3968-652: 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
4092-413: The 429th Coastal Battalion (under Major Marco Rubellino ), tasked with defending Gela and its beachhead, had lost 45 percent of its men, while the attacking U.S. Army Ranger Battalion lost several men to mines and machine-gun and cannon fire. Gruppo Tattico Carmito (under Lieutenant-Colonel Francesco Tropea), tasked with defending Malati Bridge, defeated a Royal Marines Commando Battalion on 13 July with
4216-468: The 505th Parachute Regimental Combat Team with the addition of the 3rd Battalion of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment , along with the 456th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion , Company 'B' of the 307th Airborne Engineer Battalion and other supporting units) of the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division, making their first combat drop. The British landings were preceded by pathfinders of the 21st Independent Parachute Company, who were to mark landing zones for
4340-561: 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
4464-540: The Allied Expeditionary Force, General Alexander as Deputy C-in-C with responsibility for detailed planning and execution of the operation, Admiral Cunningham as Naval Commander, and Air Chief Marshal Tedder as Air Commander. The outline plan given to Eisenhower by the Chiefs of Staff involved dispersed landings by brigade and division-sized formations in the south-east, south and north-west areas of
4588-519: The Allies engaged in several deception operations, the most famous and successful of which was Operation Mincemeat . Husky began on the night of 9–10 July 1943 and ended on 17 August. Strategically, Husky achieved the goals set out for it by Allied planners: the Allies drove Axis air, land and naval forces from the island, and the Mediterranean sea lanes were opened for Allied merchant ships for
4712-578: The Axis. High-level planning for the operation lacked direction because the three mainland commanders, Alexander, Montgomery, and Patton, were fully occupied in operations in Tunisia. Effort was wasted in presenting plans that Montgomery, in particular, disliked because of the dispersion of forces involved. He was finally able to articulate his objections and put forward alternative proposals on 24 April. Tedder and Cunningham opposed Montgomery's plan because it would leave 13 landing grounds in Axis hands, posing
4836-574: The British Royal Air Force (RAF) that provided the primary air support for the operation. Other groups from the 9th Air Force under Lieutenant General Lewis H. Brereton operating from Tunisia and Egypt, and Air H.Q. Malta under Air Vice-Marshal Sir Keith Park operating from the island of Malta, also provided important air support. The U.S. Army Air Force 9th Air Force's medium bombers and P-40 fighters that were detached to NAAF's Northwest African Tactical Air Force under
4960-526: The British 1st Airlanding Brigade, landed on target, captured Ponte Grande and repulsed counterattacks. Additional paratroops rallied to the sound of shooting and by 08:30 89 men were holding the bridge. By 11:30, a battalion of the Italian 75th Infantry Regiment (Colonel Francesco Ronco) from the 54th Infantry Division "Napoli" arrived with some artillery. The British force held out until about 15:30 hours, when, low on ammunition and by now reduced to 18 men, they were forced to surrender, 45 minutes before
5084-716: 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
Ford GPA - Misplaced Pages Continue
5208-690: The German liaison officer attached to the 6th Army HQ, Generalleutnant Fridolin von Senger und Etterlin who was subordinate to Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring , the German C-in-C Army Command South ( OB Süd ). Von Senger had arrived in Sicily in late June as part of a German plan to gain greater operational control of its units. Guzzoni agreed from 16 July to delegate to Hube control of all sectors where there were German units involved, and from 2 August, he commanded
5332-618: The Greek coast. They also moved three panzer divisions to Greece, one from France and two from the Eastern Front which reduced German combat strength in the Kursk salient . Two American and two British attacks by airborne troops were carried out just after midnight on the night of 9–10 July, as part of the invasion. The American paratroopers consisted largely of Colonel James M. Gavin 's 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment (expanded into
5456-736: The Hermann Göring Panzer Division, but was repulsed. By the morning of 10 July, the Joint Task Force Operations Support System Force captured the port of Licata, at the cost of nearly 100 killed and wounded in the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division, and the division beat back a counter-attack from the 538th Coastal Defence Battalion. By 11:30, Licata was firmly in American hands and the U.S. 3rd Division had lost fewer than one hundred men. Salvage parties had already partially cleared
5580-546: The Indian hospital ship Talamba with heavy loss of life, and in the following days Axis aircraft damaged or sank several more warships, transport vessels and landing craft starting with the Allied troopship USS Barnett hit and damaged by an Italian bomber formation on the morning of 11 July. Italian Stukas (named Picchiatello in Italian service) and Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 torpedo-bombers coordinated their attacks with German Stuka and Ju 88 bomber units. As part of
5704-689: The Italians in Italy and to a lesser extent the Balkans , resulting in one-fifth of the entire German army being diverted from the east to southern Europe, a proportion that would remain until near the end of the war. The plan for Operation Husky called for the amphibious assault of Sicily by two Allied armies , one landing on the south-eastern and one on the central southern coast. The amphibious assaults were to be supported by naval gunfire, as well as tactical bombing, interdiction and close air support by
5828-493: The MB/GPW jeeps, although the driver's compartment had almost twice as many control levers: 2WD/4WD, hi-range/lo-range, capstan winch (on the bows), propeller deployment and rudder control. After a direct comparison of the two companies' prototypes, Ford received a contract for production starting in 1942. The GPA was powered by an in-line 4 cylinder engine with carburetor, that could produce about 60 hp. It had 4 wheel drive with
5952-548: The Middle East) was increased. From 3 July, bombing concentrated on Sicilian airfields and Axis communications with Italy, although beach defences were left alone, to preserve surprise as to where the landings would occur. By 10 July, only two airfields in Sicily remained fully operational and over half the Axis aircraft had been forced to leave the island. Between mid-May and the invasion, Allied airmen flew 42,227 sorties and destroyed 323 German and 105 Italian aircraft, for
6076-767: The Middle East, Greece and up to England. He got as far as Panama but turned back when he learned that the freighter upon which he intended to ship "The Amphib" from Brazil to Africa had been taken out of service. 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
6200-528: 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
6324-738: The Sicilian front. At the Casablanca Conference in January 1943, with the end of the North African Campaign in sight, the political leaders and the military Chiefs of Staff of the United States and Britain met to discuss future strategy. The British Chiefs of Staff were in favour of an invasion of Sicily or Sardinia , arguing that it would force Germany to disperse its forces and might knock Italy out of
SECTION 50
#17327727933306448-732: 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
6572-556: 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
6696-598: 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
6820-466: The Western and Eastern Task Forces. To the east, the British 1st Airborne Division , commanded by Major-General George F. Hopkinson , was to seize vital bridges and high ground in support of the British Eighth Army. The initial plan dictated that the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division , commanded by Major General Matthew Ridgway , was to be held as a tactical reserve in Tunisia. Allied naval forces were also grouped into two task forces to transport and support
6944-587: 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
7068-438: The advance headquarters of the invasion of Sicily. In July 1943, General Eisenhower, Admiral Cunningham, General Montgomery, and Air Marshal Tedder occupied the war rooms. Earlier, the war rooms had served as the British headquarters for the defence of Malta. To distract the Axis, and if possible divert some of their forces to other areas, the Allies engaged in several deception operations. The most famous and successful of these
7192-605: 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
7316-403: The armies by landing supplies across the beaches proved easier than expected, partly because of the successful introduction of large numbers of the new amphibious DUKW vehicle. Alexander was later to write "It is not too much to say that the DUKW revolutionised the problem of beach maintenance." On 17 May, Alexander issued his Operation Instruction No. 1 setting out his broad plan and defining
7440-413: The basis that it was better to take an administrative risk (having to support troops by landing supplies across beaches) than an operational one (dispersion of effort). Not for the last time, Montgomery had argued a sound course of action, yet done so in a conceited manner, which suggested to others, particularly his American allies, that he was preoccupied with his own interests. In the event, maintaining
7564-430: 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
SECTION 60
#17327727933307688-442: 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
7812-435: The combined air forces. As such, the operation required a complex command structure, incorporating land, naval and air forces. The overall commander was American General Dwight D. Eisenhower , as Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of all the Allied forces in North Africa. British General Sir Harold Alexander acted as his second-in-command and as the 15th Army Group commander. The American Major General Walter Bedell Smith
7936-479: The command of Air Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham moved to southern airfields on Sicily as soon they were secured. At the time, the 9th Air Force was a sub-command of RAF Middle East Command under Air Chief Marshal Sir Sholto Douglas . Middle East Command, like NAAF and Air H.Q. Malta were sub-commands of MAC under Tedder who reported to Eisenhower for NAAF operations and to the British Chiefs of Staff for Air H.Q. Malta and Middle East Command operations. The island
8060-408: 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
8184-459: The defenders had assumed that no one would attempt a landing in such poor conditions. Landings were made in the early hours of 10 July from 2:45am on 26 main beaches spread along 170 kilometres (105 mi) of the southern and eastern coasts of the island between the town of Licata where the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division, under the command of Major General Lucian Truscott, landed at Torre di Gaffe, red beach, and Mollarella and Poliscia, green beaches in
8308-417: The design brief, but its volume had not been increased accordingly. As a consequence, a low freeboard in the water meant that the GPA could not handle more than a light chop or carry much cargo. The GPA's intended use of ferrying troops and cargo from ships off-shore, over a beach and continuing inland, was therefore very limited. On land, the vehicle was too heavy and its body too unwieldy to be popular with
8432-415: 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
8556-429: 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
8680-583: 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,
8804-439: The figure of around 12,700 is actually correct. GPAs participated in the Sicily landings of September 1943 after a small number were used in action earlier in North Africa. Some also saw service the Pacific theater. Under the Lend-Lease programme, some 4,486 GPAs were sent to US Allies. The largest recipients were the Soviet Union which received 3,520 and the British Commonwealth which received 852 GPAs. The USSR developed
8928-479: 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
9052-426: 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
9176-501: The first time since 1941. These events led to the Italian dictator, Benito Mussolini , being toppled from power in Italy on 25 July, and to the Allied invasion of Italy on 3 September. The German leader, Adolf Hitler , "canceled a major offensive at Kursk after only a week, in part to divert forces to Italy," resulting in a reduction of German strength on the Eastern Front . The collapse of Italy necessitated German troops replacing
9300-596: 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
9424-444: 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
9548-508: The harbor, and shortly after noon Truscott and his staff came ashore and set up headquarters at Palazzo La Lumia. About that time, the 538th Coastal Defense Battalion, which had been deployed as a tactical reserve, launched a counter-attack. By the evening of 10 July, the seven Allied assault divisions—three American, three British and one Canadian—were well established ashore, the port of Syracuse had been captured, and fears of an Axis air onslaught had proved unfounded. The preparatory bombing of
9672-633: The help of the local middle-age reservists. The Italian 4th Self-Propelled Artillery Battalion attacked the Commandos with the help of the 372nd Coastal Defence Battalion, 553rd (under Captain Giovanni Sartor) and 554th (under Captain Fausto Clementi) Motorcycle Companies, and three Panzer IV medium tanks. The 246th Coastal Battalion (under Major Rollo Franco ) defeated British attempts to capture Augusta on
9796-629: The invading armies. The Eastern Naval Task Force was formed from the British Mediterranean Fleet and was commanded by Admiral Bertram Ramsay . The Western Naval Task Force was formed around the U.S. Eighth Fleet , commanded by Admiral Henry Kent Hewitt . The two naval task force commanders reported to Admiral Cunningham as overall Naval Forces Commander. Two sloops of the Royal Indian Navy – HMIS Sutlej and HMIS Jumna – also participated. At
9920-575: The island and from 6 June, Allied attacks increased. From 8 May to 11 June 5,285 bombing sorties were flown by fighter-bombers, medium and heavy bombers, dropping a total of 6,202 tons of bombs on the island. The Italian gun positions were reduced to 47% effectiveness by the intense ten-day air bombardment. Out of 112 guns bombed, 2 had suffered from direct hits, 17 were near misses and 34 were damaged by debris and splinters (10 beyond repair). All control communications were destroyed, along with many gun emplacements and ammunition stores. On 11 June, after
10044-568: The island in two and cut his enemy's east–west communications. The Seventh Army was assigned to land in the Gulf of Gela , in south-central Sicily, with the 3rd Infantry Division and 2nd Armored Division to the west at Licata Mollarella beach, 1st Division in the center at Gela, and 45th Division to the east at Scoglitti . The 82nd Airborne Division was assigned to drop behind the defences at Gela and Scoglitti. The Seventh Army's beach-front stretched over 50 kilometers (30 mi). The British Eighth Army
10168-424: The island. The logic behind the plan was that it would result in the rapid capture of key Axis airfields that posed a threat to the beachheads and the invasion fleet lying off them. It would also see the rapid capture of all the main ports on the island, except for Messina , including Catania , Palermo , Syracuse , Licata and Augusta . This would facilitate a rapid Allied build-up, as well as denying their use to
10292-399: The leading elements of the British 5th Division arrived from the south. Despite these mishaps, the widespread landing of airborne troops, both American and British, had a positive effect as small isolated units, acting on their initiative, attacked vital points and created confusion. The strong wind also made matters difficult for the amphibious landings but also ensured surprise as many of
10416-581: 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
10540-453: The loss of 250 aircraft, mostly to anti-aircraft fire over Sicily. Operations began in May against the small island of Pantelleria , some 110 km (70 mi) southwest of Sicily and 240 km (150 mi) northwest of Malta, to prevent the airfield there being used in support of Axis troops attempting to withdraw from North Africa. On 13 and 31 May the cruiser HMS Orion bombarded
10664-726: 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
10788-437: The night of 11–12 July. In Major General Terry Allen's U.S. 1st Infantry Division sector at Gela, there was an Italian division-sized counterattack where the dispersed 505th Parachute Regimental Combat Team was supposed to have been. Tiger tanks of the Hermann Göring Panzer Division, which had been due to advance with the 4th Infantry Division "Livorno" , were late. On highways 115 and 117 during 10 July, Italian tanks of
10912-575: The number of German troops to around 70,000. Until the arrival of the corps headquarters, the two German divisions were nominally under Italian tactical control. The panzer division, with a reinforced infantry regiment from the panzergrenadier division to compensate for its lack of infantry, was under Italian XVI Corps and the rest of the panzergrenadier division under the Italian XII Corps . The German commanders in Sicily were contemptuous of their allies and German units took their orders from
11036-619: 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
11160-504: 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
11284-431: The previous weeks had greatly weakened the Axis air capability and the heavy Allied presence of aircraft operating from Malta, Gozo, and Pantelleria kept most of the Axis attempts at air attack at bay. Some attacks on the first day of the invasion got through, and German aircraft sank the landing ship LST-313 and minesweeper USS Sentinel . Italian Stukas sank the destroyer USS Maddox and Re.2002s sunk
11408-507: The principal airfields of Sardinia, Sicily and southern Italy, industrial targets in southern Italy and the ports of Naples , Messina, Palermo and Cagliari (in Sardinia). The attacks were spread to maintain uncertainty as to the next Allied move, and to pin down Axis aircraft and keep them away from Sicily. Bombing of northern Italy (by aircraft based in the UK) and Greece (by aircraft based in
11532-609: The remainder were support troops or inferior coastal divisions and coastal brigades. Guzzoni's defence plan was for the coastal formations to form a screen to receive the invasion and allow time for the field divisions further back to intervene. By late July, the German units had been reinforced, principally by elements of the 1st Parachute Division , 29th Panzergrenadier Division and the XIV Panzer Corps headquarters ( General der Panzertruppe Hans-Valentin Hube ), bringing
11656-509: 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
11780-477: The sea, with over 200 men drowning. Among those who landed in the sea were Major General George F. Hopkinson, commander of the British 1st Airborne Division, who, after several hours spent clutching a piece of wreckage, was eventually rescued by the landing ship HMS Keren . The scattered airborne troops attacked patrols and created confusion wherever possible. A platoon of the 2nd Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment , under Lieutenant Louis Withers , part of
11904-553: 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
12028-534: The soldiers. GPAs would frequently get stuck in shallow waters, where the regular Willys MB's water fording abilities allowed it to drive straight through. Production was already halted in March 1943 after production of only 12,778 vehicles due to financial quibbles between Ford and the US government, as well as bad reception of the vehicle in theatre. Some sources state that less than half of that number were ever completed , serial numbers of surviving specimens suggest that
12152-465: 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
12276-415: The tasks of the two armies. Broadly speaking, he intended to establish his armies along a line from Catania to Licata preparatory to a final operation to reduce the island. He later wrote that at that stage it was not practicable to plan further ahead but that his intentions were clear in his own mind what the next step would be: he would drive north ultimately to Santo Stefano on the northern coast to split
12400-529: 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
12524-733: The time of Operation Husky, the Allied air forces in North Africa and the Mediterranean were organized into the Mediterranean Air Command (MAC) under Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder . The major sub-command of MAC was the Northwest African Air Forces (NAAF) under the command of Lieutenant General Carl Spaatz with headquarters in Tunisia. NAAF consisted primarily of groups from the United States 12th Air Force , 9th Air Force , and
12648-503: 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
12772-697: The total GPA production under Lend Lease , and were sufficiently satisfied with its ability to cross calmer inland waters, that they produced a copy, the GAZ-46 . After having commissioned Willys , Ford and Bantam to build the first 4,500 jeeps (1500 each) in March 1941, the US Motor Transport Board set up a project under the direction of the National Defense Research Committee (NDRC) to be designated "QMC-4 1/4 Ton Truck Light Amphibian". Roderick Stephens Jr. of Sparkman & Stephens Inc. yacht designers
12896-401: The troop-carrying aircraft off course and the American force was scattered widely over south-east Sicily between Gela and Syracuse. By 14 July, about two-thirds of the 505th had managed to concentrate, and half the U.S. paratroopers failed to reach their rallying points. The British air-landing troops fared little better, with only 12 of the 147 gliders landing on target and 69 crashing into
13020-594: The troops who were intending to seize the Ponte Grande, the bridge over the River Anape just south of Syracuse, and hold it until the British 5th Infantry Division arrived from the beaches at Cassibile, some eleven kilometres (7 mi) to the south. Glider infantry from the British 1st Airborne Division's 1st Airlanding Brigade , commanded by Brigadier Philip Hicks , were to seize landing zones inland. Strong winds of up to 70 km/h (45 mph) blew
13144-472: The war and move Turkey to join the Allies. At first, the Americans opposed the plan as opportunistic and irrelevant, but were persuaded to agree to a Sicilian invasion on the grounds of the great savings to Allied shipping that would result from the opening of the Mediterranean by the removal of Axis air and naval forces from the island. The Combined Chiefs of Staff appointed General Eisenhower as C-in-C of
13268-516: 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
13392-429: The west, and Cassibile in the east, with British and Canadian forces in the east and Americans toward the west. This constituted the largest amphibious operation of World War II in terms of size of the landing zone and the number of divisions put ashore on the first day. The Italian defensive plan did not contemplate a pitched battle on the beaches and so the landings themselves were somewhat anticlimactic. More trouble
13516-700: 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
13640-403: 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
13764-456: Was Operation Mincemeat , conceived by Naval intelligence officer Ewen Montagu and RAF Squadron Leader Charles Cholmondeley. The British allowed a corpse , disguised as a British Royal Marines officer, to drift ashore in Spain carrying a briefcase containing fake secret documents. The documents purported to reveal that the Allies were planning "Operation Brimstone" and that an "Operation Husky"
13888-615: Was an invasion of Greece. German intelligence accepted the authenticity of the documents and the Germans diverted much of their defensive effort from Sicily to Greece until the occupation of Pantelleria on 11 June, which concentrated German and Italian attention on the western Mediterranean. Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel was sent to Greece to assume command. The Germans transferred a group of " R boats " (German minesweepers and minelayers) from Sicily and laid three additional minefields off
14012-573: Was appointed as Eisenhower's Chief of Staff . The overall Naval Force Commander was the British Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham . The Allied land forces were from the American, British and Canadian armies, and were structured as two task forces. The Eastern Task Force (also known as Task Force 545) was led by General Sir Bernard Montgomery and consisted of the British Eighth Army (which included
14136-413: Was asked to design a shape for a 2,700-pound (1,200 kg) amphibious jeep, in the same vein as his later design for the DUKW six-wheel-drive amphibious truck . Stephens' hull design looked like a miniature version of that of the DUKW, and just like it, the 'Seep' was going to have a screw propeller, driven by a power take-off, operating in a dedicated tunnel faired into the rear end bodywork, as well as
14260-445: Was assigned to land in south-eastern Sicily. XXX Corps would land on either side of Cape Passero , while XIII Corps would land in the Gulf of Noto , around Avola , off to the north. The Eighth Army's beach front also stretched 40 kilometers (25 mi), and there was a gap of some 40 kilometers (25 mi) between the two armies. Once the Axis forces had been defeated in Tunisia, the Allied strategic bomber force commenced attacks on
14384-573: 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
14508-456: Was defended by the two corps of the Italian 6th Army under General Alfredo Guzzoni , although specially designated Fortress Areas around the main ports ( Piazze Militari Marittime ), were commanded by admirals subordinate to Naval Headquarters and independent of the 6th Army. In early July, the total Axis force in Sicily was about 200,000 Italian troops, 32,000 German troops and 30,000 Luftwaffe ground staff. The main German formations were
14632-412: Was experienced from the difficult weather conditions (especially on the southern beaches) and unexpected hidden offshore sandbars than from the coastal divisions. Some troops landed in the wrong place, in the wrong order and as much as six hours behind schedule, but the weakness of the defensive response allowed the Allied force to make up lost time. Nevertheless, several Italian coastal units fought well;
14756-473: 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
14880-462: Was popular with adventurers, farmers, ranchers and by the 21st century about 200 of the 12,700+ produced had survived. The vehicle is popular with collectors, and well-preserved examples sold at auction for US$ 125,000 in 2016 (equivalent to $ 160,000 in 2023). After World War II, several adventurers converted surplus GPAs into world-travelling machines. The most famous one was during the 1950s when Australian Ben Carlin (1912–1981) sailed and drove
15004-731: 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
15128-425: Was similar to the larger and successful DUKW amphibious 2 1 ⁄ 2 -ton truck were used on the GPA, but unlike these and the jeep, the 'seep' was not as successful a design. It was considered too slow and heavy on land, and lacked sufficient seagoing abilities in open water, due mainly to its low freeboard. Despite this it did have widespread use across the theatres of WW2. The Soviet Union received one third of
15252-511: 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
15376-400: Was welded. This construction made the GPA some 400 pounds (180 kg) lighter than its competitor. The GPA's design was based on the Willys MB and Ford GPW standard Jeeps as much as possible, using many of the same parts. In 1944 the US Army issued a bulletin explaining how axles could be salvaged from unwanted GPAs and used to repair standard jeeps. The GPA had an interior similar to that of
#329670