DUCK LAND & WATER TOURS

We use an authentic, renovated WWII amphibious landing vehicle. These vehicles were designed during 1943, in order to unload men and cargo from their ships in places where ordinary dock facilities had been destroyed or did not yet exist. These amphibious military personnel carriers are half boat and half truck, and are capable of running on land and water. The first was actually a GMC truck enclosed in a water-tight shell with an added propeller.

Designed after the attack on Pearl Harbor and code named DUKW, these vehicles played a crucial role in the allied invasions of Sicily, the Pacific, and were used during D-Day. More than 40% of the "over-beach" supplies for Normandy were transported by DUKWs during the first four months, where 2000 DUKWs were used! This fleet was a strategic surprise effectively used against an enemy whom had assumed that the allies needed to take a port, in order to make an effective invasion.

Over 21,000 of these vehicles were produced, mostly by women workers, during the war effort. After the war, many were left behind in the towns and villages where they had operated, so today they can still be seen all over the world. DUKWs are still used today for civilian rescue during floods and natural disasters.