DUKW: History of the DUCKs

From Portland to Atlanta, Liverpool to Queenstown, Vancouver to Singapore, one of the increasingly popular tour rides are “Ride the DUCKS.” A unique tour experience unlike any other, the tours use rebuilt and restructured World War II era DUKWs (popularly known since the war as DUCKS). DUKWs were amphibious vehicles that could travel on both land and water and all the Duck tours to do the same, taking tourists over land and sea to see the sights in an entirely new way.

Development of the DUKW

The DUKW, better known as the DUCK was first developed in 1942 during the height of World War II. Other amphibious landing vehicles were in use at this time, however they were for the most part ineffective. The National Defense Research Committee was in search of something that would prove a truly worthy amphibious vehicle, something that could handle just as well on land as it could on water and vice versa.

DUKWs were based upon the GMC CCKW-353, which had been in production for 18 months prior to the first development of the DUKW. The plan was to modify these designs already in creation. Several designs were prototypes which were accepted by the military in the middle of 1942. GMC began manufacturing the new designs immediately. By the end of the war there were more than 21,000 DUKWs in operation.

Although the DUKW was not the first amphibious vehicle ever created, it was the most successful in history up to its day. There was truly nothing else like it during World War II, in fact there has not been anything like it since.

The DUKW serves as both boat and truck. It was also the first vehicle ever to allow the driver to change tire pressure from inside the vehicle. This gave them great ability to adjust tire pressure to adapt to different terrain (for example travelling across sandy beaches and then being able to transfer to more solid ground).

Why is It Called a DUKW?

It is fortunately coincidence that this well-known and well-respected World War II amphibious vehicle had a name which was so easily given such an appropriate nickname as DUCK. One must wonder what might have happened had its name been that of its parent vehicle, the CCKW.