Not your normal duck.. but a 1945 DUKW amphibious 6x6!

Check out the photos.. this thing is HUGE!!!


So, how do you get a 14,000 lb truck off the back of a flatbed semi trailer??





Here how it got unloaded... the tow truck driver was definitely SWANKy material for figuring this one out!



The front wheels are off the trailer!:



An awfully strong tow truck driver.. holding the duck up with one hand!




The front is on the ground.. look at the rear wheels:






Picking up the back end:



Ducks can fly!


From there, my pathfinder served tug duty, first pulling the duck and then winching it into position in the driveway.

Looks good in the driveway. Not sure what the neighbors think just yet though.


This thing is BIG... I need to find a Calvin peeing on "Hummer" sticker to go on the back of it. I'll get some more photos of all the cool mechanical stuff tomorrow.. I'm sunburned, tired, and dead for today.

That thing's a....er...well its a......it's a boat!

Nice wrecker work.

A duck in AZ? Talk about your fish out of water.

We saw them in Philadelphia, PA while on vacation. I understand they have them in several U.S. cities.

The SWANKy bunch can send you ahead on deep water crossings.

That thing was awesome. Cant wait to see it run.

where did you get it?

how much did it cost?

i am guessing the motor does not work .

what are you going to do with it.

it is beutiful...

HEY! That bigger bulkhead looking piece was probably the wheelwell cover!

Yeah, all four wheelwell covers were with the thing and are in the backyard.

The engine has been freshly rebuilt and is sitting in my garage for safekeeping until it is installed. The tranny is being taken to AAMCO tommorrow morning to be disassembled and checked out.

This duck belongs to n4w member xrock, but will be worked on at my place for a while until its running and driving (and swimming?). He might be able to fill you in on the details. it is definitely an awesome machine. It looks like its all there though. Needs some minor mechanical work and reassembly, needs all wood panels replaced, and needs the gauges and electrics changed over to more modern units.

Xrock will be operating a tour business in Prescott, Arizona with this duck. Despite common notions, Arizona has a good amount of navigable water and a truck like this, as unique as it is, should bring a lot of business.

We really need to find a chassis service manual for this thing to assist with reassembly, as there are a lot of parts that I could not identify.

I guess I'll be the first to ask... what are the lines going to each hub? Onboard air? Hydraulic drive?

-Spike

Water up here you can take a powered boat on? I wonder how far his tour will travel...the DUKW in Sedona, just to piss the PJs off. LOL

That thing is AWSOME!

The lines going to each hub are for the CTIS, central tire inflation system. The duck has an onboard air compressor and you can individually raise or lower the pressure in any of the 6 tires. It was one of the first military vehicles with CTIS, from what I understand.

There are quite a few parts missing from the CTIS. most of the tires are mounted incorrectly and dont line up with the air outlet hose. Also, the hubs are missing the hoses from the hub to the wheel on most of the wheels.

quote:

Originally posted by currykid3:
Water up here you can take a powered boat on? I wonder how far his tour will travel...the DUKW in Sedona, just to piss the PJs off. LOL

That thing is AWSOME!

Apparently, Prescott has already OK'd the tour. The lakes it'll be operating on are no-wake. Since the duck only goes about 6mph in the water, it shouldnt be a problem.

quote:

Originally posted by datz510:
We really need to find a chassis service manual for this thing to assist with reassembly, as there are a lot of parts that I could not identify.

Just a thought but I would think there are quite a few WW2 vets running around Sun city that might know something about this boat err.. car err.. Duck?

That is freaking awesome!!!

We could alway bring it down to town lake for testing.

i remember watching a history channel show "wierdest vehicles" or at least that was the jist of it....anyways these were supposed to see action in WWII but either didn't or were too impracticle. Either way they are pretty rare and an interesting vehicle.

These saw lots of action in WWII.. and were part of the reason we won the war. These Ducks were on the front lines of some of the most famous invasions, including the Invasion of Normandy, aka D-Day.

does anyone have the history of this one in the war? like which battles or campains it was in.

xrock ought to call one of the TV stations. I mean a DUCK in Arizona is a real novelty. When he gets closer to operational it might be some good free publicity.

Also--Datz--you might google some of the existing DUCK tour companies back east, contact them, and see what kind of info resources they have on maintenance/shop manuals.