DUKW 2½ GMC amphibious truck. (80th Anniversary Day D). Italeri-6392

Description

In an effort to meet the need to transfer cargo quickly and efficiently from ships to beaches, the United States designed and built the General Motor CCKW-353 2½ t 6×6 amphibious version of the U.S. tactical transport truck General Motor CCKW-353. The DUKW featured a welded hull to make it amphibious and was equipped with a 4,400 cm3 six-cylinder engine, three differentials and six-wheel drive.

It could carry a payload of 2,400 kg or 25 fully equipped troops. DUKWs were widely deployed in all theaters of war by the U.S. Army, U.S. Marines and the armed forces of numerous allied countries. In particular, they appeared in many major beach landings during World War II, including the Normandy D-Day landings in Utah and Omaha.