Amphibious Military Vehicles

Amphibious military vehicles are most important in beach landing operations, to ferry troops and cargo from larger vessels to the shore. During World War II the DUKW as heavily employed in Europe and the Pacific for the many over the beach operations. At the same time, the USMC developed the concept of the armored amphibious tractor, the LVT or AMTRAC.

USMC LVTP-7 used as a field mobile command center, Operation CAX 1-2-82, Marine Corps Air-to-Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, CA, November 1981.

For many more photos of amphibious vehicles, wheeled and tracked, as well as tanks, self-propelled artillery, halftracks, armored cars, tank destroyers, trucks, jeeps and more, visit the linked page.

Today in WW II: 23 Jul 1940 American Bantam and Willys-Overland submit the only two bids for the Quartermaster Corps light reconnaissance and command cars, the origin of the military jeep. More ↓

23 Jul 1941 Original World War II contract for jeeps awarded to Willys with Ford added Nov 1941 to increase production.
23 Jul 1945 Submarine USS Barb [SS-220] destroys a Japanese locomotive and supply train at Patience Bay off the coast of Karafuto, Japan, the only known such attack by a submarine.
Visit the Olive-Drab.com World War II Timeline for day-by-day events 1939-1945! See also WW2 Books.

Chart of Amphibious Military Vehicles

In this chart of amphibious military vehicles, click on the photo link to go to the page of photos and information for the specific vehicle.

General Amphibious Vehicles
Vehicle	Description	Photo Link
GPA	Truck, Amphibian, GPA, 1/4 ton, 4x4. Ford (G-504)
M-28/M-29	M-28/M-29/M-29C Carrier, Cargo, Amphibious. "Weasel" (G-179)
DUKW	Truck, Cargo, 2 1/2 ton, 6x6 Amphibious "duck" (G501)
XM147	XM147 "Super DUKW" Amphibious Truck
M-76	M-76 Carrier, Cargo, Amphibious. "Otter"
M-116	M-116 Carrier, Cargo, Amphibious. "Husky"
M-973 SUSV	M-973 Carrier, cargo, tracked, 1 1/2 ton SUSV (small unit support vehicle).
LARC	LARC-5 (Lighter, Amphibious, Resupply, Cargo). 5 ton capacity.
BARC	Barge Amphibious Resupply Cargo or LARC-LX. 60 ton capacity.
Landing Vehicle, Tracked or Amphibious Tractor Vehicles
Alligator	Prototype of the USMC Landing Vehicle, Tracked (LVT) series
LVT	Landing Vehicle, Tracked in World War II
LVT(A)	Landing Vehicle, Tracked (Armored) in World War II
LVT/AAV	Landing Vehicle, Tracked and Armored Assault Vehicle post-World War II
Countries other than United States
Stalwart	Alvis Stalwart, FV 620, 622, 623, 624. HMLC 6x6 Amphibious "stolly"
Schwimmwagen	Volkswagen Type 166 Waffen SS Schwimmwagen
BTR-50	BTR-50 Amphibious Armoured Personnel Carrier (Russian) made in many variants by the Soviet bloc countries. This unit has been identified as a Czech-built OT-62A. Thanks to Jim Webster for the identification. Photo: Courtesy of Douglas Greville