GM DUKWS
In early 1953, I was just back from Korea and assigned to a U.S. Marine amphibious tractor battalion at Camp Del Mar, California. There was a DUKW company attached to us. I was given a ride in a DUKW and was impressed with the overall operation because it was faster and more manuverable in the water. This was the case because it was pushed by a propeller and steered with a rudder while the tractor used specially designed tracks for movement and was steered by slowing a track to steer in that direction, much like a farm tractor.
The amphibious tractor, designed to carry troops and equipment from ship to shore during assault landings, could carry a higher payload but was, of course, designed for a different purpose. I didn't know at the time that the DUKWs were designed and built by General Motors.
The amphibious tractors were powered by twin Cadillac engines with Hydramatic transmissions and were very reliable. At Pohang, Korea, during the winter of 1951-52, on many mornings the tractors would be frozen to the ground, but those good Cadillac flat-head engines always started and were revved up to break the tracks loose from the frozen ground. Some had been operated more than twice the recommended hours before overhaul and were still running well.
In April, 1953 we loaded all our vehicles on LSTs (Landing Ship Tanks) and sailed to Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii for "advanced water manuevers." While there, we Marines were used in the movie The Caine Mutiny and were given $1,000 for a beer bust on the beach.
The Korean War armistice was signed in July, 1953 and we were immediately re-assigned to Camp Del Mar. I found out years later that our outfit had already been assigned to a brigade north of Seoul and we were on our way back to Korea for a second tour. Thank God for the armistice!
DUKWs are still being used around the country to convey tourists on sightseeing tours on land and water. I have seen a number of them in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
C.L. (Bud) Nelson
Retired from Motors Insurance Corp. in 1992
Camp Del Mar, on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, became the training facility for tracked vehicles - tanks and amphibious tractors, a perfect location due to the beaches and ocean access.
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