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General Motors Truck and Coach Division of General Motors Corporation in World War Two
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1911-Present

Anatomy of the GMC DUKW

This page added 1-30-2019.

Of the 21,147 DUKWs that were built, 14,399 were built by GMC in Pontiac, MI, and 6,748 were built by Chevrolet in St. Louis, MO.

In the quotation below from Dwight D Eisenhower's book, "Crusade in Europe," he is discussing being more optimistic for successful amphibious landings on Sicily in July of 1943.  This was the first time the DUKW was used in combat.

"This change resulted from the unforeseen availability of a considerable number of LSTs and the quantity production of the "duck," an amphibious vehicle that proved to be one of the most valuable pieces of equipment produced by the United States during the war."

Anatomy of the GMC DUKW:  Below are four sets of photos showing the DUKW in detail.  The first and third photo sets were taken of two DUKWs on display at the National Military Vehicle Preservation Convention in Cleveland, OH in June 2017.  The second set of photos was taken in August 2017 at the Wright Museum of WWII, Wolfeboro, NH.  The fourth set of photos was shot at the U.S. Army Chemical Corps Museum at Fort Leonard Wood, MO in May 2018.  Each shows the DUKW in a different manner.  Together they give an excellent overview of the vehicle.

The ladder allowed the spectators to take a look inside the cockpit of the DUKW.

But first a quick inspection of the exterior is in order.

This cockpit has a compass in it. 


This is a very cool space-frame display of the DUKW at the Wright Museum of WWII, Wolfeboro, NH.  The frame rails have been pulled in to the width of the drivetrain so the visitor can see the inner workings of the DUKW.  This unique display is one of the best of many good exhibits at the Wright Museum.

Ahead of the radiator is the location of the compressor for inflating the tires.  The driveshaft to run the compressor comes through a slot in the radiator.

Another view of the compressor.

The driveshaft for the air compressor comes off the crankshaft through the timing chain cover.

The GMC 270 six-cylinder engine provided 91 hp.  Delco-Remy Division of General Motors furnished the DC generator seen here along with the starter, distributor, and ignition coil for all of the DUKWs.  Pontiac Motor Division of General Motors was casting the blocks for the GMC 270 engine in its nearby plant.

The Clark Equipment Company provided its 204-VO 5-speed transmission for both the GMC DUKW and the CCKW. 

This DUKW was also at the National Military Vehicle Preservation Convention in Cleveland, OH in June 2017.  It is the most complete DUKW I have seen.  To make it even better, the owner put information boards on and around his display to explain the various parts of the vehicle. 

The wheelbase is in inches.

Note the boxes of supplies that the DUKW has dropped out of the hog trough as described above. 

In the previous set of photos from the Wright World War Two Museum, we saw that the air compressor for the tire inflation system was ahead of the radiator. 

This last set of photos was taken at the U.S. Army Chemical Corps Museum at Fort Leonard Wood, MO.  During World War Two, the Army Chemical Corps used the DUKW to generate smoke screens during amphibious operations.  This is a one-of-kind and unique display.

The next photos show the markings and the different information placards that came on the DUKW.  This is the most complete set of these I have seen.