An amphibious vehicle (or simply amphibian), is a vehicle or craft, that is a means of transport, viable on land as well as on water - just like an amphibian. Vehicles, derived from the Latin word vehiculum, are non-living Means of transport. The word craft in its most common sense now is a short and definite word for a Vehicle or vessel that is used for Transportation on the sea in the air Prehistoric amphibian Amphibians (class Amphibia such as Frogs Toads Salamanders Newts Gymnophiona, Sirens and
This definition applies equally to any land and water transport, small or large, powered or unpowered, ranging from amphibious bicycles, ATVs, cars, buses, trucks, RVs, and military vehicles, all the way to the very largest hovercrafts. A hovercraft, or air-cushion vehicle (ACV is an Amphibious vehicle or craft, designed to travel over any sufficiently smooth surface supported by Classic landing craft are generally not considered amphibious vehicles, although they are part of amphibious assault. Landing craft are Boats and seagoing vehicles used to convey a Landing force ( Infantry and Vehicles) from the sea to the shore during an Nor are Ground effect vehicles, such as Ekranoplans. The former don't offer any real land transportation at all - the latter (aside from completely disconnecting from the surface, like an airplane), will likely crash on any but the flattest of landmasses. Overview Fixed-wing aircraft range from small training and recreational aircraft to Wide-body aircraft and military cargo aircraft.
General technical notes
Apart from the distinction in sizes mentioned above, two main categories of amphibious vehicle are immediately apparent: those that travel on an air-cushion (Hovercraft) and those that don't. The Véhicule de l'Avant Blindé or VAB ("Armoured Vanguard Vehicle" in French) is an Armoured personnel carrier designed by the Euro Mobilité A hovercraft, or air-cushion vehicle (ACV is an Amphibious vehicle or craft, designed to travel over any sufficiently smooth surface supported by Amongst the latter, many designs were prompted by the desire to expand the off-road capabilities of land-vehicles to an "all-terrain" ability, in some cases not only focused on creating a transport that will work on land and water, but also on intermediates like ice, snow, mud, marsh, swamp etc. In Geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of Wetland which is subject A swamp is a Wetland featuring temporary or permanent inundation of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water . This explains why many designs use tracks in addition to or instead of wheels, and in some cases even resort to articulated body configurations. A tracked vehicle (also called track-type tractor tractor crawler or track-laying vehicle is a vehicle that runs on tracks instead of Wheels Typically used An articulated vehicle is a vehicle which has a permanent or semi-permanent pivoting joint in its construction allowing the vehicle to turn more sharply
Most land vehicles - even lightly armored ones - can be made amphibious simply by providing them with a waterproof hull and perhaps a propellor. A hull is the body of a Ship or Boat. It is a central concept in floating vessels as it provides the Buoyancy that keeps the vessel from sinking This is possible thanks to the vehicle's volume usually being bigger than its displacement, meaning it will float. Heavily armored vehicles however sometimes have a density greater than water (their weight in kilograms exceeds their volume in liters), and will need additional buoyancy measures. The density of a material is defined as its Mass per unit Volume: \rho = \frac{m}{V} Different materials usually have different The litre or liter (see spelling differences) is a unit of Volume. In Physics, buoyancy ( BrE IPA: /ˈbɔɪənsi/ is the upward Force on an object produced by the surrounding liquid or gas in which it is These can take the form of inflatable floatation devices, much like the sides of a rubber dinghy, or a waterproof fabric skirt raised from the top perimeter of the vehicle.
In the case of the Land Rover pictured to the side, floats in the shape of oil-drums have been used to create a vehicle that will swim much like an improvised raft.
For propulsion in or on the water some vehicles simply make do by spinning their wheels or tracks, while others can power their way forward more effectively using (additional) screw propellor(s) or water jet(s). A propeller is essentially a type of fan which transmits power by converting Rotational motion into Thrust for propulsion of a vehicle such as an A pump-jet or water jet is a marine system that creates a jet of Water for propulsion. Most amphibians will work only as a displacement hull when in the water - only a small number of designs have the capability to raise out of the water when speed is gained, to achieve high velocity hydroplaning, skimming over the water surface like speedboats. A hull is the body of a Ship or Boat. It is a central concept in floating vessels as it provides the Buoyancy that keeps the vessel from sinking planing Boat 's hull skims across the surface of the Water rather than pushing through the water in the way a traditional Displacement hull A motorboat is a vessel propelled by an Internal combustion engine driving a jet pump or a Propeller.
History
Some of the earliest known amphibious vehicles were amphibious carriages, the invention of which is credited to the notorious Neapolitan Prince Raimondo di Sangro of Sansevero (ca. 1750) or Sir Samuel Bentham (1781).
The first known self-propelled amphibious vehicle, a steam-powered wheeled dredging barge, named the Orukter Amphibolos, was conceived and built by United States inventor Oliver Evans in 1805, although it is disputed to have successfully travelled over land or water under its own steam[1]. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Oliver Evans ( 13 September, 1755 &ndash 15 April, 1819) was a United States Inventor.
Although it is unclear who (and where and when) built the first combustion-engined amphibian, in all likelihood the development of powered amphibious vehicles didn't start until 1899. Until the late 1920s the efforts to unify a boat and an automobile mostly came down to simply putting wheels and axles on a boat hull, or getting a rolling chassis to float by blending a boat-like hull with the car's frame (Pohl, 1998). A chassis (plural "chassis" (ˈʃæːsiː ˈtʃæːsiː consists of a framework that supports an inanimate object analogous to an Animal 's One of the first reasonably well documented cases was the 1905 amphibious petrol-powered carriage of T. Richmond (Jessup, Iowa, USA). Just like the world's first petrol-powered automobile (1885, Carl Benz) it was a three-wheeler. The Karl Benz Patent Motorwagen (or motorcar built in 1885, is widely regarded as the first Automobile, that is a vehicle designed to be propelled The single front wheel provided direction, both on land and in the water. A three-cylinder petrol combustion-engine powered the oversized rear wheels. In order to get the wheels to provide propulsion in the water, fins or buckets would be attached to the rear wheel spokes. Remarkably the boat-like hull was one of the first integral bodies ever used on a car (Pohl, 1998).
Since the 1920s development of amphibious vehicles greatly diversified. Numerous designs have been created for a broad range of applications, including recreation, expeditions, search & rescue, and military, leading to a myriad of concepts and variants. In some of them the amphibious capabilities are central to their purpose, whereas in others they are only an expansion to what has remained primarily a watercraft or a land vehicle.
Small wheeled amphibians
Amongst the smallest non air-cushioned amphibious vehicles are amphibious bicycles, (see also) and ATVs. Small off-road and typically Six-wheel drive, Amphibious vehicles were developed in the early 1960s and quickly became popular in both the US and Canada Although the former are still an absolute rarity, the latter saw significant popularity in North America during the nineteen sixties and early seventies. Typically an Amphibious ATV or AATV is a small, lightweight, off-highway vehicle, constructed from an integral hard plastic or fibreglass bodytub, fitted with six (sometimes eight) driven wheels, with low pressure, balloon tires. With no suspension (other than what the tires offer) and no steering wheels, directional control is accomplished through skid-steering - just as on a tracked vehicle - either by braking the wheels on the side where you want to turn, or by applying more throttle to the wheels on the opposite side. Most contemporary designs use garden tractor type engines, that will provide roughly 25 mph top speed on land.
Constructed this way, an AATV will float with ample freeboard and is capable of traversing swamps, ponds and streams as well as dry land. On land these units have high grip and great off-road ability, that can be further enhanced with an optional set of tracks that can be mounted directly onto the wheels. Although the spinning action of the tires is enough to propel the vehicle through the water - albeit slowly - outboard motors can be added for extended water use. Current AATV manufacturers are Argo, Land Tamer, MAX ATVs and Triton.
Articulated-body designs in this category were the Coot and the very similar TAG Croco.
Recently some efforts are made towards amphibious ATV's of the straddled variety. For instance in the form of an add-on inflatable pontoon kit, that can be installed on any quad-bike ATV with front and rear metal frame racks and at least 14" water fording ability. A new development was shown in 2006 by Gibbs Technologies. Their Quadski is a prototype for a cross between a Jetski and a Quad-bike. The Quadski is an amphibious quad bike/ATV prototype launched in May 2006 by New Zealand inventor Alan Gibbs, the chairman and founder of Gibbs Technologies Jet Ski is the Brand name of Personal watercraft (PWC manufactured by Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd An all-terrain vehicle (ATV is defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI as a vehicle that travels on low pressure tires with a seat that is straddled by
Amphibious cars
Amphibious automobiles have been conceived from ca. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including 1900, however the Second World War significantly stimulated their development. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Two of the most significant amphibious cars to date were developed during World War II. The most proliferous was the German Schwimmwagen, a small jeep-like 4x4 vehicle designed by the Porsche engineering firm in 1942 and widely used in World War II. The VW Type 128 and 166 Schwimmwagen (literally Floating / Swimming Car) were amphibious All-wheel-drive off-roaders used extensively by the German Four-wheel drive, 4WD, or 4x4 ("four by four" is a four-wheeled Vehicle with a drivetrain that allows all four Wheels to Porsche SE or Porsche ( German, ˈpɔɹʃə is a German manufacturer of automobiles which is majority-owned by the Porsche and Piëch World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The amphibious bodywork was designed by Erwin Komenda, the firm's body construction designer, using the engine and drive train of the Kübelwagen. Erwin Komenda ( April 6, 1904 - August 22, 1966) was the designer of the bodies for the VW Beetle and various Porsche The Volkswagen Kübelwagen (short for Kübelsitzwagen meaning bucket-seat car was a military vehicle designed by Ferdinand Porsche and built by Volkswagen during An amphibious version of the Willys MB jeep, the Ford GPA or 'Seep' (short for Sea jeep) was developed during World War II as well. The Willys MB US Army Jeep, along with the nearly identical Ford GPW, was manufactured from 1941 to 1945 The Ford GPA 'Seep' (or Seagoing Jeep) was an amphibious version of the WWII Ford GPW Jeep. A specially modified GPA, called Half-Safe, was driven and sailed around the world by Australian Ben Carlin in the 1950s.
One of the most capable post-war amphibious off-roaders was the German Amphi-Ranger, that featured a hull made of sea-water resistant AlMg2 aluminium alloy. Birmabright is a trade name of the former Birmetals Co (Birmabright works in Clapgate Lane Quinton Birmingham, UK) for various types of lightweight sheet metal Extensively engineered, this costly vehicle was proven sea-worthy at a Gale force 10 storm off the North Sea coast (Pohl, 1998). The Beaufort scale (ˈboʊfət is an Empirical measure for describing Wind speed based mainly on observed sea conditions Only about 100 were built - those who own one have found it capable of crossing the English Channel almost effortlessly.
Purely recreational amphibian cars include the 1960s Amphicar and the contemporary Gibbs Aquada. The Amphicar is still the only amphibious Automobile ever mass-produced for sale to the public The Gibbs Aquada is a high speed Amphibious vehicle developed by Alan Gibbs and his company Gibbs Technologies With almost 4. 000 pieces built, the Amphicar is still the most successfully produced civilian amphibious car to date. The Gibbs Aquada stands out due to its capability of high speed planing on water.
Other amphibious cars currently in production include the Dutton Commander 'AmphiJeep' (GB), the US Hydra Spyder and WaterCar, as well as several Chinese designs like the JMC BY5020TSL (see also) and BJ5032(XZHE), and the even longer JMC JX5021TLYDS. WaterCar is an American company that builds modern car-based Amphibious vehicles to order The two models shown to date are a Camaro-like convertible and a Jeep-like SUV The Jiangling Motors Corporation Limited (in Chinese 江铃汽车公司 or 江陵汽車公司 abbreviated JMC, is a Chinese Automobile manufacturer The Jiangling Motors Corporation Limited (in Chinese 江铃汽车公司 or 江陵汽車公司 abbreviated JMC, is a Chinese Automobile manufacturer American distributor Rodedawg is now seeking to bring an adapted version of the Chinese amphibs to America.
Amphibious cycles
An Amphibious Cycle is capable of operation on both land and water. The design which has probably received the most coverage is Saidullah’s Bicycle[1]. This has been featured on both the Discovery Channel and BBC News. Discovery Channel is an American Satellite and Cable TV channel (also delivered via IPTV, Terrestrial television and The bike uses four rectangular air filled floats for buoyancy, and is propelled using two fan blades which have been attached to the spokes. Moraga’s Cyclo Amphibious [2] uses a simple tricycle frame to support three floaters which provide both the floatation and thrust. The wings on the powered wheels propel the vehicle in a similar way to a paddle wheel. A paddle wheel (also called side wheel or stern wheel) is a large wheel fitted with Paddles which is used to propel a Boat.
The most recent attempt, featured in the Southern Daily Echo (5th June 2008) and The Daily Telegraph (6th June 2008) is that of seven engineering students at the University of Southampton [3]. The Southern Daily Echo is a local Newspaper that covers the area of south-central Hampshire, England, including the city of Southampton For "The Daily Telegraph" in Australia see The Daily Telegraph (Australia. The University of Southampton is a university situated in the city of Southampton, on the south coast of England. The Amphibious Cycle combines a recumbent frame with separate floats, and is propelled using a paddle wheel. CNC Cruzbike 2007jpg|thumb|300px|Cruzbike Sofrider (a PBFWD recumbent and woman at end of the "Ride Across North Carolina" 2007]] A recumbent bicycle is a Bicycle A paddle wheel (also called side wheel or stern wheel) is a large wheel fitted with Paddles which is used to propel a Boat. A speed test on water achieved an average speed of 1. 12 m/s. The cyclist was able to transition the cycle both into and out of the water unassisted. This elegant prototype has a real application in urban areas of flooding, as well as applications in the leisure industry.
Amphibious buses
Amphibious buses are employed in some locations as a tourist attraction. Duck tours, or DUKW tours, are tours that take place on purpose-built amphibious tour buses or military surplus DUKWs and LARC-Vs Primarily offered
 |  |  Propellor and rudder |  Japanese sightseeing bus. Toronto (təˈrɒntoʊ colloquially pronounced or) is the largest city in Canada and is the provincial capital of Ontario The fuel of this bus is cooking oil used at home. |
Amphibious trucks and barges
With more than 20. 000 units produced, the DUKW was the most successful amphibious truck of World War II. The DUKW (popularly pronounced "duck") is a six-wheel-drive amphibious truck that was designed by General Motors Corporation during World War II World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including This 31-foot 6x6 truck was deployed in the Pacific theatre to establish and supply beachheads. Six-wheel drive, 6WD, and 6x6 are terms used to describe a Drivetrain which allows all six wheels to receive power from the vehicle's engine simultaneously It was designed as a wartime project by Sparkman & Stephens, the famous yacht design firm who also designed the hull for the Ford GPA 'Seep'. Sparkman & Stephens is a Naval architecture and Yacht brokerage firm with main offices on 5th Avenue in New York City, USA and a second A yacht is a recreational boat It designates two rather different classes of Watercraft, sailing and power yachts The Ford GPA 'Seep' (or Seagoing Jeep) was an amphibious version of the WWII Ford GPW Jeep. During the war, Germany produced the Landwasserschlepper and Schwimmwagen, and in the '50s, the Soviets developed the GAZ 46, BAV 485, and PTS. Landwasserschlepper was an amphibious tractor produced by Germany during World War Two. The VW Type 128 and 166 Schwimmwagen (literally Floating / Swimming Car) were amphibious All-wheel-drive off-roaders used extensively by the German The GAZ 46 MAV is a Russian-made light Four-wheel drive amphibious military vehicle that entered service in the 1950s and has been used by many Eastern Bloc The BAV 485 (Russian большой автомобиль водоплавающий is a Soviet Amphibious transport similar to the DUKW. The PTS is a Soviet tracked Amphibious transport similar to the DUKW.
During the Vietnam War, the US Army used the amphibious articulated Gama Goat and the larger Caterpillar 'Goer' truck-series to move supplies through the canals and rice paddies of Southeast Asia. The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, or the Vietnam Conflict, occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia The United States Army is a military organization whose primary mission is to "provide necessary forces and capabilities. The Gama Goat was a six-wheel-drive semi-amphibious Off-road vehicle originally developed for use by the US Military for the war in Vietnam A paddy field is a flooded parcel of Arable land used for growing Rice and other semiaquatic crops. The latter was based on a 1950s civil construction vehicle and became the US Army’s standard heavy tactical truck before its replacement by the HEMTT. The Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck ( HEMTT) series are a range of 8x8 diesel powered off-road capable trucks used by the US military Although the vehicles' wheels were mounted without suspension or steering action, and land speeds over 20 mph were ill-advised, its articulated design provided it with good maneuverability and helped it to keep all four wheels firmly in touch with uneven ground. Coupled with its amphibious capability, in the Vietnam War (especially during raining season), the M520 Goer developed a reputation of being able to go where other trucks could not. The M520 'Goer' "Truck Cargo 8-ton 4x4" truck series was formerly the US Army ’s standard heavy tactical truck before its replacement by the HEMTT.
For taking vehicles and supplies onto the beaches the US used the 1950s designed LARC-V and the huge LARC-LX or "BARC". LARC-V (Lighter Amphibious Resupply Cargo 5 ton is an aluminium hulled amphibious cargo vehicle capable of transporting 5 tons LARC-LX (Lighter Amphibious Resupply Cargo 60 ton or as it was originally designated BARC (Barge Amphibious Resupply Cargo is a welded Steel hulled amphibious At 63 feet long and 27 feet wide the latter is one of the largest wheeled amphibians to date. It could carry up to 100 tons of cargo or 200 people, but a more typical load was 60 tons of cargo or 120 people. The vehicle was powered by four V8 diesel engines positioned in the sides of the hull, each driving a single 8-foot wheel.
The United Kingdom used the 6x6 wheeled Alvis Stalwart as their amphibious cargo carrier. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The FV 620 Stalwart, informally known by servicemen as the "Stolly" is a highly mobile amphibious military truck built by Alvis that served with the This highly mobile 5-ton truck entered service with the British Army in 1966. The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. In the water it was driven by vectored thrust water-jet propulsion units at about 6 knots. Thrust vectoring is the ability of an Aircraft or other vehicle to direct the Thrust from its main Engine (s in a direction other than parallel to
American manufacturer Terrawind currently offers civilian amphibious buses and motorcoaches.
EWK Eisenwerke Kaiserslautern GmbH developed unique amphibious vehicle M3, that can be used as a ferry and as a floating bridge for trucks and heavy combat vehicles.
 LARC-LX (BARC) amphibious barge unloading a 5-ton LARC-V truck |  LARC-LX (BARC) amphibious vehicle at Sea, powered by two 4-feet propellors |  Alvis Stalwart heavy-duty military truck |  Alvis Stalwart HMLC Mk. 2 (FV 622) |
 M561 'Gama Goat' articulated amphibian truck |
Wheeled armored vehicles
Many modern military vehicles, ranging from light wheeled command and reconnaissance, through armoured personnel carriers and tanks, are manufactured with amphibious capabilities. Armoured personnel carriers (APCs are Armoured fighting vehicles developed to transport Infantry on the Battlefield They usually have only a Machine A tank is a tracked, Armoured fighting vehicle designed for Front-line combat which combines Operational mobility and tactical Contemporary examples of wheeled armored amphibians are the French Panhard VBL and GIAT Industries VAB. The Panhard Véhicule Blindé Léger ("Light armoured vehicle" is a wheeled 4x4 The Véhicule de l'Avant Blindé or VAB ("Armoured Vanguard Vehicle" in French) is an Armoured personnel carrier designed by the Euro Mobilité
The VBL (Véhicule Blindé Léger or "Light armoured vehicle") is a compact, lightly-armored 4x4 all-terrain vehicle that is fully amphibious and can swim at 5. Four-wheel drive, 4WD, or 4x4 ("four by four" is a four-wheeled Vehicle with a drivetrain that allows all four Wheels to 4 km/h. The VAB (Véhicule de l'Avant Blindé or "Armored Vanguard Vehicle") is a fully amphibious Armoured personnel carrier (APC), powered in the water by two water jets, mounted one on either side of the rear hull (see detail picture above). Armoured personnel carriers (APCs are Armoured fighting vehicles developed to transport Infantry on the Battlefield They usually have only a Machine An amphibious vehicle (or simply amphibian) is a Vehicle or craft, that is a means of transport viable on land as well as on water - just like an It entered service in 1976 and around 5000 were produced in numerous configurations, ranging from basic personnel carrier, anti-tank missile platform to riot control versions with a water cannon. Riot control refers to the measures used by police military or other forces to control, disperse and arrest civilians that are involved in a Riot, demonstration A water cannon is a device that shoots a high- Pressure stream of Water.
During the Cold War the Soviet bloc states developed a number of amphibious APCs, fighting vehicles and tanks, both wheeled and tracked. Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the During the Cold War, the term Communist Bloc (or Soviet Bloc) was used to refer to the Soviet Union and countries it either controlled or that were Wheeled examples are the BRDM-1 and BRDM-2 4x4 armored scout cars, as well as the BTR-60, BTR-70, BTR-80 and BTR-94 8x8 armored personnel carriers and the BTR-90 infantry fighting vehicle. The BRDM-2 ( Boyevaya Razvedyvatelnaya Dozornaya Mashina, Боевая Разведывательная Дозорная Машина literally "Combat Reconnaissance/Patrol Four-wheel drive, 4WD, or 4x4 ("four by four" is a four-wheeled Vehicle with a drivetrain that allows all four Wheels to The BTR-60 is the first vehicle in a series of Soviet eight-wheeled Armoured personnel carriers It was developed in the late 1950s as a replacement for BTR-152 The BTR-70 is an eight-wheeled Armored personnel carrier ( бронетранспортер or bronyetransportyor BTR-80 is an 8x8 wheeled Armoured personnel carrier (APC designed in the Soviet Union. The BTR-94 amphibious Armoured personnel carrier ( bronyetransportyor) is a Ukrainian modification of the Soviet eight-wheeled 8x8 Inc ( was originally founded in 1987 as Integrated Information Technology Inc Armoured personnel carriers (APCs are Armoured fighting vehicles developed to transport Infantry on the Battlefield They usually have only a Machine BTR-90 (GAZ-5923 is an 8×8 wheeled Infantry fighting vehicle developed in Russia, designed in 1993 and first shown publicly An infantry fighting vehicle ( IFV, also known as (mechanized infantry combat vehicle, (MICV) is a type of Armoured fighting vehicle (AFV
 Panhard VBL during French national holiday parade |  VBL fitted with MILAN anti-tank weapon |  VAB rear - water jet pods clearly visible | |
 Soviet BRDM-1 amphibious armored scout car |  BRDM-2 armored command vehicle in Yad la-Shiryon Museum, Israel, 2005 |  Soviet BTR-60 APC in Yad la-Shiryon Museum, Israel, 2005 |  Russian KFOR BTR-80 (Kosovo, 2000) |
Tracked unarmored vehicles
The M29 Weasel (Studebaker Weasel), whilst originally designed as a snow vehicle, operated successfully in amphibious role by the addition of front and rear floats. The Panhard Véhicule Blindé Léger ("Light armoured vehicle" is a wheeled 4x4 Milan (Milano Milan (listen) is one of the largest cities in Italy, located in the plains of Lombardy. The Véhicule de l'Avant Blindé or VAB ("Armoured Vanguard Vehicle" in French) is an Armoured personnel carrier designed by the Euro Mobilité The M29 Weasel was a World War II tracked vehicle built by Studebaker, designed specifically for operation in snow The basic vehicle will float but its bow is square so the additional floats add stability and load carrying capacity.
Tracked armored vehicles and tanks
Among tracked armored vehicles with amphibious capabilities are first of all those that are intended for use in amphibious assault. The United States started developing a long line of LVT (Landing Vehicle Tracked) designs from ca. 1940. The US Marine Corps currently uses the AAV7-A1 Amphibious Assault Vehicle, which is to be succeeded by the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (previously AAAV), which is capable of planing on water and can achieve water speeds of 37 - 46 km/h. The Amphibious Assault Vehicle ( AAV)&mdashofficial designation AAV-7A1 (formerly known as LVT-7) is a fully tracked amphibious landing The Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV is the newest USMC Amphibious vehicle, intended for deployment in 2015
A significant amount of tracked armored vehicles that are primarily intended for land-use, such as Armoured fighting vehicles and Infantry fighting vehicles nevertheless also have amphibious ability, tactically useful inland, reducing dependence on destroyable and easily-targeted bridges. An armoured fighting vehicle ( AFV) is a military Vehicle, protected by armour and armed with Weapons Most AFVs are equipped for driving in rugged An infantry fighting vehicle ( IFV, also known as (mechanized infantry combat vehicle, (MICV) is a type of Armoured fighting vehicle (AFV To provide motive power, they use their tracks, sometimes with added propellor or water jets. Continuous tracks are large (modular tracks used on the so-called caterpillar Tanks construction equipment and certain other off-road vehicles As long as the opposite bank has a shallow enough slope for the APC, AFV or IFV to climb out within a few miles, they can cross rivers and water obstacles. Armoured personnel carriers (APCs are Armoured fighting vehicles developed to transport Infantry on the Battlefield They usually have only a Machine An armoured fighting vehicle ( AFV) is a military Vehicle, protected by armour and armed with Weapons Most AFVs are equipped for driving in rugged An infantry fighting vehicle ( IFV, also known as (mechanized infantry combat vehicle, (MICV) is a type of Armoured fighting vehicle (AFV American examples are the M113 Armored Personnel Carrier and the M2 Bradley. The M2 Bradley IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicle and M3 Bradley CFV (Cavalry Fighting Vehicle are American Infantry fighting vehicles manufactured by Soviet examples are the PT-76 amphibious tank, and the BTR-50 and MT-LB APCs based on its chassis. The PT-76 (Obiekt 740 Armour protection The armour of PT-76 costs of homogeneous cold rolled welded steel The BTR-50 (BTR stands for Bronetransporter (БТР Бронетранспортер literally "armoured transporter" † is a Soviet Amphibious The MT-LB ( м ногоцелевой т ягач л егко б ронированный mnogotselevoy tyagach lekhko bronirovannyi / multi-purpose
Some heavy tanks have an amphibious mode in which a fabric skirt is needed to add buoyancy. In Physics, buoyancy ( BrE IPA: /ˈbɔɪənsi/ is the upward Force on an object produced by the surrounding liquid or gas in which it is The Sherman DD tank used in the D-Day invasion had this setup. World War II foreign variants and use Lend-Lease Sherman tanks. DD tanks (for D uplex D rive but nicknamed Donald Duck-tanks were amphibious swimming Tanks developed during the D-Day may also refer to Decimal Day in the United Kingdom. D-Day is a term often used in Military parlance to denote When in water the waterproof float screen was raised and propellers deployed. The M2 and M3 Bradleys also need such a skirt.
Amphibious tanks
In World War II the M4 Medium tank (named the Sherman by the British) was made amphibious with the addition of a rubberized canvas screen to provide additional buoyancy. World War II foreign variants and use Lend-Lease Sherman tanks. In Physics, buoyancy ( BrE IPA: /ˈbɔɪənsi/ is the upward Force on an object produced by the surrounding liquid or gas in which it is It was propelled by propellers driven by the main engine. This was referred to as the Sherman DD (Duplex Drive) and was used on D-Day to provide close fire support on the beaches during the initial landings. DD tanks (for D uplex D rive but nicknamed Donald Duck-tanks were amphibious swimming Tanks developed during the D-Day may also refer to Decimal Day in the United Kingdom. D-Day is a term often used in Military parlance to denote The Sherman DD could not fire when afloat as the buoyancy screen was higher than the gun. A number swamped and sank in the operation, due to rough weather in the English Channel (with some tanks having been launched too far out), and to turning in the current to converge on a specific point on the battlefield, which allowed waves to breach over the screens. Those making it ashore, however, provided essential fire support in the first critical hours.
Some light tanks such as the PT-76 are amphibious, typically being propelled in the water by hydrojets or by their tracks. The PT-76 (Obiekt 740 Armour protection The armour of PT-76 costs of homogeneous cold rolled welded steel A pump-jet or water jet is a marine system that creates a jet of Water for propulsion. In 1969, the U. S. Army rushed the new M551 Sheridan to Vietnam. The M551 Sheridan was a Light tank developed by the United States, named after Civil War General Philip Sheridan. This 17 ton light tank was built with an aluminium hull, steel turret and gun (although the 152 mm gun was called a "launcher" at the time), and could swim across bodies of water. Because the U. S. Army had done away with the old heavy, medium, and light tank classifications prior to the Vietnam War, and had adopted the Main Battle Tank (MBT) system, the M551 was officially classified as an Airborne Reconnaissance Assault Vehicle. The M551 upon arrival in Vietnam began replacing the M48A3 Patton in all cavalry squadrons, leaving only the M48A3 in the U. The M48 Patton was one of the US army 's principal Main battle tanks of the Cold War, with models in service from the early 1950s on through the 1990s S. Army's three armored battalions in Vietnam, the 1/77th, 1/69th, and the 2/34th Armor. However, the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment did retain some M48s, as they were the only full regiment in country. Armor Crewmen Trainees at the U. S. Army's Armor School at Fort Knox Kentucky, at the time of the Sheridan entering service, were specifically instructed to refer to the Sheridan by its designated nomenclature. However, for nearly everyone today, civilian and military alike, the Sheridan is a "light tank. " The Sheridan needed no modifications for river crossings, crewmen simply raised the cloth sides that were tucked inside rubber tubes along the hull's upper edges, raised the driver's front shield which had a acrylic glass window, the driver turned on his bilge pumps, shifted his transmission lever to water operations and the Sheridan entered the water. Poly(methyl methacrylate ( PMMA) or poly(methyl 2-methylpropenoate is a Thermoplastic and transparent Plastic. For newly arrived Sheridans, this might work as engineered. For "war weary" M551s, the driver's window was often "yellowed" and/or cracked as to obscure his vision, and the rubber tubes that contained the rolled up side sleeves were often cracked and/or frozen into place. The Sheridan could still cross a body of water, but like its swimming cousin, the M113 APC (Armoured Personnel Carrier, also built of aluminium) the river had to be narrow, less than 100 yards (100 m). In all cases, the bilge pumps had to be working properly, and even then by the time the Sheridan or the APC reached the other side, water would often fill the insides up to their armoured roofs, spilling through the hatches' cracks and emptying onto the earth once safely ashore. Often a fold down trim vane is erected to stop water washing over the bow of the tank and thus reducing the risk of the vehicle being swamped via the driver's hatch.
Deep fording
Some military vehicles are not truly amphibious but are capable of "wading" using waterproof screens to keep the upper hull dry. In World War II the tanks following the Sherman DDs were given waterproofed hulls and trunking was fixed to the engine intakes and exhausts to allow them to come ashore from landing craft in shallow water. The Germans gave their Tiger tank a long snorkel, essentially a long tube on the commanders hatch that allowed it to wade through four metres of water. Military wheeled vehicles like Jeeps are capable of mounting snorkels for the air intake and engine exhaust to allow them to wade through relatively deep water limited by the height
The Leopard II tank carries a snorkel that is in fact a series of rings which can be stacked to create a long tube. The Leopard 2 is a German Main battle tank developed by Krauss-Maffei in the early 1970s and first entering service in 1979 This tube is then fitted to the crew commander's hatch and provides air and an escape route for the crew. The height of the tube is limited to around three meters.
All modern Soviet/Russian tanks like the T-90 are also able to perform deep fording operations, however unlike the Leopard, the Russian snorkel is only a few inches round and does not provide a crew escape path, although it is more practical and can be stored on the tank. The GPO Uralvagonzavod T-90 is a Russian main battle tank derived from the T-72, and is currently the most modern tank in the Russian
 LVT 'Buffalos' taking Canadian troops across the Scheldt (Netherlands, 1944). The Scheldt (Dutch Schelde, French Escaut, Latin Scaldis) is a 350 km[http //www The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands |  Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle at speed in water |  1944 Sherman DD (Duplex Drive) amphibious tank with float screens |  M2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle exiting the water (1983) |
 Polish PT-76 amphibious light tank coming out of the water during an exercise |  Soviet PT-76 amphibious tank in Yad la-Shiryon Museum, Israel |  BTR-50PK APC in Yad la-Shiryon Museum, Israel, 2005 |  MT-LB Armoured personnel carrier |
Articulated and multi-unit tracked amphibians
The unique capability that distinguishes multi-unit vehicles from single unit ones, is the ability to help each other. According to a 1999 article in Military Parade magazine, multi-unit, all-terrain transport vehicles were first proposed by the British in 1913, and by the 1950s, over 40 types of articulated tracked vehicles (ATVs) were in production. The articulated tracked concept is chosen primarily for its combination of high maneuverability, cross-country abilities, and remarkable load-carrying capacity. In some cases the design is made amphibious, giving them all-terrain capability in the truest sense. Usually the front unit houses at least the engine, gearboxes, fuel tank(s) and the driver's compartment, and perhaps there is some space left for cargo or passengers, whereas the rear unit is the primary load carrier.
Examples of this concept are the Russian Vityaz DT-(10/20/30)P models, the Swedish Volvo Bv202 and Hagglunds Bv206 designs, and Singapore Bronco ATTC (All-Terrain Tracked Carrier). Bandvagn 202 ( Bv 202) is a tracked all-terrain vehicle developed by Volvo BM, a subsidiary of Volvo, for the Swedish Army. Bandvagn 206 ( Bv 206) is a tracked articulated all-terrain carrier developed by Hägglunds (now part of BAE Land Systems) for the Swedish Army
A highly specialised development is the Arktos expedition and evacuation craft, that uses a linkage with two joints to connect the two units, as well as fitting each unit with its own engine, to give each unit enhanced independence of movement.
Hovercraft
For certain applications wheeled and tracked amphibious vehicles are slowly being supplanted by Air-cushioned landing craft in many modern militaries. A hovercraft, or air-cushion vehicle (ACV is an Amphibious vehicle or craft, designed to travel over any sufficiently smooth surface supported by An air cushioned landing craft, also called an LCAC ( Landing craft air cushioned is a modern variation on the amphibious landing boat An Air-Cushion vehicle (ACV) or hovercraft is designed for traveling over land or water supported by a cushion of slow moving, low-pressure air ejected downwards against the surface below it. A hovercraft, or air-cushion vehicle (ACV is an Amphibious vehicle or craft, designed to travel over any sufficiently smooth surface supported by In principle a hovercraft can travel over any sufficiently smooth surface, solid, liquid, mixed, or anything in between. Considering that hovercraft can be quite large, some riding on an air-cushion contained by skirts several meters tall, these can deal with a reasonable level of unevenness in the terrain, unfazed by obstacles 1 to 2 meters in height. On the other hand the smallest personal hovercraft - ACVs no bigger than a compact hatchback - are nimble enough to follow some rolling of the terrain just as easily. A personal hovercraft is a small Hovercraft normally carrying fewer than 10 passengers
One of the benefits of this type of amphibious craft is the possibility of making them large - the British-built SR-N4 Mk-3 Channel-crossing ferries were 56,4m (185 ft) in length and 23,8m (78 ft) wide. The Mountbatten class Hovercraft or SR-N4 (Saunders Roe Nautical 4 was built by the British Hovercraft Corporation (BHC Other benefits of ACVs include their very high water speed (an SR-N4 Mk-1 could do 83 knots - 95 mph or 154 km/h !) and the fact that they can make the transition from land to water (or vice versa) at speed - contrary to most wheeled or tracked amphibians. Drawbacks are high fuel consumption and noise levels.
For military purposes, the hovercraft's ability to distribute its laden weight evenly across the surface below it makes it perfectly suited to the role of amphibious landing craft. The US Navy LCAC can take troops and materials (if necessary an M1 Abrams tank) from ship to shore and can access more than 70% of the world's coastline, as opposed to conventional landing craft, that have only about 17% of that coastline available to them for landing. The Landing Craft Air Cushioned (LCAC is a class of air-cushion vehicle / Hovercraft used as Landing craft by the United States Navy and
Further reading
- René Pohl: Mit dem Auto baden gehen. HEEL Verlag, Gut-Pottscheidt Konigswinter 1998, ISBN 3-89365-702-9
- Ben Carlin, Half-Safe, Andre Deutsch Ltd 1955
- Ben Carlin, The Other Half of Half-Safe, ISBN 0-9598731-1-2, Guildford Grammar School Foundation 1989
References
- ^ Shourie, D. (2006) Grassroots inventions The Tribune, Chandigarh, India. 17th February 2006.
- ^ Moraga, E. O. (1969) 21 September 1971 Cyclo Amphibious US Patent 3,606,856.
- ^ Anthony Chesshire, David Edwards, Simon Halford, Joanna Hutchinson, Jack Marriott, Andrew Webster & Simon Wiles (2008) Design Build and Test an Amphibious Cycle School of Engineering Sciences, University of Southampton.
External links
- UK based site all about the 1960s German Amphicar
- The A to Z 'Amphiclopy'
- Ford GPA "Seep"
- "Amphibious" Land Rover
- Seattle's Ride the Ducks! tour Seattle from land & water!
- Portland Ducks - Land & Water Tours
- Terra Wind,Cool Amphibious Manufacturers International
- The Museum of Creative Invention of multirole vehicles; see also their extensive
- external links page.
- A site for Amphibious ATV vehicles
- Boston Duck tour vehicles
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