Ian Riley, Tarrangower Times

I was asked recently (on MainFM actually) why we chose to live in Maldon. All the usual reasons, pretty little town, interesting shops, My Tarrengower Hill Climb, etc. But after being here for a while, it’s the people that make it interesting and we really do have some interesting people here.

Acting on a tip-off, I went down to Cairn Curran on Sunday morning because I was told the Duck would be there. You’ve seen the pictures, so there’s no surprise that in this case, feathers were not a feature.

Simon Allen had his DUKW or Army Duck out for a swim.

An army duck is an amphibious vehicle created during WWII for troop and cargo transport to facilitate beach landings and river crossings.

Simon is one of those interesting people I mentioned, he doesn’t live right in Maldon, but he’s nearby and that’s good enough for me. He is a coach builder by trade and specialises in military vehicles. His workshop is full of projects like jeeps and trucks and he’s one of those people who the more you talk to, the more you learn and I suspect you’d never really get to the bottom of his expertise. The thing about this particular project is the attention to detail, the handmade webbing pouches for the documents, the stencilling of the operating instructions, the period fire extinguishers and even the mock-up 50 calibre machine gun, which all combine to make this unusual vehicle very authentic. I like enthusiasts.

I was lucky enough to actually go for a ride/cruise along the beach and around the lake.

The speed boats were all looking very coy when the Duck took to the water; it was not to be outdone. At 31 feet (10m) and 13 tons (6,500 kg) you can’t ignore it.

There was really no fuss about it though. Started right up, drove along like a truck, straight into the water, changed from the driving wheels to the propellor and we’re off around the lake.

I even had a turn at the wheel, literally easy as.

The name DUKW comes from General Motors Corporation model nomenclature:

• D, 1942 production series
• U, Utility
• K, all-wheel drive
• W, tandem rear axles, both driven.

Nothing to do with it being amphibious at all, very dry for a duck.

They made over 20,000 of these things. I really can’t imagine 20,000 army ducks, but the Chadstone Shopping Centre car park holds 9,000 cars, so double that and you’re close.

To be precise, the DUKW was built around the GMC AFKWX, a cab-over-engine (COE) version of the GMC CCKW six-wheel-drive military truck, with the addition of a watertight hull and a propeller.

So, if you happen to see it driving/floating around, you can nonchalantly say, there goes Simon in his duck…

See all the pictures in the issue.
This article appeared in the Tarrangower Times, 21 February 2025.