DUKWs on D-Day

Tank Museum photo No. 2700/F/4

'The DUKWs were a big feature of the success of the assault. There were 11 companies of them altogether, employed in ferrying stores from coasters and other craft to shore, and in evacuating casualties from the beaches to LSTs (Landing Ship Tank) lying off shore.

Most of the DUKWs were carried across the Channel stowed in LSTs, but some were slung from davits and a few were carried on Rhino ferries which were towed by the LSTs.'

The Story of the Royal Army Service Corps 1939-1945

Tank Museum photo No. 0083/F/1

'At 0900 hours Lieutenant Day, with 23 DUKWs of A Platoon, came in on King Beach. The DUKWs were loaded with ammunition and went to HQ 69th Brigade near Crepon, where they were unloaded. Later in the day all the rest of the serials due in on D-Day arrived and only three DUKWs were damaged by mines or underwater obstacles. Apart from the delivery of the loads on the DUKW the only work we did on D-Day was the evacuation of casualties from the beaches'.

536 General Transport Company (DUKWs).

Tank Museum photo No. 3058/E/3

'One DUKW set off a mine at sea, and survived. The Admiral sent a signal to the commanding officer; I am aware of the many and varied duties which your DUKWs so efficiently perform, but until this morning I did not realise that minesweeping was one of them. If the crew of the DUKW report at Navy House they will receive the customary award the Admiralty makes to anyone who sweeps a mine. This turned out to be a bottle of scotch. The inevitable result was that DUKWs tended to meander in search of mines!'

The Story of the Royal Army Service Corps 1939 - 1945

'There were also occasions when we carried famous people on shore, or for a trip around the Mulberry. For example on June 12th B9 brought ashore Mr Churchill, General Eisenhower and General Montgomery. The Mulberry, incidentally, although much praised and publicized, did not at any time unload more than a third of the total tonnage carried by the 11 DUKW companies working in the British sector of the beach-head'

536 General Transport Company (DUKWs)

Tank Museum Photo No. 4440/F/2

HM King George VI climbs down from P5575625, known ever after as 'The Royal DUKW'. Is that the Royal Standard flying from a boathook at the stern?