Jeeps, Weasels, Higgins Boats, and Duck Boats

Transportation was important during World War II and the military employed a variety of vehicles to move people and supplies. Whether it was on land or at sea, different terrains required different means of transport, each of which required different designs; and the military found an array of vehicles to solve the problem.

One of the most important new vehicles was the Jeep. It was lightweight, versatile, dependable, and usable in multiple locations. Jeeps were used in Europe and the Pacific by Americans, British, and Soviets.   It was one of the most-manufactured vehicles in World War II. Over 640,000 Jeeps were produced during the war by two manufacturers, Willys MB and the Ford GPW. It had a range of about 285 miles and could go as fast as 65 miles per hour. 

Jeeps were capable of transporting up to four people and could carry as much as 800 pounds of supplies. It was known for moving supplies and towing big guns and artillery equipment but also was used in a variety of other purposes, including reconnaissance, field ambulances, cable laying, firefighting pumpers, and tractors. It was small enough to be parachuted from planes and to fit into landing craft.

After the war, Willys-Overland began selling Jeeps to civilian consumers. Today, Stellantis (of Amsterdam) owns the Jeep brand and produces several types of Jeeps. Over 600,000 were sold in 2023.

The military also sought a better landing craft for amphibious assaults. Previously, amphibious attacks were usually against ports. Small boats usually offloaded troops close to shore by having them climb over the side or by sending them to ports. What was needed was a craft that could reach shore, easily and quickly unload the troops directly onto the beaches, and then quickly return to its mother ship to bring in additional troops. A small company in New Orleans that specialized in producing shallow-water boats with flat bottoms for gas exploration, reconfigured the design of their boat to include a hinged door on one side, called a bow ramp.

Named after the owner of the company, the Higgins boat was in a class of boats that were listed as a Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel (LCVP). It changed amphibious operations because assaults could be directed against beaches, not just ports, and the retractable ramp could efficiently offload the troops at the edge of the shore.  This also allowed small vehicles to drive directly onto the beaches from the boats. Once all troops were offloaded, the Higgins boat backed up from shore and returned to the larger ships to transport another load of troops. Seventy-five employees at Higgins’ company produced over 20,000 Higgins boats during the war.

The Higgins boats were 36 feet long and 11 feet wide. They had wooden sides which made it lighter, and a steel ramp. Each boat could hold 36 men or a jeep with 12 men.

Higgins boats were used in many of the amphibious operations in World War II, including the invasions of North Africa, Sicily, Normandy, and Southern France, as well as the Pacific assaults in Guadalcanal, Guam, Tarawa, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. 

The weasel was a small cargo vehicle designed to operate on problematic terrain where vehicles with wheels and tires did not work well, such as snow, mud and marshes. The weasel was a popular tracked vehicle for this purpose. It was originally designed for an operation in a snowy location that never materialized, but the weasel was viewed as a four-wheel drive, all-terrain vehicle to be used where Jeeps could not operate. The weasel could float, and worked on hard surfaces, sandy deserts, swamps, ravines, jungles, steep hills, and deep muddy roads. It could also be adjusted for deserts or for snow plowing and was fitted with machine guns for combat.

Manufactured by Studebaker in Indiana, the M28 Weasel was wide-tracked, lightweight and small enough to fit into a plane or glider. On simple hard surface, it was capable of travelling at 35 miles per hour, but on rough terrain it operated at 25 mph. It had a range of 165 miles on one tank and could carry a crew of 4 men and tow up to 2,800 pounds. Later versions, such as the M29c, were better designed as an amphibious vehicle.

The weasel was considered an amphibious vehicle but was limited to inland waterways and it tended to overheat in hot weather. It operated slowly and steadily carrying cargo over rough terrain and had no problem going up steep inclines of 45 or more degrees or traveling through minefields.

The weasel was used in Europe, the Pacific, and the remote areas of Alaska. Airplanes and gliders dropped them into battlefields. They could be found in battlefields with difficult landscapes, including the rough terrain in Iwo Jima and Okinawa in the Pacific, in the mud found at the Roer River and the Rhine River, and also at St Lo and the Battle of the Bulge in Europe. The Allies used them on the muddy estuaries during the battle for the Scheldt and following the floods in Europe. They were dependable vehicles for transporting explosives and munitions on the battlefields and for laying wire for communication systems. They went over railroad tracks and took down small trees and brush. Because it was small, the weasel was easy to camouflage. When necessary, they were used to transport wounded soldiers or commanders trying to reach off-road locations.

The weasel was introduced in 1942, and production of the M29C weasels stopped in August 1945. Approximately 16,000 weasels were made. The weasel continued to be used after the war in areas with winter conditions, such as polar expeditions and ski resorts.

The military also had a fully amphibious landing craft that could drive off from the shoreline called the DUKW.  It was designed to be a truck that also floats. The DUKW was not a large vehicle, it measured 38 feet long. On land, it operated as a 3-axle, six-wheel vehicle, and it was easy to operate. Its main purpose was to quickly transport troops, ammunitions, supplies, and equipment from offshore supply ships to supply dumps and fighting units on shore.

The DUKW, also known as the Duck Boat, carried supplies from the ship to the shore, across the beach, and delivered many troops onto all five beaches at Normandy without stopping. They also provided the Rangers with support in climbing the cliffs near the Normandy beaches. At the same time, Duck Boats were employed to treat and evacuate wounded men from the beaches and were easily able to transport troops inland and supply them with ammunitions and food as the front advanced. Following the failure of one of two mulberries (floating docks) built in Normandy, Duck Boats were instrumental in keeping the delivery of supplies going by moving millions of tons of cargo and supplies into Europe until new ports were opened. As much as 40% of supplies delivered between June 6^th and mid-July (estimated to be 18 million tons) were carried by the DUKW boats.

Besides the Normandy invasion, the Duck boats were used by the Army and Marine Corps in the invasions of Sicily, Guadalcanal, North Africa, and Italy. They also were used to cross the Rhine River in March 1945.

After World War II, production of the Duck Boats ended. Approximately 21,000 were produced. Surplus Duck Boats were used in the Korean War. Many have survived and are now used as tourist vehicles in Boston, Seattle, San Diego, London, Dublin, and other cities. In Boston, they have become the vehicle of choice for sports parades.

All four of these vehicles altered how the war was fought. The Jeep provided easy transportation for people and supplies in all theaters and still does that today. The weasel allowed delivery of troops and supplies where Jeeps could not go due to bad road conditions, obstacles, or lack of roads. General Eisenhower believed the Higgins boats helped win the war because they allowed troops to land on the beaches in Normandy, which altered the strategy for amphibious landings. In fact, D-Day was delayed one month to increase the number of Higgins boats available. Like the Higgins boats, Duck Boats could bring men and supplies directly onto the beach, but the DUKW could carry them farther, saved time, and eliminated reloading on shore.