Ride in a Piece of History - DC Ducks
No, they’re not the latest NLH hockey franchise team, they’re the original World War II DUKW (“Duck” or lovingly called the “magoo”) amphibious vehicles that you can tour DC in.
The history of the DUKW starts in 1942, shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor. General Motors started production of the DUKW by making a propeller-driven, water-tight version of the 31-foot long “duce and a half” 2½-ton six-wheel-drive standard Army truck. The DUKW was designed to be used as a combined amphibious/land vehicle to transport troops and supplies on and off of cargo ships and troop transporters.
The first water tests of the DUKW were performed nearby in the Chesapeake Bay, while road and off-road tests were conducted south of DC at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
Capable of crossing the English Channel, they were used in the Normandy D-Day invasions, as well as the invasions of North Africa and Sicily. A total of 21,000 DUKWs were manufactured, mostly by a female factory workforce.
And what do the letter ”DUKW” stand for? D designates the vehicle’s first year of production in 1942, U stands for “Utility” truck body style, K for front wheel drive, and W designated a tandem real axle.
With a top speed on land of over 50 mph and a 6 mph cruising speed on water, it was capable of hauling 30+ troops.
After the war, surplus military DUKWs were sold to the public and became popular with the Coast Guard, fire departments and even a few Southern California abalone fishermen. One DUKW was deployed to help rescue Hurricane Katrina survivors.
Now that the summer crowds are gone, how about trying a unique 90-minute DUKW ride in a piece of history? Tour around Washington, DC and take a short cruise on the Potomac River. With the river cruise starting near Reagan National Airport, just under the takeoff and landing pattern, the kids will love it.
You might even get a chance to drive the DUKW on the water.
Want to own your own DUKW? Find a restoration project here.
DC Ducks
Union Station Union Station - Main Entrance
50 Massachusetts Ave., NE
Washington, DC 20018
Dates and Times - Daily on the hour, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., through about Mid-October
Tickets - Adults - $29.00, kids 4 to 12 - $14:00, under 4 are free, plus get 10% off if you order your tickets online. DC residents using a free Hometown Pass card can ride for free when accompanied by a paying adult.
Nearest Metro subway station - Union Station - Red line
Parking - Paid hourly garage and meter parking is available at Union Station.
Photos - photos 1 & 3 - DC Ducks, photo 2 - Wikipedia, photo 4 - personal collection.
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7 Comments
I think this is so cool! I can’t wait to get on in one.
BTW, I will be including this post in next week’s Carnival of Cities (I will be hosting).
[...] Washington, DC, Jon invites all of us to Ride in a Piece of History - DC Ducks at The DC Traveler. What a great way to get more out of the city tour, by land as well as by water! [...]
Hey Jon! This is interesting… we have ducky things that look like this too. I never would think them sea worthy! I have to go investigate now! Thank for for the history lesson. I always wondered where this strange idea of duck tours came from. I have to check this out!
Yea Evelyn, it seems you can find Ducks in a bunch of larger large coastal cities. I was just in San Francisco and saw one driving through Fisherman’s Wharf.
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