Higgins Boat and Jeep in action at Camp Gordon Johnston.
Higgins Boat
Camp Gordon Johnston WW II Museum thanks all that donated funds for a replica of a Higgins Boat for a Monument to the soldiers that trained here, and we thank the volunteers that built and transported it!
The 1/2 scale replica is now installed at the Museum, right across the the beach pictured above.
SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE HIGGINS INDUSTRIES 36-FOOT LCVP
Construction Material: Wood (oak, pine and mahogany)
Displacement: 15,000 Pounds (light)
Length: 36-Feet, 3-Inches
Beam: 10-Feet, 10-Inches
Draft: 3-Feet Aft and 2-Feet, 2-Inches Forward
Speed: 12 Knots
Armament: Two .30-Caliber Machine Guns
Crew: Three – Coxswain, Engineer and Crewman
Capacity: 36 Troops with gear and equipment, or
6,000-Pound vehicle, or
8,100-Pounds of Cargo
Power Plant: Gray 225-HP Diesel Engine
Jeep
A general purpose personnel or cargo carrier, the Jeep is especially adaptable for reconnaissance or command; designed as 1/4-ton four-wheel drive truck, with a crew of three, wheelbase of 80 inches, tracks width of 47 inches, fold-down windshield, 660 pound payload, powered by an engine capable of 85 foot pounds of torque and an empty weight not exceeding 1300 pounds.
DUKW (Duck)
The DUKW – The DUKW weighs 7.5 tons and operated at 6.4 mph on water and 50-55 miles per hour on land. It is 31 feet long, 8.25 feet wide, and 8.8 feet high with the folding up canvas top and windshield.
The name “DUKW” was created by the General Motors’ manufacturing code. (“D” is “1942 model,” “U” is “amphibious,” “K” is “all-wheel drive,” and “W” is “dual rear wheels”).
Soldiers simplified this by calling them “ducks.”
Lieferwagen
The Lieferwagen – Type 82/5: Kübelwagen chassis with the Type 60 LO Lieferwagen (open pickup truck) body, based on Beetle shell.
One of the many uses of this cargo vehicle design was to haul munitions to aircraft on runway.
Camp Gordon Johnston’s 1500 sq. ft. vehicle display building safely secures and displays the Museum’s three vintage military vehicles plus our one-half scale Higgins Boat.
