Terrapin (amphibious vehicle)

The Terrapin, officially the 4-ton amphibian, was a British-manufactured amphibious transport vehicle of the Second World War, first used in 1944 at Antwerp during the Battle of the Scheldt. The British Ministry of Supply commissioned Thornycroft to design it because American DUKWs were in short supply, and about 500 Mark 1 vehicles were built by Morris Commercial, the vehicle side of Morris Motors Limited. Two Ford V8 engines sat side by side, each driving the wheels on one side, with steering by wheel braking and two rear propellers in the water. The central engines split the cargo space, the driver's view was poor, and the vehicle was slow and easily swamped in rough seas. A longer Mark II with a forward driving position reached only five examples. Terrapins carried Royal Engineer assault teams and Canadian and British infantry across the Scheldt, and after the war served as public transport on the flooded island of Walcheren.