Terrapin, DUKW

[redcoat2]

Originally Posted by redcoat2

It was the 30 man carry capacity that I've flagged for attention not the vehicle itself. I'm aware of it's use by the Brits in NW Europe

I was concerned about the unit name and the armour (2 instead of 1).

They were generally known as Buffalo. AFAIK the name AMTRAC wasn't used by the British. Unit 58 could be renamed as the Buffalo. There is another Buffalo (Unit 306) in the British OOB, but I think it represents those that were up-armoured and up-gunned.

The British probably used the Buffalo as much in northern Italy as in NW Europe. Buffalos in Italy looked rather different from those used further north. The Buffalo originally had a ramp at the front and an engine at the back whereas those in Italy had the ramp at the back and the engine at the front. They were called ‘Buffalo Fantails’ or ‘Fantails’ because of the appearance of their hinged rear ramp. In game terms they are probably very similar to other Buffalos.

AFAIK Buffalos were only used by a couple of British organisations: the 79th Armoured Division in NW Europe and the RASC in Italy. It may be a good idea to check the Buffalos in other OOBS. It appears as Unit 154 in the Canadian OOB for example. AFAIK the Canadians didn’t have them – but I haven’t looked. I know that the British transported Canadian troops in the Scheldt using Buffalos from the 79th Armoured.

British Military Transport claims that the Buffalo could carry a 4-ton payload. In Italy they were used to transport jeeps and 25 Pounder guns across flooded areas of the Po Valley and Lake Commachio. 30 men would be a very tight squeeze though.

P.S. The largest amphibious assault undertaken by the Fantails in Italy was their attack across Lake Commachio in April 1945. The BBC has published the memories of one of the veterans of the operation on their website:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/s...a1135234.shtml

Edit: the veteran's account says that "each Fantail carried one platoon".

[Imp]

Do not take this as correct but think several versions possibly with a lower payload in later ones, due more than anything I think to extra guns. Seem to remember 16 or 18 men was carry capacity or indeed a jeep or small gun

[redcoat2]

Originally Posted by Imp

Do not take this as correct but think several versions possibly with a lower payload in later ones, due more than anything I think to extra guns. Seem to remember 16 or 18 men was carry capacity or indeed a jeep or small gun

I guess it is likely that the up-armoured and up-gunned version of the Buffalo (Unit 306 in the game) was able to transport fewer soldiers than the normal Buffalo. I suspect that these up-gunned Buffalos may have been less common though.

A photo of a ‘Buffalo 20mm’ (wargamers name)



A photo of a straightforward Buffalo ‘Troop Carrier, Amphibious’



I’m beginning to doubt what I read in one of my books about the design of the Buffalo. I think most if not all Buffalos in NW Europe had a ramp at the back of the vehicle rather than at the front. They were nicknamed ‘Fantails’ in Italy whereas they were just called Buffalos in NW Europe. They were basically the same.