The D.U.K.W., or more commonly known in its more pronounceable form, DUCK, got its rather fitting name from the engineering code used to describe it:

To be honest, it’s all a bit technical for me, but it does make for an amazing 2 – ton amphibious truck that does up to 50 miles per hour on roads and 4 knots in water – that’s definitely faster than a pedalo - not bad!

Just over 21,000 D.U.K.W.s were produced, so they’re pretty rare. My one was built in the autumn of 1944, and served with the US army in Europe. After the war the French army looked after it, even giving it a new hull in 1971. It finally retired from service in 1982, which is when the current owner and inadvertent citizen / chauffeur of my new country, Alec, bought it. Luckily for me, he has kept it running fully amphibiously ever since. And not just on the Thames – for the 50th anniversary of D-Day he took it across the English Channel to Calais! The D.U.K.W. has also been to Paris, Amsterdam, Oslo and Bruges. And now Downing Street too!
Alec keeps it in London, for the sole purpose of having fun, helping me invade the odd island and declare my independence!

The really technical bit
The DUKW is capable of carrying a 2 1/2 ton payload over land or water. It is equipped with a GMC 270 cubic inch 6 cylinder gasoline engine. It has a 5 speed transmission with a 2 speed transfer case. This gives a total of 10 forward speeds and 2 in reverse. It has 6 wheel drive, a water propeller and a 10 ton winch. All or any of these can be run separately or together in any combination. Top speed on land is 50 to 55 mph while on the water top speed is only 6 mph (land miles per hour not knots). It also has a tire inflation system with a 2 cylinder air compressor and air storage tank. This allows the driver to inflate or deflate any one or all six tires at the same time from the dashboard. The dashboard also has a tire pressure gauge so that air pressure can be monitored. The front brake lines are protected in steel conduit with barbed wire cutters on the outside. The DUKW weighs 7 1/2 tons empty and is 31 feet long. DUKWs were manufactured from 1942 to 1945 by General Motors Corporation.