Slightly OT. Can you do this to a disco?

in article y snipped-for-privacy@texas.net, Disco Duck at snipped-for-privacy@noway.com wrote on 21/9/04 10:48:

Didn't Land rover do that with a couple of Srs 2's a fue years ago, make 'em float I mean?

click on 'The Collection'.

On or around Tue, 21 Sep 2004 11:33:30 +0100, Rory Manton enlightened us thusly:

I've seen pictures in one of the mags of a floating SII, was rather better done than that, too.

I still reckon the airbag style flotation kit is better, as it can be taken off when you're not trying to float it.

It is american, it has to be as big as possible and it doesn't matter how stupid it looks......suprised there's no guns on it! Here's a good link to other stupid cars....

'm a bit pissed off at the site's name, I am northern, I am not completely stupid and the last time I checked...I was not a monkey!

It looks to me like somebody just decided to stick a load of old cereal boxes to an american SUV. Call me picky but if I wanted an amhibious vehicle, I'd go and get one that doesn't look like a mad inventor had an afterthought of floatation tanks.

Something like a Stalwart or DUKW springs to mind as rather more capable.

Alex

LOL!!! You would expect a load of US Marines to come bursting out of the front & if you happened to be in the UK army, shoot you dead, or possibly miss & shoot themselves dead!

Nige

On or around Tue, 21 Sep 2004 21:29:23 GMT, Alex enlightened us thusly:

DUKW may be pronounced "duck" but it's far from efficient in water.

the series LR I've seen pictures of was a much nicer job, basically they'd kept near enough the normal body shape but sealed in all the wings and wheelboxes for bouyancy tanks and sealed all the doors shut.

Could be the OTAL (One Tonne Amphibious Landrover) or the APGP (Air Portable General Purpose). Neither were particularly successfull.

The APGP is here

andwas basically a modified Series II with flotation bags. The OTAL is here was a more custom job, originally for the Aus army. Alex

On or around Tue, 21 Sep 2004 23:18:29 GMT, Alex enlightened us thusly:

I reckon it was this one, or one like it. still looks better than the thing that started this discussion.

There was an amphibious jeep with some general resemblance to a DUKW. That is, a boatlike body on an existing chassis.

I don't know how the weight of an SWB Land Rover compares to an original Jeep, but I wouldn't rule out the possibility of an amphibious SWB in the same general style.

On or around Wed, 22 Sep 2004 09:23:10 +0100 (BST), snipped-for-privacy@zhochaka.demon.co.uk ("David G. Bell") enlightened us thusly:

There was a thing called amphi-ranger which looked dead handy. may still be for all I know.

here's a picture or 2:

another site says they've not produced it for 10 years. Pity, really.

I daresay you could do a bit with that closed-cell foam stuff they use for floatation in boats, and fill all the wheel arch spaces and so on on a series. Whether you'd get enough floation, I don't know.

On the basis of a loaded Series 2 weighing 2 tonnes, you need to displace 2 cubic metres of water to get it to float.

If you can

a) seal the passenger compartment and b) fit floatation stuff in the wing spaces and c) add some flotation tanks fore and aft

then it shouldn't be that difficult to get 2 cubic metres of fresh air underwater.

I have to note, however, that Solihull never managed (a) from above, let alone from below.

I think you'd also have to take into account the weight distribution. It would be nose-heavy unloaded and, while you could easily add flotation between the chassis rails, that would reduce stability.

That's partly why the amphibious Jeep of WW2 had a purpose-built hull, like the DUKW. No doors, for one thing.

I expect the hull would seal to the transfer box, so that axle movement wouldn't affect the seals, but engine/transmission movement relative the the chassis would still be a difficulty. Bilge pumps, of course.

So you end up with a bigger vehicle, likely with a reduced off-road capacity on land, and of a type not intended for front-line tactical use, SAS notwithstanding. And you can't fit as many on a landing craft.

An amphibious truck has some point, running between the ship and the supply dump, but the smaller vehicles seem of rather less use.

TV show "Monster Garage" did this with a New Beetle (I think).

Actually went a stage further and put a airscrew in the back to convert it into an everglades style air boat.

The thing was clearly sinking by the end of the program, and IMHO the most impressive thing was watching the proper airboat they were "racing" against drive itself out of the water and back onto its trailer. No winches, no wheels just a BIG fan attached to a healthy sounding V8.

Not that I watch this rubbish, of course.

David

You could take a substantially easier approach - namely the same one as used by the Sherman-DD (Duplex Drive).

Yes, that is a Sherman Tank.

It waterproofed the cabin and then used a canvas screen which extended well above the turret to act as a hull - duplex drive referred to its water propulsion system.

P.

In calm conditions for which it was designed, it worked very well. Unfortunately on D-Day the conditions were anything but calm. This was compounded by the Shermans being launched 6 miles out to sea. By the time they arrived at the beach the tide was running and the crews didn't have the nautical nous to turn into the waves.

There's a picture in ILRO this month of two guys driving a 110 across the Irish Sea. Uses 2 giant float bags, one either side.

And then there's the VW schwimvagen (sp?).

Pete

If your ever down Dorchester way try and get to the tank museum at Bovington.

They have got one of the these tanks kitted out with the canvas screen. Indeed it may be the only one left. It's also a fantastic place to spend a day if you like that sort of thing, which I do. The kids liked it but the missus was bored sh****ss.

IIRC British and Canadian (?) ones, used correctly during D Day, were a success where as the Americans launched to far out in too choppy conditions and, as a result, suffered accordingly.Later on they were used again on many river crossings into the German held areas.

The first DD were Vickers Valentines several of which now recide offshore around the Waymouth- Portland area

in article snipped-for-privacy@uni-berlin.de, Simon Barr at snipped-for-privacy@privacy.net wrote on 22/9/04 15:08:

And this weekend there is a model (Airfix type ,sorry) show. Will I be seeing anybody there? Look out for the Austrailian B 57 ,that will be me behind it (or there abouts)