• Ford was the only builder of the GPA
• 1942 and 1943 were the only years that GPA's were built
• Approximately 12,778 GPA's were built.

• 3-Speed transmission (same as jeep)
• 2WD / 4WD engaged in or out (same as jeep)
• Hi-Range / Low-Range transfercase (same as jeep)
• Dash mounted Parking Brake lever (same as jeep)
• Rear Rudder
• Rear Propeller PTO engaged in or out
• Front deck Capstan Winch engaged in or out

In the end it was obvious that the GPA sounded great on paper, but in actuality the GPA had some serious drawbacks.

• The GPA sat very low in the water, so with little freeboard, it foundered and sank easily
• The GPA was too lightweight for it's tires to be able to cut through the mud on the shore to get a good bite in many instances
• The GPA didn't carry very much cargo, so it didn't justify the investment of all the material that went into building it for so little a return

More information on the WW2 Ford GPA's can be learned by following this link to a wonderful Ford GPA website. And this GPA Link. And this GPA website link too.

I currently have 14 GPA's for sale.¹  Prices range from $800 to $3,000 ². <see foot notes below for details>
 

WWII 1/4 ton 4x4 Ford GPA Amphibious Jeep Photos

Amphibious Sea Jeep for Allied Fighters find the going to its liking as it goes over a hump on the test track. It can take knocks just as well as its landlubber brother. The Jeep, trademark of American troops on every fighting front, has taken to the water to carry amphibious warfare to enemy occupied shores and beaches. Volume production of the quarter-ton, four wheel drive truck with a boat, a sea going jeep, has begun in a Ford Motor Company plant. Already in use in the war zones, the sea jeep carries five men and can ford a river, navigate a lake or operate in surf that a boat of comparable size can negotiate. The same steering controls and the same propulsion carry it from land to water and back again. Dearborn, Michigan, March 16, 1943	Two American army vehicles which have already made names for themselves in World War II are the Jeep and the Ford GPA Amphibian. Units are here shown being serviced in the motor pool at Camp Shelby, Mississippi. 7/1943. This unit of approximately 8000 men is undergoing intensive training in all branches of combat duty, and they are looking forward with eagerness to actual services at the front. Extra Large Photo	Rows of GPA's in a  car park in WWII A line up GPA's in a vehicle park awaiting issue to various units as required.
Today Ford GPA's are a rare jeep and achieve top prices along with the German version, the Schwimmwagen.		A British Army or Canadian Army GPA
New Amphibious Military Jeep is tested by driving it into an icy river. The amphibious version of the jeep never achieved the success of its land-based cousin and most ended up being exported to Russia under lease-lend. After WWII ended, most of the rest of the US GPA's were transferred to Austraila, the Netherlands, and other allied countries.	Amphibian jeeps in operation at training camp in Camp Carson, Colorado - 4/24/1943.	FORT CARSON, Colo. -- Officers train in a Ford GPW Jeep in a lake that used to fill Ironhorse Park. Built in 1942 and 1943, the amphibious vehicle was referred to as a Jeep in a bathtub. Extra Large Photograph
		Extra Large Photo
An amphibious jeep takes on pictorial quality as it moves silently up stream on the Leaf River near Camp Shelby, Mississippi. 7/1943. The 442nd combat team at Camp Shelby is composed entirely of Americans of Japanese descent who volunteered for services in the armed forces. Extra Large Photo	Using a Ford GPA to float a Jeep in a tarp across a river. The amphibians (GPA's & DUKWs) may be left with their respective platoons to be sent across singly or towing one or more ¼-ton trucks wrapped in tarpaulins. From FM 2-30: Cavalry Mechanized Reconnaissance Squadron, War Department, March 1943.

¹ I was JUST KIDDING! I don't have a single one for sale or otherwise. Although I would love to have one.
   Should you already have one GPA and feel like donating your spare GPA, I'll give it a good home.  ;-)
² Just kidding again  Anyone pop a blood vessel? (vessel ~ get it...?? vessel, GPA, things that float?)
   ok, it's way past my bed time and I am getting silly.

At the same time the GPA was being developed the Army was working with designers at GMC to produce the same type of vehicle on a much larger scale - on the frame of a CCKW 6x6 Truck. They took a 2 1/2 ton 'Deuce and a half' GMC 6x6 cargo truck and put a hull around it.  It looked like a GPA on steroids.  This larger, heavier, vehicle had a lot more freeboard and was therefore less likely to swap and sink.  It could hold a large volume of materials and it's weight and 6 wheel drive made exiting waterways onto dry land a much easier thing to do. This larger amphibious vehicle was called a DUKW by the Army, and a DUCK by the GI's. It was also used by the US Navy, and Marines.  It served in all the theaters of war around the world and was a huge success.  It played a significant role in winning many battles and invasions, as it was able to ferry large quantities of men, materials, and medical supplies from the large cargo vessels anchored far off shore to the beachhead and provided the option to unload there, or to continue further inland from the beach. Other times they were disgorged from LSTs and ferried their supplies up and down the beach to where ever the supplies were needed most. In fact, DUKWs could just keep right on going down the road deep into the country.  For more info, see www.dukw.com.
 

WWII GMC DUKW Photos

A DUKW loaded with supplies heads inland from the landing beaches.	A DUKW bring much needed medical supplies ashore.	A DUKW unloads a USMC Jeep by means of an "A" frame, which lifts vehicle from the truck and places it on the ground. There were 140 DUKW's available to the landing force and they fulfilled an urgent need at Tinian when rough weather precluded all unloading by means other than DUKW's.
DUKW TM Manual photo.	A DUKW heads off across the sand following a road of PSP (Perforated Steel Planking) Sand Mats.	DUKW being disgorged from LST-375 on Salerno Beachhead

Ducks are still in service today as tour boats and rescue vehicles.

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JAPANESE DUKW-like Military Vehicle

The JAPANESE AMPHIBIAN TRUCK - One of several captured at Tinian by the USMC.

The Japanese Amphibious Truck was crude by comparison to the U.S. DUKW Amphibian Truck.  The Japanese developed model operated as a conventional 4x4 truck on land and could function in water by disengaging the front wheel drive and engaging a propeller on the vehicle's stern. Since it had no rudder the front wheels probably did the steering while it was in the water. It was described in After Action Reports on the battle for Tinian Island by the USMC as "a bizarre contraption that contributed nothing to the island's defense." per TF 52 Pictorial History of Capture and Occupation of Tinian.

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