‘Lorry that swims’ is fighting fit again

CHILDHOOD holidays inspired a farmer to restore a Second World War amphibious vehicle to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day.

Graham Smitheringale, 51, first came across the six-wheeled DUKWs as a child at Hunstanton in Norfolk where examples of the “lorry that swims” were being used for tours.

The US-built vehicles were first used in the invasion of Sicily in July 1943.

Mr Smitheringale (inset) bought two “rusty wrecks” in late 2017, one with most of the base intact and the other with most of a chassis, combining them into one at his farm near Peterborough.

It is not yet water-tight but he hopes to show the vehicle on land at next month’s D-Day 75 commemorations in Portsmouth.

Mr Smitheringale enlisted a band of volunteers including a retired welder, a fitter and a painter to restore the DUKW authentically, sourcing missing parts from around the world including an original steering wheel from the US.

The project cost between £30,000 and £40,000 of his own and crowdfunded money.

“I was just amazed that you can get a lorry that swims,” he said. “It’s a six-wheel drive lorry with a hull round it and that’s amazing. “It was the backbone of Normandy. “We wouldn’t be where we are today if we hadn’t had them pushing the Germans back really on the D-Day landings.” Researcher David Cowcill said that when people first saw the state of the trucks, they thought the volunteers were “doolally”, but they were now scrambling to support them. DUKWs are 31ft long and 8ft wide, weigh more than six tonnes and could reach 50mph on road and six knots in water.

In time, the volunteers hope to get the craft on the water and use it in fundraising for the armed forces.