Penguin Assault Amphibian Craft, WW2 USN craft for Mud Flats

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Mil-tech Bard
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Penguin Assault Amphibian Craft, WW2 USN craft for Mud Flats

#1

Post by Mil-tech Bard » 17 Oct 2014, 22:40

I ran across the following reference and I cannot find a photo of this vehicle anywhere:
COMBAT SCIENTISTS
By LINCOLN R. THIESMEYER
AND JOHN E. BURCHARD

This is from pages 223 - 225

In the spring of 1945 when landings on the China coast were being
planned it was evident that still another amphibian would be needed.
We had nothing that could move in quickly across the broad tidal
flats of a huge delta and land troops, ammunition, and supplies. There
the problem would be water only a few inches deep, or slick mud and
silt that could not support the heavy DUKW's and Buffaloes and
Weasels, could not even take our shallow-draft swamp gliders. There
would be no underwater obstacles like jetted rails sticking up in the
soggy silt to stop our shoreward progress; but these muddy areas were
broad and the assault waves would have to cross them swiftly, or they
would be mowed lown by enemy fire.

The Navy's effort to solve this problem was centered at Port Hueneme
on the California coast where such conditions could be found
along the shore line. COMINCH asked for help from someone who
would know the "soils" of deltas, and OFS sent Dr. Arthur B. Cleaves,
one of the country's foremost engineering geologists, chief consultant
on the Harrisburg Turnpike, who had later studied drainage on jungle
airstrips and foundation problems in Mexico. He had just gone down
to Fort Pierce, Florida, as a special advisor to the Joint Army-Navy
Experimental and Testing Board (JANET) on various aspects of amphibious
operations; but this mud-bottom problem was right up his
alley and JANET would likewise be keenly interested in its solution.

At the Acorn Assembly and Naval Training Detachment at Hueneme
Cleaves helped in the design and testing of an amphibian named the
PENGUIN. It was a shallow, lightweight sled, equipped with auxiliary
treads and powered by an aircraft engine. It weighed less than a ton
and could skim over water at the speed of an auto and go across mud
flats, through sloughs and tule grass with ease, carrying men and supplies
and towing extra loads. Fortunately we never needed to use this
"vessel," but it would have traversed terrain impassable to all the types
of amphibious vehicles we had yet devised.

This was only one of the many accomplishments of Arthur Cleaves
during his two years with OFS, which are detailed in other portions
of this book. Energetic, affable, alert, and persistent, he was one of the
1ost successful of the OFS men in working with the military. For his
contribution to the development of the PENGUIN, Navy Secretary Forrestal
wrote: -

"Applying your comprehensive technical knowledge with resourceful
initiative, you worked tirelessly in connection with the mud tests
conducted by the Acorn Assembly and Training Detachment and
were largely responsible for the solution of difflcult incidental problems.

"By your keen enthusiasm, tactful cooperation and brilliant professional
abilities you have contributed essentially to the development of
urgently needed cquipment, vital to the success of the war effort. Your
diligent efforts are deeply appreciated."

DUKW's, Weasels, Water Buffaloes, and PENGUINS - as different
from a sailor's idea of what a ship should be as was a Spanish galleon
from the modern battlewagon. Yet the men who manned them -
bluejacket, Marine, and dogface- learned to respect these sturdy, amphibian
craft, and often they owed their lives to the combat scientists
who designed, worked with, and fought for the trucks that went to
sea.
Does anyone have a lead?

Mil-tech Bard
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Re: Penguin Assault Amphibian Craft, WW2 USN craft for Mud F

#2

Post by Mil-tech Bard » 22 Oct 2014, 17:10

So...no one else has ever heard of this craft?


Carl Schwamberger
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Re: Penguin Assault Amphibian Craft, WW2 USN craft for Mud F

#3

Post by Carl Schwamberger » 22 Oct 2014, 19:31

No. Not heard of such a thing, but this paragraph caught my eye.
At the Acorn Assembly and Naval Training Detachment at Hueneme
Cleaves helped in the design and testing of an amphibian named the
PENGUIN. It was a shallow, lightweight sled, equipped with auxiliary
treads and powered by an aircraft engine. It weighed less than a ton
and could skim over water at the speed of an auto and go across mud
flats, through sloughs and tule grass with ease, carrying men and supplies
and towing extra loads. Fortunately we never needed to use this
"vessel," but it would have traversed terrain impassable to all the types
of amphibious vehicles we had yet devised.
What is described here is a light weight variant of Roeblings Alligator, and not lighter by much than the original built in the 1930s. Roeblings vehicle was designed for exactly this application, to carry cargo effciently across flooded areas that could not support boats or wheeled vehicles. The core of it was a sled like body and caterpillar tracks. Adopted first by the US Marines in 1941 as the Landing Vehicle Tracked (LVT) as a logistics vehicle. Later models had armor and weapons added for assault use from 1943. The last sentence is a bit mystifying
but it would have traversed terrain impassable to all the types
of amphibious vehicles we had yet devised.
since the Alligator & LVT could traverse all the terrain described in that paragraph. It may be that item was written by a journalist using incomplete information, or where additional information was chopped out by a editor.

There was also a smaller unarmored utility vehicle originally designed by the Brits & extensively modified for adoption by the US Army as the M29 Weasel. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M29_Weasel That could also float & traverse shallow water, tho it was designed originally for use on ice & snow.

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Re: Penguin Assault Amphibian Craft, WW2 USN craft for Mud F

#4

Post by Mil-tech Bard » 22 Oct 2014, 19:48

Carl,

As far as can tell, that isn't what they are talking about.

See photo and PDF attachment.
X-Craft (USN) - small.jpg
USN "X-Craft"
X-Craft from Research Investigation Experimentation Amphibious Vehicles - 1957.pdf
X-Craft, A WW2 Experimental Vehicle
(509.36 KiB) Downloaded 59 times

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Re: Penguin Assault Amphibian Craft, WW2 USN craft for Mud F

#5

Post by OpanaPointer » 22 Oct 2014, 20:13

Can't find anything relevant on Hyperwar.
Come visit our sites:
hyperwarHyperwar
World War II Resources

Bellum se ipsum alet, mostly Doritos.

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Re: Penguin Assault Amphibian Craft, WW2 USN craft for Mud F

#6

Post by Mil-tech Bard » 22 Oct 2014, 20:41

The X-Craft was to be used with a remote control for mine field clearance, based on the NARA documents I have seen.

And note that the PDF described a 160 HP aircraft engine.

A quick internet search showed only one A/C engine possibility in that power range that wasn't from WW1:
Lycoming O-320, 4-cylinder, 150–160 hp (112–119 kW), used on Cessna 172
...and it showed up in 1955!

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Re: Penguin Assault Amphibian Craft, WW2 USN craft for Mud F

#7

Post by Mil-tech Bard » 22 Oct 2014, 20:49

>>Can't find anything relevant on Hyperwar.

I am not surprised, Arthur Cleaves was a huge star of the oil business.

Yet a 'geologist emeritus' friend of mine drew a complete blank from his sources on the man to include professional organizations Cleaves was a part of and grand children in the oil business.

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Re: Penguin Assault Amphibian Craft, WW2 USN craft for Mud F

#8

Post by Takao » 22 Oct 2014, 22:17

Mil-tech Bard wrote:The X-Craft was to be used with a remote control for mine field clearance, based on the NARA documents I have seen.

And note that the PDF described a 160 HP aircraft engine.

A quick internet search showed only one A/C engine possibility in that power range that wasn't from WW1:
Lycoming O-320, 4-cylinder, 150–160 hp (112–119 kW), used on Cessna 172
...and it showed up in 1955!
There were a few in the Franklin 6 series that had that output and were in service from 1941
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_6_series

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Re: Penguin Assault Amphibian Craft, WW2 USN craft for Mud F

#9

Post by Carl Schwamberger » 23 Oct 2014, 04:20

Mil-tech Bard wrote:Carl,

As far as can tell, that isn't what they are talking about.

See photo and PDF attachment.
No obviously not. Yet the vehicle in the photo looks identical to the Roebling Alligator other than the extended prow. I am curious why the writer of the text describing the vehicle claimed it as unique.

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Re: Penguin Assault Amphibian Craft, WW2 USN craft for Mud F

#10

Post by Carl Schwamberger » 23 Oct 2014, 04:25

Carl Schwamberger wrote:
Mil-tech Bard wrote:Carl,

As far as can tell, that isn't what they are talking about.

See photo and PDF attachment.
No obviously not. Yet the vehicle in the photo looks identical to the Roebling Alligator other than the extended prow.

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Re: Penguin Assault Amphibian Craft, WW2 USN craft for Mud F

#11

Post by OldBill » 23 Oct 2014, 04:56

Take a close look at the photo Carl. The Alligators hull had neither flair nor chines, this does, this one does. The Alligators tracks also ran stem to stern, this does not. Alligator had a small cabin forward, this only a windscreen such as on a motor boat. It also seems to sport a pair of rudders, P&S, which I don't think the Alligator had. I can see the family resemblance, but also about as many differences as similarities.

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Re: Penguin Assault Amphibian Craft, WW2 USN craft for Mud F

#12

Post by Mil-tech Bard » 24 Oct 2014, 22:24

One of the frustrations of researching the Penguin is that it overlaped a number of other programs from the OSRD and the US Navy. Which all had differing code names for the same equipment at different times, places, and test facilities.

The radio and TV control system for the X-Craft and the LVT Drone came from the "Cambell program," which spun off into the OSS Javaman and US Navy "Stinger <name>" in Jan 1945 The 2nd <name> after Stinger4 being Able, Baker, Dog, Fox etc depending on if was an LVT, PT-Boat, PC(E), DE/DD or AKA control application.

This control system was to be used at Okinawa to control Kamikaze wrecked hulks as decoys, only the Kamikaze's sunk the hulk to be used before installation.

Now I found the following in the 1947 US Army Engineering Board summary report for its work on Beach obstacles in WW2.

The use of "Apex Boat" for unmanned remote controlled drone, likely this X-craft, and the manned "Bucket Boat" LVT or "X-Craft" is new to me and alternate LVT drones used later may or may not be related.

---------------
HISTORY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF DEMOLITIONS AND OBSTACLES
II. PASSAGE OF BEACH AND UNDERWATER OBSTACLES
DM-2
18 July 1947


DTIC Accession nmber ADB959486

page 38

Several Navy developments proved to be promising
These included the "bucket boat," which, loadad with heavy
charges, was to be scuttled among underwatar obatacles to destroy
them, and the "apex boat," also filled with charges, to be directed
by remote control. The second of then was the preferred type, for
it did not require means by which personnel could escape.



Page 54

In September as the program began to contract, one new project
was added, This was for the development of "Landing Vehicle,
Traoked Drone," that is, of a tracked amphibious vehicle to be
fillod with explosives and than operated froa another craft by use
of radio remote control.


Page 57

New Trials of an explosive laiden LVT controlled by radio indicated
that such an operation would be feasible only in a calm sea against
a small target on a smooth beach. Under these circumstances, the
Navy turned to the adaptation of an LVT(3) with hydromatic
Transmission to drone control. 5


5 1st ind, from OCE to ASF, 1 Feb 1945, to bsc com from EB to OCE,
27 Jan 1945. File 400.1 (DM 460), sub: Comments from JANET
Progress Report. 1 January 1945

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Re: Penguin Assault Amphibian Craft, WW2 USN craft for Mud F

#13

Post by Mil-tech Bard » 13 Nov 2014, 00:59

This document shows the place the "X-Craft" had in the US Navy's "surface assault drone" program.

I ran across it in the same NARA search that got the photos of the X-Craft up-thread.
Attachments
Drone control Names Stinger-something - small.jpg
The "Stinger - "something" Surface Assault drone listing. See the "X-Craft" in the list.

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