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Chrysler Riverine Utility Craft
United States · Screw-propelled vehicle · built by Chrysler Corporation
| Also known as | RUC |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Chrysler Corporation |
| Country | United States |
| Built | 1969– |
| Type | Screw-propelled vehicle |
| Use | Military |
| Propulsion | |
| Land drive | Unknown |
| In water | Archimedes screw |
| Hull | Aluminium |
| Engine | Twin Chrysler 440 cu in V8 petrol engines |
| Dimensions & performance | |
| Speed on water | 29 km/h |
The Chrysler Riverine Utility Craft (RUC) was built for the US Navy in 1969, after the disappointing tests of Chrysler's smaller Marsh Screw Amphibian. It was much larger and moved on two aluminium screw rotors 39 in (about 1 m) in diameter, driven by twin Chrysler 440-cubic-inch car engines.
Testing
At the Navy's request, the Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station tested the RUC at sites in southern Louisiana chosen to resemble South-East Asian terrain, repeating the earlier Marsh Screw trials. It reached 15.7 knots (about 29 km/h) on water and nearly 25 knots over marsh. On firm soil, however, it managed only 3.6 knots. In later trials in rice paddies, RUCs tended to get stuck on the earth dikes between fields. The station's history concludes that, despite these efforts, screw-driven vehicles never seriously competed with conventional wheeled and tracked designs.
2 Photographs
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3 Related vehicles
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