Pegaso VAP 3550/1

The Pegaso VAP 3550/1, nicknamed El Pato ("the duck"), is a four-wheel-drive amphibious cargo vehicle designed in the 1970s by ENASA, maker of Pegaso trucks, for the Spanish Navy. The requirement was for a wheeled amphibian that could be launched from a landing ship with 3,000 kg aboard, reach the shore under its own power and drive inland to unload with its own crane. VAP is the export name; in Spain it is the Pegaso 3550, with the first production batch designated 3550/1.

Design

The VAP shares many automotive components with the Pegaso 3045 4x4 and 3050 6x6 military trucks, simplifying training and maintenance. Its boat-shaped hull is welded from steel plate up to 6 mm thick and divided into watertight compartments. The crew of three sits in a semi-enclosed cab at the front, open at the rear, with the driver on the left. Behind the cab is a hydraulic crane lifting 350 kg, and the central cargo area has a removable tarpaulin and optional troop benches. The diesel engine sits at the rear, driving through a six-speed manual gearbox and two-speed transfer box; power steering acts on the front wheels.

Instead of propellers, two hydraulically driven water-jets at the rear give excellent manoeuvrability afloat, including pivot turns. Mechanical parts in contact with water are pressurised on entry, and the vehicle carries two automatic bilge pumps and two further pumps for the cargo area, plus a 4,500 kg self-recovery winch at the front.

The Spanish Marine website gives a length of 9.06 m, width 2.5 m, height 2.83 m and a loaded weight of 12.5 tonnes, with 87 km/h on the road, 47 km/h off-road, 10 km/h in the water, and ranges of 800 km on land and 80 km afloat.

Service

The VAP served with the Spanish Marines (Infantería de Marina) from 1978 to 1993, both in amphibious vehicle sections of the regional regiments and with the landing force's combat logistics group. Lacking armour, it was not used in the assault waves but as a "floating depot", bringing ammunition, fuel, water and spares ashore on demand. One crew sent to supply the garrison on the island of Alborán was stranded there for some twenty days when a sudden storm stopped their landing ship from recovering them. Seven were exported to Mexico in 1982, and a number were reportedly sent to Egypt; the Italian firm Astra acquired a licence to build the design.