Development
Volkswagen's first amphibious car, the Type 128, was developed in 1940 as a scout vehicle for the German army [2]. Porsche body designer Erwin Komenda gave it a new welded tub-shaped body, because the flat floor pan of the existing Volkswagen cars was unsuited to water [1][5]. The Type 128 kept the long Kübelwagen wheelbase, and its hull proved too weak for rough ground, cracking at the welded seams and wheel wells [1][5]. Only a small batch was built: HistoryNet gives 30, Military Trader fewer than 100 [2][1].
The shorter Type 166 replaced it, with the wheelbase cut from 2.40 m (7 ft 10 in) to 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) [5]. According to Military Trader, it was tested at the Max Eyth reservoir near Stuttgart in March 1942, accepted by the army high command on May 29, 1942, and put into production on June 6, 1942, with front-line units receiving cars by the end of that year [1]. Some sources date the start of production to 1941 [5].
Production
About 15,584 Type 166s were built through 1944: 14,276 by Volkswagen at Fallersleben and 1,308 by Porsche in Stuttgart, with hulls made by Ambi-Budd in Berlin [1][5]. The Louwman Museum gives a more cautious figure of more than 14,000, and HistoryNet more than 15,000 [3][2].
Design and how it works
The Schwimmwagen used the rear-mounted 1,131 cc air-cooled flat-four engine of the Kübelwagen, rated at 25 hp (19 kW) [1][3][5]. A four-speed gearbox with an extra low range drove all four wheels in first gear and, on some cars, in reverse [1][5]. Top speed was about 50 mph (80 km/h) on land and 6 mph (10 km/h) in water [1][3].
For water use, the driver lowered a three-blade propeller hinged at the rear, which coupled to the end of the crankshaft through a dog clutch [1][2]. Because the propeller pushed only forward, a paddle was standard equipment, and some accounts say crews could also back up slowly by running the wheels in reverse [1][4][5]. The front wheels acted as rudders, so the driver steered with the steering wheel in water as on land [1][4]. The car seated four, had no doors and carried a folding canvas top, a shovel and paddles [1][2].
Service
Schwimmwagens were issued mainly to Waffen-SS divisions, army engineer battalions and other elite formations [2], and they were popular with reconnaissance units [4]. They served on the Eastern Front, where they were useful in marshy country, and in North Africa, Tunisia, Sicily and western Europe as scout, dispatch and command cars [1]. Some carried a machine gun on a swivel mount [4].
After the war
Many Schwimmwagens were scrapped after 1945 because steel was in demand, while others went to fire brigades, police forces and farmers [3]. Wikipedia cites an owners' registry that lists 189 surviving examples [5]. Survivors are shown at museums including the Louwman Museum and the American Heritage Museum [3][4].
Related entries
Sources
- It's the Schwimmwagen, Military Trader (Steve Turchet) (2024-07-23). www.militarytrader.com/military-vehicles/its-the-schwimmwagen
- The Beetle in Battle, HistoryNet (Ryan Lee Price; first published in World War II magazine, May 2006) (2019-09-13). historynet.com/the-beetle-in-battle
- Volkswagen 166 Schwimmwagen, Louwman Museum. www.louwmanmuseum.nl/en/collections/automobiles/volkswagen-166-schwimmwagen
- Schwimmwagen, The American Heritage Museum. americanheritagemuseum.org/jml/schwimmwagen
- Volkswagen Schwimmwagen, Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Schwimmwagen
Last reviewed November 2026. Spotted something to correct or add? Tell us and include a source.
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WaterCar has designed and built amphibious vehicles in Southern California for more than 25 years. We keep this encyclopedia so anyone curious about vehicles that cross between land and water has one place to start, with the sources listed for every fact.
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