Before 1900
- July 1805
Oliver Evans shows his steam dredge Oruktor Amphibolos in Philadelphia, by his own account moving on land and water
Oruktor Amphibolos → - June 1809
Philadelphia Board of Health sells the Oruktor Amphibolos for parts
Oruktor Amphibolos →
1910s
- 1911 to 1912
Glenn Curtiss builds and flies the first practical seaplanes in the United States
Amphibious aircraft →
1930s
- 1934
Hans Trippel begins building SG6 amphibious cars at Homburg in the Saar (some sources say 1937)
Trippel amphibious cars (SG6) → - Early 1935
Donald Roebling completes the first Alligator rescue tractor in Clearwater, Florida
Landing Vehicle Tracked (LVT, amtrac) →
1940s
- 1941
Trippel SG6/41 military amphibian goes into production at the Bugatti works in Molsheim, Alsace
Trippel amphibious cars (SG6) → - July 1941
The first production LVT-1 amtrac leaves the FMC line in Dunedin, Florida
Landing Vehicle Tracked (LVT, amtrac) → - 1942
General Motors and Sparkman & Stephens develop the DUKW amphibious truck
GMC DUKW "Duck" → - 1942
Ford wins the contract for the GPA amphibious jeep and begins production
Ford GPA "Seep" → - 1942
DUKW amphibious truck enters production, with a propeller drive and driver-controlled tire pressure
How amphibious vehicles work → - May 29, 1942
German army high command accepts the Volkswagen Type 166 Schwimmwagen; production begins June 6
Volkswagen Schwimmwagen (Type 166) → - July 1943
DUKWs are used in an invasion for the first time, in the Allied landings on Sicily
GMC DUKW "Duck" → - March 1943
Ford GPA production ends after about 12,778 vehicles
Ford GPA "Seep" → - November 20, 1943
Amtracs carry the first assault waves across the reef at Tarawa
Landing Vehicle Tracked (LVT, amtrac) → - 1944
Schwimmwagen production ends after about 15,584 cars
Volkswagen Schwimmwagen (Type 166) → - June 6, 1944
About 2,000 DUKWs are assigned to the Normandy landings on D-Day
GMC DUKW "Duck" →
1950s
- July 19, 1950
Ben and Elinore Carlin leave Halifax in the amphibious jeep Half-Safe to cross the Atlantic
Half-Safe → - 8 May 1958
Ben Carlin completes the first circumnavigation by amphibious vehicle in Half-Safe
Amphibious vehicle records and journeys → - May 1958
Ben Carlin reaches Montreal in Half-Safe, completing the first circumnavigation by an amphibious vehicle
Half-Safe → - 11 June 1959
Saunders-Roe SR.N1, the first full-size hovercraft, makes its first public flight
Hovercraft → - 1959
Trippel shows the Eurocar Alligator, forerunner of the Amphicar, at the Geneva motor show
Trippel amphibious cars (SG6) → - 25 July 1959
SR.N1 hovercraft crosses the English Channel from Calais to Dover
Hovercraft →
1960s
- 1961
Amphicar Model 770 launched at the New York Auto Show
Amphicar 770 → - 1963
LARC-V amphibious cargo lighter enters production and US Army service
LARC-V → - 1965-06-05
Fifty US Army LARC-Vs come ashore at Qui Nhon, Vietnam
LARC-V → - 1965-09-16
Two Amphicars cross the English Channel from Dover to Calais, one towing the other
Amphicar 770 → - September 1965
Two Amphicars cross the English Channel from Dover to Calais
Amphibious vehicle records and journeys → - 23 October 1967
Canadair CL-215, the first purpose-built water bomber, makes its first flight
Amphibious aircraft → - 1968
Direct US imports of the Amphicar end as new federal rules take effect
Amphicar 770 →
1980s
- 10 March 1983
US Coast Guard retires its last Grumman Albatross amphibian
Amphibious aircraft →
1990s
- 1999
Dave March founds WaterCar in Southern California.
WaterCar →
2000s
- 1 October 2000
Last cross-Channel hovercraft service ends after 32 years
Hovercraft → - 2003-09
Gibbs Aquada high-speed amphibious car unveiled in London
Gibbs Aquada → - 14 June 2004
Richard Branson crosses the English Channel in a Gibbs Aquada in 1 hour 40 minutes 6 seconds
Gibbs Sports Amphibians → - 2004-06-14
Richard Branson crosses the English Channel in a Gibbs Aquada in 1 hour 40 minutes 6 seconds
Gibbs Aquada → - June 2005
Sealegs founder Maurice Bryham crosses the English Channel in an amphibious RIB in 43 minutes 12 seconds
Sealegs → - 2006-06
US Navy begins receiving LARC-Vs rebuilt under a service life extension program
LARC-V → - 21 May 2006
Top Gear broadcasts its first amphibious car challenge, filmed on Rudyard Lake
Top Gear amphibious car challenges → - 14 October 2007
Top Gear broadcasts its amphibious English Channel crossing in the Nissank
Top Gear amphibious car challenges → - 1 July 2008
The Tonic sets the Guinness record for the fastest English Channel crossing by amphibious vehicle
Amphibious vehicle records and journeys → - 2008
Antoine Brugidou founds Iguana Yachts in Normandy to build tracked amphibious boats
Iguana Yachts → - 29 January 2008
A Sealegs makes the first amphibious vehicle crossing of New Zealand's Cook Strait
Sealegs →
2010s
- October 2012
Gibbs Sports Amphibians launches the Quadski amphibious quad bike, built in Michigan
Gibbs Quadski → - September 2012
Gibbs Sports Amphibians opens a Quadski factory in Auburn Hills, Michigan
Gibbs Sports Amphibians → - 2014
Dave March drives a WaterCar Panther from Newport Harbor across about thirty miles of open Pacific to Catalina Island.
WaterCar → - 2016
Quadski production ends after about 1,000 units
Gibbs Quadski → - October 2018
Sealegs announces electric wheel drive for its amphibious boats
Sealegs →
2020s
- 28 April 2020
NTSB finds lack of required reserve buoyancy contributed to the Stretch Duck 7 sinking
How amphibious vehicles work → - 2021
Two Iguana Pro amphibious interception and boarding craft are built for the US Navy
Iguana Yachts → - September 2022
The Gibbs amphibious vehicle patent portfolio is offered for sale or license
Gibbs Sports Amphibians → - End of 2025
Iguana Yachts enters judicial liquidation; its assets are taken over by new owners in early 2026
Iguana Yachts →
About the Amphibious Encyclopedia
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.
Browse all entries → · The WaterCar machines → · How a WaterCar works →