I ram eading the book D-Day by Stephen Ambrose and he mentions something unusual. He talks about a M7 being carried by a DUKW. He does mention how the DUKW could barely carry the M7 even in calm seas but I think he must be wrong. The only M7 I'm familar with is the SP Priest and I can't imagine how it could be carried by a DUKW except balanced on the back. I know Ambrose was sometimes loose with some facts, is this a instance of that?

The quote is on page 366 and is a recollection of a D-Day vet. The M-7 referred to may actually be the 105mm howitzer and not the Priest. The M-7 Priest weighs 20+ tons far too much for a DUKW.

It was common sight to see the 105 sans wheels to be lashed to a DUKW and used in a fire support role.

You are right on the passage. Does not make much sense. I don't think this was an Ambrose stretch, rather it looks like poor editor review.

Thanks, I hadn't heard of the howitzer referred to as a M7. That makes much more sense. I suppose that would be a good topic for a kit bash, mount a howitzer on a DUKW.

I like Ambrose but I also realize that some of the 'mistakes' he is acccused of making are probably, as you say, "poor editor review." This is especially true in that he doesn't always put statements in quotation marks so the reader isn't always sure what is recollection of the vets and what is Ambrose on his own. I'm sure this is the reason that EVERY shell that lands is an 88. To the vets every shell WAS an 88 and Ambrose doesn't correct them.

I think Italeri is going to make it simple for us modelers and will soon introduce their DULW w/ 105mm gun.

Ambrose was probably one of the greatest historians to write books people wanted to read. However, when gathering first person histories into a finished book form I think the publisher should have stepped up and provided most editorial support.

With his loss, America has lost a great voice of historical significance.

105mm howizters were carried in DUKWs at Normandy and in the Pacific, but not for firing. Firing the gun and resulting recoil could swamp the DUKW, plus the roll, etc would make firing unsafe. The DUKWs were rigged with an A-frame to lift the howitzer out of the DUKW to put gun batteries into the beachead early. At D-Day, each DUKW carried a 1-5mm HOW, 13-man gun crew, 50 rounds of ammo, and other gear and cammo nets and sandbags. The freeboard was so low and the seas were so rough that if athe bilge pumps quit working from operating too long, the DUKWS WOULD SINK. In teh 111th ARTY BN, 6 of 13 DUKWS sank while circling bedore heading to teh beach. The only gun that made it to the beach was saved by a Rhino Ferry that lifted the gun out of the DUKWs as it was sinking. There was no way the 105s could be fired while loaded in the DUKWs.

There were M7 Priests and M4 (105mm) Shermans that were used to provide arty support from LCTs, much larger than DUKWs.