 LCVP side elevation and plan | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders | Higgins Industries and others |
| Operators | |
| Built | 1942–1945 |
| Completed | More than 23,358 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Landing craft |
| Displacement | 18,000 lb (8,200 kg) light |
| Length | 36 ft 3 in (11.05 m) |
| Beam | 10 ft 10 in (3.30 m) |
| Draft |
|
| Propulsion | Gray Marine 6-71 Diesel Engine, 225 hp (168 kW)orHall-Scottgasoline engine, 250 hp (186 kW) |
| Speed | 12knots (14 mph; 22 km/h) |
| Capacity | 6,000 lb (2,700 kg) vehicleor 8,100 lb (3,700 kg) general cargo |
| Troops | 36 troops |
| Crew | 4:Coxswain,engineer,bowman, sternman |
| Armament | 2 × .30 cal. (7.62 mm)Browning machine guns |
Thelanding craft, vehicle, personnel (LCVP) orHiggins boat was alanding craft used extensively by theAllied forces in amphibious landings inWorld War II. Typically constructed fromplywood, this shallow-draft, barge-likeboat could ferry a roughlyplatoon-sized complement of 36 men to shore at 12knots (14 mph; 22 km/h). Men generally entered the boat by climbing down acargo net hung from the side of theirtroop transport; they exited by charging down the boat's loweredbow ramp.
DesignerAndrew Higgins based it on boats made for operating in swamps and marshes. More than 23,358 were built, byHiggins Industries and licensees.[1][2]
Taking the last letter of the LCVP designation, sailors often nicknamed the Higgins Boat the "Papa Boat" or "Peter Boat" to differentiate it from other landing craft such as theLCU and theLCM, with the LCM being called the "Mike Boat".[3]
At just over 36 ft (11 m) long and just under 11 ft (3.4 m) wide, the LCVP was not a large craft. Powered by a 225-horsepowerGray Marine 6-71 diesel engine at a maximum speed of 12 knots, it would sway in choppy seas, causing seasickness. Since its sides and rear were made of plywood, it offered limited protection from enemy fire but also reduced weight—and thus increased capacity, reduced cost and saved steel. The Higgins boat could hold either a 36-man platoon, a jeep and a 12-man squad, or 8,000 lb (3.6 t) of cargo. Its shallow draft (3 feet aft and 2 feet, 2 inches forward) enabled it to run up onto the shoreline, and a semi-tunnel built into its hull protected the propeller from sand and other debris. The steel ramp at the front could be lowered quickly. It was possible for the Higgins boat to swiftly disembark men and supplies, reverse itself off the beach, and return to the supply ship for another load within three to four minutes.[4]
The boat's design left it vulnerable to heavier enemy fire, and it was found that extremely shallow water and hard obstructions such as reefs could stop the boat. Other vehicles such as theLanding Vehicle Tracked were later created to meet those drawbacks in amphibious operations.
The Higgins boat was built inNew Orleans,Louisiana.[5]
Andrew Higgins started out in thelumber business but gradually moved intoboat building, which became his sole operation after the lumber transport company he was running enteredbankruptcy in 1930. Many sources say his boats were intended for use bytrappers andoil-drillers; occasionally, some sources imply or even say that Higgins intended to sell the boats to individuals intending to smuggleillegal liquor into the United States.[6][7][8]
Higgins' financial difficulties, and his association with the U.S. military, occurred around the timeProhibition was repealed, which would have ruined his market in the rum-running sector; the U.S. Navy's interest in the boats was, in any case, providential, though Higgins proved unable to manage his company's good fortune.[1]
TheUnited States Marine Corps was always interested in finding better ways to get men across a beach in anamphibious landing. They were frustrated that the Navy'sBureau of Construction and Repair could not meet its requirements and began to express interest in Higgins' boat. When tested in 1938 by the Navy and Marine Corps, Higgins' Eureka boat surpassed the performance of a Navy-designed boat and was tested by the services during fleet landing exercises in February 1939. Satisfactory in most respects, the boat's major drawback appeared to be that equipment had to be unloaded, and men disembarked, over the sides, thus exposing them to enemy fire in combat situations and making unloading time-consuming and complex. However, that was the best available boat design, and it was put into production and service as thelanding craft, personnel (large), abbreviated as LCP(L). The LCP(L) had twomachine gun positions at the bow.
The LCV (P) also commonly called the "Higgins" boat, was supplied to theBritish (from October 1940) was used forcommando raids. It was also used extensively by the Royal Navy on D-Day.[9]
The Japanese had been using ramp-bowed landing boats likeDaihatsu-class landing craft in theSecond Sino-Japanese War since the summer of 1937—boats that had come under intense scrutiny by Navy and Marine Corps observers at theBattle of Shanghai in particular, including from future general,Victor H. Krulak.[10] When Krulak showed Higgins a picture and suggested that Higgins develop a version of the ramped craft for the Navy, Higgins, at his own expense, started his designers working on adapting the idea to the boat design. He then had three of the craft built, again at his own expense.[11]
On May 26, 1941, Commander Ross Daggett, from the NavyBureau of Ships, and Major Ernest Linsert, of the Marine Corps Equipment Board, witnessed the testing of the three craft. Tests involved off-loading a truck and the embarking and disembarking of 36 Higgins employees, simulating troops. Early models were designated Landing Craft, Personnel (Ramp) or LCP(R). The LCP(R) was used in beach landings in North Africa and at Guadalcanal, Salerno and Tarawa. The Landing Craft, Personnel (Ramp) craft later was superseded in production by the LCVP – Landing Craft Vehicle, Personnel.[11] During the war, 2,193 LCP(L) and 2,631 LCP(R) were built compared to 23,358 LCVP.[12] By D-Day, the LCVP had replaced the LCP(R).[13]
TheSupreme Allied Commander, GeneralDwight D. Eisenhower, declared the Higgins boat to have been crucial to the Allied victory on the EuropeanWestern Front and the previous fighting inNorth Africa andItaly:[1]
Andrew Higgins ... is the man who won the war for us. ... If Higgins had not designed and built those LCVPs, we never could have landed over an open beach. The whole strategy of the war would have been different.[14][15][16]
The Higgins boat was used for many amphibious landings, including thelandings inNazi German-occupiedNormandy as part ofOperation Overlord and during the AlliedCrossing of the Rhine,[17][18] and previouslyOperation Torch inNorth Africa, theAllied invasion of Sicily,Operation Shingle andOperation Avalanche inItaly,Operation Dragoon, as well as in thePacific Theatre at theBattle of Guadalcanal, theBattle of Attu, theBattle of Tarawa, theBattle of Guam, theBattle of Peleliu, theBattle of the Philippines, theBattle of Iwo Jima and theBattle of Okinawa. Higgins boats also saw use during theKorean War during theBattle of Incheon,Operation Tailboard, and theHungnam evacuation. The boats also participated in the landing of U.S. Marines during the1958 Lebanon crisis.
LCVPs fitted with a roof and anOerlikon 20 mm cannon were used by theFrench Navy'sDinassauts during theFirst Indochina War to patrol theMekong, along with other US-origin landing craft.[19]
Only a few Higgins boats have survived, often with substantial modifications for post-war use. A remarkably preserved Higgins boat, with the original Higgins motor, was discovered in a boat yard in Valdez, Alaska, and moved to theMuseum of World War II just outside Boston in 2000. It had been used as a fishing boat in very shallow areas but, except for an easily removed addition to the cockpit, had not been altered; all of the armor plate was complete, as were gauges and equipment. The only restoration was a repainting to the original color.[20][21]
An original Higgins boat discovered in Normandy has been professionally restored by theNorth Carolina Maritime Museum for theFirst Division Museum atCantigny Park in Wheaton, Illinois.[22] This Higgins boat was located inVierville-sur-Mer, Normandy, by Overlord Research, LLC, a West Virginia company formed in 2002 for the purpose of locating, preserving, and returning WWII artifacts to the United States.[23] Overlord purchased the vessel from its French owners and then transported the Higgins boat to Hughes Marine Service inChidham, England, for initial evaluation and restoration. During this evaluation, the First Division Museum acquired the Higgins boat from Overlord Research, LLC, and moved the vessel to Beaufort, North Carolina, for extensive restoration.[24] It was then acquired by theCollings Foundation and is now on display at theAmerican Heritage Museum inStow, Massachusetts.[25]
An original LCVP is on display at theNational Museum of the United States Army inFort Belvoir, Virginia.[26] It was located by Overlord Research, LLC, on theIsle of Wight and acquired by the company. It was transported to Hughes Marine Service, where it underwent extensive restoration. Upon completion of the restoration work to standards set by theUnited States Army Center of Military History, this Higgins boat was purchased by the Center of Military History for future display in the museum.[citation needed]
An original LCVP is on display at theNational Museum of the United States Navy inWashington, D.C.[27]
An original LCVP is under restoration at theMaisy battery inGrandcamp-Maisy, Normandy.[28] It was found in a farmyard inIsigny sur Mer in 2008.[citation needed]
An original LCVP is on display atThe D-Day Story inPortsmouth, Hampshire.[29] It was restored by Hughes Marine Service.[citation needed]
An original LCVP is seaworthy with Challenge LCVP inRouen, Normandy. It was constructed in 1942 and may have taken part in landings in North Africa and in Italy during World War II.[30]
An original LCVP is in storage with the WWII Veterans History Project inClermont, Florida. It was acquired by the organization in April 2020 and is currently awaiting restoration.[31]
An original LCVP is undergoing restoration at the Indiana Military Museum inVincennes, Indiana.[32] The stern of the boat displays AG 39 and was presumably attached to theUSS Menemsha (AG-39), a weather patrol ship in the North Atlantic, during WWII. It was later used, commercially, in Vallejo, California, before being re-located previously toPort St. Lucie, Florida.[citation needed]
An original LCVP is on display at the Motts Military Museum inGroveport, Ohio. It is from theUSS Cambria (APA-36), which survived seven Pacific Theatre invasions.[33]
An original LCVP is on display at the Roberts Armory Museum inRochelle, Illinois.[34]
One is undergoing restoration at the Louisiana Military Hall of Fame and Museum inAbbeville, Louisiana.[35]
A replica Higgins boat, built in the 1990s using the original specifications from Higgins Industries, is on display inThe National WWII Museum in New Orleans.[36]
In July 2018, a 1942 LCVP designed in a similar fashion to the Eureka model was discovered in theSacramento–San Joaquin River Delta of California. Having been left unattended in brackish waters for at least 40 years, restoration was not required and post survey, the hull was confirmed as perfectly sound. It is currently being operated under its own power by owner with the original Chrysler Crown Marine engine and unmodified transmission. Features include the original gauges, Bureau of Ships ID 72530, steel bunks, fire extinguisher, boat horn and several other original features all of which are in working order.[citation needed]
An intact surviving example is known to lie beached at King Edward Point onSouth Georgia although this craft is in poor condition due to the Antarctic environment.[citation needed]
An LCVP in relatively good condition was discovered inShasta Lake in Northern California, during a drought in 2021. The boat had been carried by theUSSMonrovia during World War II, and had been in combat in Sicily and later in theBattle of Tarawa, where it had sunk and had later been salvaged. It is not known how the boat ended up at Shasta Lake. When stabilized, the boat will be exhibited at the Nebraska National Guard Museum.[37]
A capsized surviving example was revealed during a severe drought in July 2022 atLake Mead. According to The Lake Mead National Recreation Area National Park Service (NPS) the Higgins Craft is still wrapped in armor plating.[38]
A post-war version is in use at the Regional Military Museum inHouma, Louisiana.[39]
A post-war example utilising fibreglass construction instead of plywood is in the Shopland Collection, located near Bristol, England. It has been used in the filming ofSaving Private Ryan and several documentaries about Operation Overlord. This vessel is currently[when?] stored awaiting restoration.[40]
The 1956 movieAway All Boats shows the role of Higgins boats in beach landings. The novel of the same name was written by a former naval officer who served on anattack transport and gives detailed information on their use.[41]
The use of these boats during the D-day invasions at Normandy is shown in the feature filmsThe Longest Day andSaving Private Ryan. The boats were also used in a scene during the 1985 filmInvasion USA,[42] in which communist guerrillas land on a Florida beach.
Rankin's primary offensive weapon was the 24 landing craft she sent to enemy beaches. Her complement was 14 LCVPs, eight LCMs, and two LCPLs.
