When Australians and Americans were fighting on the east coast of P N G because of the shallow and dangerous waters only small boats and barges could only be used. Amongst them was an unusual captured Japanese barge (Daihatsu class) that had a front ramp that could lowered when close to the beach. These barges could transport about twenty troops or a small 95 light tank or a medium truck.
An American officer who had witnessed the prewar Japanese landing exercises, showed a photo of this barge to Andrew Higgins who had a small boat building company in New Orleans. Higgins already had built a similar smaller boat which he supplied to bootleggers for transporting barrels of alcohol, also them to the coastguard to chase them. Higgins took on the task of designing and building 3 barges at his own expense but close to the government specifications, these he demonstrated to the military by using his own company personnel and vehicles. This was what was to become the famous LCVP its full title being Landing Craft Vehicle & Personnel. Higgins boat building company at this period consisted of one factory and seventy five employees. His design was six feet longer the the specification but was accepted and the day after Pearl Harbour was attached he applied for a patent on his design.
The LCVP was 36Ft 3in long, beam 10Ft 10in with a draft of 3ft (A) and 2ft (F) with a displacement of 18000k and made from plywood, propulsion was by a diesel or petrol engine of about 225hp. Requiring a crew of four, coxswain, engineer and 2 crewmen they had a speed of 12kts with a load capability of 3700kg They mounted 2 machine guns 32cal or 7.62 The Higgins could unload and reload in 3-4 Min before backing off the beach giving a very fast turn around.
At its peak Higgins had 20,000 employees and with massive factories they built 23,000 LCVP’s Higgins also designed and supplied among others, a self righting air drop lifeboat, also building PT boats. Higgins thus became a very rich man, his company was rated at 17th in the USA in WW2. Eisenhower said “ Andrew won the war for us. If Higgins had not designed those boats for us we never could our beach landings and won the war”.
Andrew Higgins died in 1952 of a stomach complaint, the company was taken over by his two sons but was never so successful again as it had been in WW2
Alistair – Reference various
