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Navy Torpedo Boat Construction in World War II by Frank J.

Garth Connellyīuilding the PT Boats: An Illustrated History of U.S. Patrol Torpedo Boats in World War II, 1939-1945 by T. They responded by shattering production records, turning out more than 20,000 boats by the end of the war.Īndrew Jackson Higgins and the Boats That Won World War II by Jerry E. All were paid equal wages according to their job rating. His employees included undrafted white males, women, African Americans, the elderly and handicapped persons. The Higgins workforce was the first in New Orleans to be racially integrated. A small workforce of only 75 workers in 1938 grew to over 20,000 by 1943. The success of these boats ensured that Higgins Industries would be a major employer during the War. In both the Pacific and European Theaters of World War II, Higgins Boats allowed Allied armies to move ashore. Instead of concentrating on only a few entry points, defenders had to cover more shoreline. This also stretched the defending armies. By using Higgins Boats, armies could unload across an open beach and have more options in choosing their attack points. Previously, navies would have to attack ports, which were usually heavily defended. Higgins Boats changed the way that war was fought. This craft, which is now the most famous of Higgins’s designs and is often referred to as the Higgins Boat, allowed infantry or small vehicles to exit through a front ramp. Higgins solved this shortcoming by combining the LCP(L) and LCV’s designs into the Landing Craft Vehicle and Personnel or LCVP. Troops unloaded from the LCP(L) by jumping over the side, which proved unsatisfactory because climbing over the side exposed the men to hostile fire. Initially, separate landing craft were used for troops and vehicles, the LCP(L)s and the LCVs (Landing Craft, Vehicle). Designated the Landing Craft Personnel (Large), or LCP(L), it was used in the invasions of Guadalcanal and North Africa in 1942. Andrew Jackson Higgins of New Orleans, who had been manufacturing shallow-water work boats to support oil and gas exploration in the Louisiana bayous, adapted his Eureka Boat to meet the military’s specifications for a landing craft. military began developing small boats that could carry troops from ships to open beaches.