The Boat that Won the War

The Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel – LCVP for short, or simply the ‘Higgins boat’ to most of its users – was one of the keystones of victory in the Second World War. Like the army’s Jeep or the Air Force’s C-47 transport, it served in almost every theater of war, performing unglamorous but vital service in the Allied cause. Derived from a humble workboat, the Higgins boatbuilding company designed a brilliantly simple craft that performed its role so well that over 23,000 of them were constructed – indeed, a high proportion of all the troops landed on enemy beaches came ashore from LCVPs, an achievement that led General Eisenhower to describe it as ‘the boat that won the war’. As Eisenhower had more experience of major amphibious operations than any other commander, it is a judgment to be taken seriously.

This book combines the first in-depth history of the development and employment of the type, with a detailed description of its construction, machinery, performance and handling, based on the author’s firsthand experience masterminding the restoration of a wartime example for his museum. Well illustrated with plans and photographs, it will be of interest to modelmakers and enthusiasts, both military and naval.