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| Many features contributed to
the boat's successful adaptation as a landing craft, and when a bow ramp
was added at the request of the Marine Corps, the LCVP design was
complete. |
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| The boat could land a platoon
of 36 men with their equipment, or a jeep and 12 men, extract itself
quickly, turn around without broaching in the surf, and go back out to
get more troops and/or supplies. This was critical - any landing craft
that could not extract itself would hinder the ability of succeeding
waves to reach the beachhead. The tough, highly maneuverable Higgins
boats allowed Allied commanders to plan their assaults on relatively
less-defended coastline areas and then support a beachhead staging area
rather than be forced to capture a port city with wharves and facilities
to offload men and material. The 20,000+ Higgins boats manufactured by
Higgins Industries and others licensed to use Higgins designs landed
more Allied troops during the war than all other types of landing craft
combined. Col. Alexander (cited above) was accurate in calling the
LCVP "...a world-shaking innovation, one that would defeat Germany and
Japan as ineluctably as any other technology." |
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