Higgins Boats: The New Orleans Landing Craft That Won World War II

The Boat That Won the War

On June 6, 1944, thousands of Allied soldiers stormed the beaches of Normandy in the most important amphibious assault in military history. The boats that carried them to shore — flat-bottomed landing craft with drop-down ramps that allowed troops and equipment to land directly onto the beach — were designed and manufactured by Andrew Jackson Higgins in New Orleans. Dwight D. Eisenhower himself said that Higgins was the man who won the war, and while that may be a simplification, it is not much of one.

Higgins Industries, based in New Orleans, produced thousands of these boats during World War II, transforming the city into a key hub for the American war effort. At peak production, Higgins employed over twenty thousand workers in factories scattered across New Orleans, many of them women and African Americans who were given opportunities for industrial employment that had previously been closed to them. The company's innovative designs and large-scale production efforts made New Orleans one of the most important manufacturing centers of the war.

The Design

The genius of the Higgins boat was its simplicity and its versatility. The flat bottom, inspired by the shallow-draft boats that Higgins had originally designed for use in Louisiana's swamps and bayous, allowed the craft to navigate shallow waters and beach directly onto shore. The drop-down bow ramp — Higgins's most important innovation — allowed troops to exit the front of the boat rather than climbing over the sides, dramatically reducing the time it took to get soldiers from the water to the beach and, critically, reducing their exposure to enemy fire.

Before Higgins, amphibious assaults were logistical nightmares. His boats made them possible on a scale that changed the course of the war. The D-Day landings, the Pacific island-hopping campaign, the invasions of North Africa and Italy — all of them depended on Higgins boats to deliver men and materiel to hostile shores.

New Orleans' Contribution

The Higgins boat story is one of the most important chapters in New Orleans industrial history, and it is a reminder that the city's contributions to America extend far beyond music and food. Andrew Jackson Higgins took the knowledge he gained building boats for Louisiana's swamps and applied it to the greatest military challenge of the twentieth century. The National WWII Museum in New Orleans — one of the finest museums in America — was originally called the National D-Day Museum, and it was built in the city because this is where the boats were built. New Orleans helped win the war, one boat at a time.