Landing Craft - Ouistreham, France
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ToRo61
N 49° 17.247 W 000° 15.157
30U E 699780 N 5463042
The Landing Craft in front of Grand Bunker Museum.
Waymark Code: WMMD0B
Location: Normandie, France
Date Posted: 09/02/2014
Views: 12
The Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel (LCVP) or Higgins boat was a landing craft used extensively in amphibious landings in World War II. The craft was designed by Andrew Higgins based on boats made for operating in swamps and marshes. More than 20,000 were built, by Higgins Industries and licensees.
Typically constructed from plywood, this shallow-draft, barge-like boat could ferry a platoon-sized complement of 36 men to shore at 9 knots (17 km/h). Men generally entered the boat by climbing down a cargo net hung from the side of their troop transport; they exited by charging down the boat's bow ramp.
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), always interested in finding better ways to get men across a beach in an amphibious landing. The one of the first attempts to meet requirements of USMC was Landing Craft, Personnel (Ramped) or LCP(R). The machine gun positions were at the front of the boat but closer to the side to give access between them to the ramp. The design was still not ideal as the ramp was a bottleneck for the troops.
The next step was to fit a full width ramp. Now troops could leave en masse and a small vehicle such as a Jeep could be carried, and this new version became the LCVP (Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel), or simply, the "Higgins Boat." The machine gun positions were moved to the rear of the boat.
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The boat is located in front of Grand Bunker Museum (
visit link) .