In 2011 the Roberts Armory WWII Museum acquired a 1943 vintage Higgins Boat, a landing craft vehicle personnel (LCVP).
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ROCHELLE — In 2011 the Roberts Armory WWII Museum acquired a 1943 vintage Higgins Boat, a landing craft vehicle personnel (LCVP).
It was in relatively good shape for a 68 year old boat but needed a lot of work to restore. Researching technical information in order to restore the boat authentically resulted in virtually no information. There was no technical manual on the whole boat unlike the US Army that generated several manuals for each vehicle.
It took approximately two years to scrape together manuals for individual parts such as the engine, transmission and propeller shaft. Other information was obtained from WWII navy veterans, other museums and internet research. After restoration of the boat that took three years, the museum ended up with a pile of research material that would be valuable to historians and others interested in the technical aspects of the Higgins LCVP. There was a need for a comprehensive book on the design, development and deployment of the Higgins LCVP.
This formed a basis for a book entitled “The boat that Won the War: an Illustrated History of the Higgins LCVP” just out by Seaforth Publishing (England) in August of 2017. The book is a complete story of the design history, the construction, the materials, the performance and usage of this historic landing craft.
The author, Chuck Roberts, has written seven books, the last two on WWII history. The book is available through local book stores, the US Naval Institute Press and on line through various book websites.