Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel (LCVP aka: "Higgins Boats"
Henry Taves, site manager at the Southern Forest Heritage Museum in Long Leaf near Alexandria, recently discovered original files related to business between Higgins and the Crowell Long Leaf Lumber Co., which operated from 1892 until 1969. Crowell mills at both Long Leaf and Alco cut pine to specification for Higgins boats, and shipped to New Orleans.
“As you well know, the Higgins Industries have always preferred the use of Crowell Long Leaf Yellow Pine. In fact, we find that with your lumber, it helps us to cut down our handling and reworking time, and increase production,” states a May 17, 1943 letter from Nelson P. Brown, Jr., lumber purchasing agent for Higgins Industries, to R.D. Crowell, Jr. A letter from Crowell to the federal Office of Price Administration in 1942 makes the point that the Higgins’ orders were atypical for the sawmill, “...not only the various restrictions placed on these timbers but most of the sizes are not practical to manufacture and we only produce these grades for the Higgins Industries as a patriotic measure...”
An October 1942 letter from Crowell to several of his superintendents instructed them to begin saving high-grade lumber for later use in anticipated orders from Higgins. One October 1942 requisition sheet from Higgins to Crowell specifies 300 pieces of 12 in. x 12 in. x 8 ft. timbers for use as head logs.
“The ramp boats required very high grades of timber, often Select #1 with 90% or higher heart content. This material was found in original growth virgin trees, though not in unlimited quantity. The sawmill workers squeezed all high-grade lumber they could out of each log, sometimes sacrificing a greater volume of a lower grade... “ notes an article in the Southern Forest Heritage Museum newsletter.
Phil's note: This detailed essay relates the fact that the D-Day Museum replica Higgins boat uses two timbers joined to duplicate the original 40-foot piece.
The original 40-foot piece--Uh, Home Depot is temporarily out of that, yeah, right.
Louisiana Memorial Pavilion of the National D-Day Museum.
A brass shoe for the steering rudder similar to local shrimp boat and other vessel rudder design. The hole in these rudders is there so that the propellor shaft can be removed easily.
Thank God for Andrew Jackson Higgins.
Ever work with yellow pine? There is just nothing like it.
When we spank Richard Clarke, we'll use a paddle of yellow pine.