The Landing Craft Personnel (Large) or LCP (L) was a

landing craft Landing craft are small and medium seagoing watercraft, such as boats and barges, used to convey a landing force (infantry and vehicles) from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. The term excludes landing ships, which are larger. ...

used extensively in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Its primary purpose was to ferry troops from transport ships to attack enemy-held shores. The craft derived from a prototype designed by the Eureka Tug-Boat Company of

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, USA. Manufactured initially in boatyards in and around New Orleans, as requirements grew it was produced in a number of yards around the United States. Typically constructed of pine planks and

plywood Plywood is a composite material manufactured from thin layers, or "plies", of wood veneer that have been stacked and glued together. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured boards, which include plywood, medium-density fibreboa ...

, and fitted with some armor plate, this shallow-draft boat with a crew of 3 could ferry an infantry

platoon A platoon is a Military organization, military unit typically composed of two to four squads, Section (military unit), sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the Military branch, branch, but a platoon can ...

of 36 to shore at 8

knots A knot is a fastening in rope or interwoven lines. Knot or knots may also refer to: Other common meanings * Knot (unit), of speed * Knot (wood), a timber imperfection Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Knots'' (film), a 2004 film * ''Kn ...

(13 km/h). Men generally entered the boat by walking over a gangplank from the boat deck of their troop transport as the LCP(L) hung from its

davit Boat suspended from Welin Quadrant davits; the boat is mechanically 'swung out' Gravity multi-pivot on Scandinavia'' file:Bossoir a gravité.jpg, Gravity Roller Davit file:Davits-starbrd.png, Gravity multi-pivot davit holding rescue vessel on ...

s. When loaded, the LCP(L) was lowered into the water. Soldiers exited the boat by jumping or climbing down from the craft's bow or sides.

Origins

During the 1930s, the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

(USMC) sought boats practical for landing troops on beaches. In 1936, the USMC conducted experiments with new types of boats, lighters, and launches. Many craft were considered coming from the Navy's Bureau as well as commercial fishing boat designs. Included in these experiments were some prototypes where, upon beaching, a ramp was deployed over rollers on the bow. A few boats were overwhelmed by the surf and others did not prove practical, but the craft designed by the Eureka Tug-Boat Company of New Orleans was both a good sea boat and superior at beaching. The craft was based on the company's 1926

spoonbill Spoonbills are a genus, ''Platalea'', of large, long-legged wading birds. The spoonbills have a global distribution, being found on every continent except Antarctica. The genus name ''Platalea'' derives from Ancient Greek and means "broad", refe ...

-bowed craft used by trappers in the

bayou In usage in the Southern United States, a bayou () is a body of water typically found in a flat, low-lying area. It may refer to an extremely slow-moving stream, river (often with a poorly defined shoreline), marshy lake, wetland, or creek. They ...

s of the Mississippi River delta. The boat's draft was rather shallow, , and it could cut through vegetation and slide over logs without ruining its propeller. It could also run up on shore and extract itself damage-free. As part of sales demonstrations, boats were often run up on the seawalls of Lake Pontchartrain. (The craft was also infamous among law enforcement along the

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as a vehicle for rum-runners.) The Marines' specifications at the time were for boats operated by a crew of 6 that could carry a

squad In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of Military organization, military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and United States, U.S. doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a fireteam, ...

of 12 men. Such boats should be able to achieve , and to be hoisted on the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

's standard

s. The general lines of the boat were accepted by the USMC, and in September 1940 Andrew J. Higgins, president of the Eureka Tug-Boat Company, was contracted to build a slightly larger craft to carry 24 fully equipped troops, or two squads. He produced the Eureka or Higgins boat. This was the craft first used in American Fleet Landing Exercises in 1941. Before the USMC received their boats, the

British Admiralty The Admiralty was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom that was responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. Historically, its titular head was the Lord High Admiral of the ...

’s need for a raiding craft brought the first enquiries for an even larger boat. Purchasing agents from

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

had become aware of Andrew Higgins’ Eureka boats; enquiries were made and a film of the Eureka was sent to the Admiralty in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. The German occupation of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

had changed British procurement plans dramatically. The Admiralty's Inter-Service Training and Development Centre wanted a craft, intending the boat to carry a full British army

and two or three attached signallers or assault engineers. An initial order for 136 was placed, with the first 50 delivered to Britain in October 1940. Higgins had already built these boats on spec and is said to have preferred this larger craft. Further US procurements were of this larger boat, and thus the LCP(L) was the forerunner of all American LCP types. The LCP(L)s were also known as Eurekas or R boats. Before 1942, The USMC referred to them as T Boats. They were American-made landing craft that could carry up to 36 troops. Unlike later landing craft, the LCP(L)s did not have ramps at the bow, so the troops had to jump over the sides to get out. The boats themselves were made of plywood but had armored bulkheads. They were invented by

native

Andrew Higgins Andrew Jackson Higgins (28 August 1886 – 1 August 1952) was an American businessman and boatbuilder who founded Higgins Industries, the New Orleans, Louisiana, New Orleans–based manufacturer of "LCVP (United States), Higgins boats" (Landi ...

before the war and were designed with a shallow draft to operate in swamps. But, it turned out that the design was also excellent for operating on shallow beaches.

Manning the LCP(L)

In US Navy or US Coast Guard service, the craft's crew comprised two gunners and the coxswain. Though the gunners would normally occupy the two gunner's cockpits, forward, during landing, they had other duties also. One acted as the bowman while the other served as the mechanic. The coxswain was in charge of the boat and crew. His position was at the wheel directly behind the gunner's cockpits and only slightly off-set to the port side. From here he steered and operated engine controls. The craft's raked bow made beaching comparatively easy, and the craft came off without difficulty when unloaded, though it could snag on rocks or poor ground as any other small boat would. The LCP(L) could be loaded from the boat deck, before launching, "unless otherwise specified by the warning plate in the boat",US Navy ONI for its construction as much as its light weight made this speeding up of the launching-load time possible. Other craft, especially those with a ramp like the LCV and LCVP, were structurally weak in the bow and could not be loaded before lowering from davits; personnel being transported in these types climbed down scramble nets into these boats. The 3-man crew of a British LCP(L) was led by a Leading Seaman or Royal Marine Corporal coxswain who steered the boat and operated engine controls on the port side of the cockpit. Beside him was the Lewis gunner who also acted as bowman handling any rope-work forward. The third man was a mechanic who might also handle stern ropes. At other times LCP(L)s might be led or towed by coastal forces craft when a raid was within reasonable range of a sally port. A number of these raids were made in 1940 to 1942 by British forces, sometimes using LCP(L)s though more often going ashore by canoe. The first major landing from LCP(L)s in Europe took place in August 1942 when the Canadians with elements of the British army and Royal Marines landed at Dieppe. The fortunes of the LCP(L) flotillas showed here how units and even individual craft could have very different luck in a landing.

Successors

Two significant further developments of the LCP(L) were produced, also designed by

. These retained the dimensions of the LCP(L) to allow use from the same launch platforms. The first development was the Landing Craft, Personnel (Ramped) (

LCP(R) The landing craft, vehicle, personnel (LCVP) or Higgins boat was a landing craft used extensively by the Allied forces in amphibious landings in World War II. Typically constructed from plywood, this shallow-draft, barge-like boat could ferry a ...

), which added a bow ramp to the LCP(L) design for faster egress. The concept came from the Japanese Daihatsu-class ramped landing craft. The second development, the most-produced of the three, was the Landing Craft, Vehicle and Personnel ( LCVP). This widened the bow to the full width of the craft to maximize the ramp size and speed of egress. The LCVP is the craft most referred to as a "Higgins Boat", although its two predecessors and a

PT boat A PT boat (short for patrol torpedo boat) was a motor torpedo boat used by the United States Navy in World War II. It was small, fast, and inexpensive to build, and it was valued for its maneuverability and speed. However, PT boats were hampe ...

design were also developed and produced by Higgins.

Notes

References

*DeFelice, Jim ''Rangers at Dieppe'' New York: Berkley Caliber, The Penguin Group, 2008, *Fergusson, Bernard ''The Watery Maze; the story of Combined Operations'', Holt, New York, 1961. *Friedman, Norman ''U.S. Amphibious Ships and Craft: An Illustrated Design History'', Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, 2002. *Ladd, JD ''Assault From the Sea: 1939-1945'', Hippocrene Books, Inc., New York, 1976. *Lund, Paul, and Ludlam, Harry ''War of the Landing Craft'', New English Library, London 1976. *Maund, LEH ''Assault From the Sea'', Methuen & Co. Ltd., London 1949. *Miller, John ''Guadalcanal: The First Offensive'', US Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 1949. *Smith, W.H.B. ''Basic Manual of Military Small Arms'' Stackpole Books, Harrisburg PA *US Navy ONI 226 ''Allied Landing Craft and Ships'', US Government Printing Office, 1944.

External links

* * {{cite news , url = https://books.google.com/books?id=rNoDAAAAMBAJ&q=Popular+Science+1935+plane+%22Popular+Mechanics%22&pg=PA334 , title = At Home A Float, part 2 , publisher =

Popular Mechanics ''Popular Mechanics'' (often abbreviated as ''PM'' or ''PopMech'') is a magazine of popular science and technology, featuring automotive, home, outdoor, electronics, science, do it yourself, and technology topics. Military topics, aviation an ...