Wikimedia Commons/Chief Photographer’s Mate (CPHoM) Robert F. Sargent
Andrew Higgins’ Swamp Boats That Won World War II
Andrew Higgins built boats for Louisiana swamps in the 1930s that could glide through just 18 inches of water. When the Marine Corps got fed up with Navy designs in 1938, his Eureka boat beat all rivals in tests.
After Pearl Harbor, Higgins added a bow ramp and filed for patent the very next day. His LCVP landing craft soon carried troops and jeeps onto beaches across the world.
Meanwhile, his company grew from 75 workers to 20,000 across seven plants, becoming New Orleans’ first workplace where everyone got equal pay regardless of race or gender…