Andrew Jackson Higgins started out as the owner of a small company called A.J. Higgins Lumber and Exports. As he began to purchase land for logging, he found a need for a boat that could handle the difficult task of carrying heavy loads of logs through extremely shallow waters. Present day boats of the time with drafts shallow enough to manage the depth lacked the power necessary to haul such weight. Higgins solution to this problem was to design and build a boat with a “recessed propeller” into a tunnel in the hull to protect it. Although Higgins ingenuity solved the problem, he was not satisfied. Higgins recog

Higgins’ impetus was the idea that the US Navy would be interested in his shallow draft boats once they saw their performance. Unfortunately, the Navy had other plans. Higgins made numerous attempts to sell his craft but he was competing with the government operated Bureau of Construction and Repair (BCR) which was currently working on a landing craft of its own. The US Navy insisted that LST’s (landing ship, tank) were the answer to amphibious operations. These were 327 foot long flat-bottom ships that had a 4,000 ton displacement and were very difficult to control in rough waters. The large vessels could carry a considerable amount of supplies but were easy targets and given the acronym: Long Slow Targets. The only organization that Higgins impressed was the United States Marine Corps. General Holland Smith described the common situation between Higgins and the Marines as:

Higgins was not content enough with just merely supplying the US military with his landing craft. He realized that the boats’ design and high-quality construction would be ineffective without the proper usage. Only his team knew how to operate the boat to its full capability. Marines were used to slowing down their craft upon reaching the beach while Higgins boats were meant to embark the beach at full speed. To solve problems such as this, the military agreed with Higgins’ idea to open a school to teach enlisted and officers proper operating techniques. In July of 1941, Higgins Boat Operators and Marine Engine Maintenance School was opened. In preparation of a D-day invasion, Higgins’ school extended its curriculum to a “six week in depth course covering every phase of boat handling and maintenance . . . to address the latest situations being confronted in combat.”

Despite the BCR’s weak designs, they would not admit their inferiority to a small southern boat builder. Finally, after numerous BRC failed attempts to construct a satisfactory boat, Higgins was given a chance to show his stuff. Higgins was so confident in his design, he paid two and a half times the cost allotment that the BRC game him to build an experimental boat and have it shipped to Norfolk, VA for testing despite his financial difficulties. “Higgins loved the challenge, and he had long awaited an opportunity to show the navy what he could do.”

The “Higgins boat” performed simple dry-footed beach landings and quick maneuvers in 3 foot waters while the BCR tried hard to find flaws in its design. The catamaran-like structure of the Eureka amazed the testers as it performed 360 degree turns within its own length and retracted from the shored bow first wit

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