"Andrew Higgins ... is the man who won the war for us. ... If Higgins had not designed and built those LCVPs, we never could have landed over an open beach. The whole strategy of the war would have been different."
—Gen. Dwight Eisenhower

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 and steel, this shallow-draft, barge-like boat could ferry a roughly platoon-sized complement of 36 men to shore at 9 knots. Men generally entered the boat by climbing down a cargo net hung from the side of their troop transport; they exited by charging down the boat's lowered bow ramp.

Designer Andrew Higgins based it on boats made for operating in swamps and marshes. More than 23,358 were built, by Higgins Industries and licensees. At just over 36 ft long and just under 11 ft wide, the LCVP was not a large craft. Powered by a 225-horsepower Gray Marine 6-71 diesel engine at a maximum speed of 12 knots, it would sway in choppy seas, causing seasickness. Since its sides and rear were made of plywood, it offered limited protection from enemy fire but also reduced cost and saved steel. The Higgins boat could hold either a 36-man platoon, a jeep and a 12-man squad, or 8,000 lb (3.6 t) of cargo. Its shallow draft (3 feet aft and 2 feet, 2 inches forward) enabled it to run up onto the shoreline, and a semi-tunnel built into its hull protected the propeller from sand and other debris.

The Higgins boat was used for numerous amphibious landings, including Operation Overlord on D-Day in Nazi German-occupied Normandy and during the Allied Crossing of the Rhine,and previously Operation Torch in North Africa, the Allied invasion of Sicily, Operation Shingle in Italy, as well as in the Pacific Theatre at the Battle of Guadalcanal, the Battle of Tarawa, the Battle of the Philippines, the Battle of Iwo Jima and the Battle of Okinawa.

The five films on this DVD include :

- The LCVP
Navy training film featuring the development of the Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel. (14 min)

- The LST Story
Informational Coast Guard film about Landing Ship Tank. (10 min)

- Landing Ship Dock
Fascinating film featuring every aspect of the versatile Land Ship Dock. (18 min)

- The LVT
Training film detailing the Landing Vehicle, Tracked aka 'Amtrac', extensively used by the Marines in the Pacific island campaigns. (7 min)

- Normandy Beaches
Navy and Coast Guard footage of the Normandy Beaches after D-day battles had ended. Shows the massive logistics efforts to land and disembark additional trrops, trucks tanks and war materiels for the campaign in France. (19 min)