BEAUFORT – The North Carolina Maritime Museum will receive a Landing Craft, Vehicle and Personnel (LVCP) or “Higgins Boat” for restoration on Wednesday, July 30 around 9 a.m. at the museum’s expansion site at Gallants Channel, next to Town Creek Marina. Restoration work will take 6-8 months, and can be viewed at the museum’s Watercraft Center. This Higgins Boat is one of only about 12 such vessels known to still exist.
The vessel, which is owned by the First Division Museum in Wheaton, Illinois, is approximately 10 ½ feet wide and 34 feet in length. The age is currently unknown but is believed to be from the 1940’s.
More than 22,000 LCVPs were manufactured during WWII. The craft could transport troops from larger vessels right onto a beach, making amphibious assaults possible. LCVP’s carried the 1st Infantry Division ashore at North Africa, Sicily and Normandy.
The World War II-vintage LCVP was purchased from Overlord Research, LLC, of Charleston, WV, who located it in Normandy, France.
The N.C. Maritime Museum is located at 315 Front Street in Beaufort. It is part of the Division of State History Museums in the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, a state agency dedicated to the promotion and protection of North Carolina’s arts, history and culture. Museum hours are Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday 1-5 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, call (252) 728-7317 or go to www.ncmaritimemuseum.org.