How Higgins and His Boats Won the War

HISTORY This Week

The HISTORY® Channel | Back Pocket Studios

History, Society & Culture

4.5 • 4.2K Ratings

🗓️ 1 June 2026

⏱️ 31 minutes

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Summary

June 6, 1944. As thousands of Allied soldiers prepare to storm the beaches of Normandy, they climb down rope nets into small wooden landing craft bobbing in the dark waters of the English Channel. Within hours, these boats will carry them into the largest amphibious invasion in history.

The craft are known as Higgins boats, named for their inventor, Andrew Higgins: a hard-driving New Orleans boatbuilder who built his reputation designing vessels that could speed through swamps, crash through obstacles, and go places other boats couldn't. Higgins was stubborn, abrasive, and relentless. The Navy repeatedly dismissed his ideas. He refused to go away.

How does a small-time New Orleans boatbuilder force his way into the military industrial complex? And what exactly is so special about these boxy little Higgins boats?

Special thanks to Dr. John Curatola, Samuel Zemurray Stone Senior Historian at the National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana. His book is Armies Afloat: How the Development of Amphibious Operations in Europe Helped Win World War II.

You can find the rest of the books we used to research this episode at historythisweekpodcast.com.

Check out new episodes of History's Greatest Machines with Dolph Lundgren on the HISTORY Channel, premiering on June 1st. Stream the next day at History.com.

Get in touch: historythisweek@history.com

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey everyone, it's Sally here. This week's episode is a deep dive into the boats that made D-Day possible
0:06.2	and into the life of their inventor. This story is also featured in history's greatest
0:12.1	machines with Dolph Lundgren, a new History Channel TV series. Machines can rewrite history,
0:18.5	and no one knows that better than action legend and chemical engineer graduate, Dolph Lundgren.
0:24.2	Join him as he uncovers the stories behind history's groundbreaking machines.
0:28.9	Check out new episodes of History's greatest machines with Dolph Lundgren on the History Channel,
0:33.7	premiering on June 1st or stream the next day at history.com.
0:38.1	The History Channel, original podcast.
0:42.3	History this week, June 6th, 1944.
0:48.3	I'm Sally Helm.
0:52.1	It's 3 o'clock in the morning.
0:58.0	The full moon reflects off the choppy sea. Soldiers begin to climb down the nets draped along the walls of their transport ships.
1:03.0	They've been told to keep their guns and equipment loosely strapped to their bodies
1:08.0	because if they slip and fall into the English Channel,
1:11.6	they'll have to shed their gear or drown.
1:15.6	These Allied soldiers are climbing down into smaller boats,
1:19.6	boats specifically designed for amphibious assault.
1:25.6	They're going to land these boats on the beaches of Normandy.
1:31.4	This will be the largest amphibious assault in world history. And the soldiers know how
1:37.3	dangerous it is. One officer told a group, look to the right of you and look to the left of you.
1:43.6	There's only going to be one of you
1:44.8	left after the first week in Normandy. Only so many troops can land on the beach at once, so the
	...

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