LANDING CRAFT, VEHICLE, PERSONNEL LCVP
Often referred to as a Higgins Boat after its designer, Higgins Industries of New Orleans, the LCVP was the standard American assault craft on D-Day. The three crew were a coxswain (steering), an engineer and a deck hand. Over 800 LCVPs were used at Normandy, about half of them in fact by British forces, not in the assault but for unloading follow-up troops. The British equivalent was the LCA (Landing Craft, Assault).
Both types had pros and cons but each nation tended to prefer the home-designed craft. The largest US transport ships (designated APA: Auxiliary Personnel, Attack) could carry 25-30 LCVPs, though that was only enough to land
