World War II
1942-1945
The war years saw wooden boat building redirected to military purposes. Higgins boats carried troops to hostile beaches. PT boats hunted enemy ships. The skills and production capacity built during wartime would transform peacetime boating when the veterans came home.
Historical context
American wooden boat yards built over 20,000 landing craft and hundreds of PT boats during WWII. Companies like Higgins in New Orleans and Elco in New Jersey converted from pleasure craft to military production. The war created a generation of skilled workers and refined production techniques that would revolutionize recreational boating in the postwar era.
Defining characteristics
- • Military construction standards
- • Mass production techniques
- • Plywood and mahogany construction
- • Purpose-built for specific missions
- • Training ground for postwar boat builders