[Lee Stewart]

While fewer of the Higgins PT Boats were produced than the competing ELCO series, many more of the line survived the test of wartime wear-and-tear.

The American side of the PT boat ("Patrol Torpedo") wars of World War 2 are primarily remembered through the exploits of the men governing their ELCO PT systems against the vessels of the mighty Japanese Navy. However, the USN held two major designs as their standard PT boat and this included the ELCO 80-footer and the Higgins 78-foot. While ELCO represented most of the PT boats produced for the US Navy - with 326 total units in play - Higgins Industries of New Orleans was next with production totaling 199. A third manufacturer - Huckens Yacht Corporation - managed just 18 examples and these were mostly reserved for training crews and active patrolling in Hawaiian waters or near the Panal Canal Zone - never seeing combat like her sisters. As such, the ELCO and Higgins boats bore the brunt of the PT boat wars wherever they were needed - and they did operate all around the world - from the Mediterranean to the English Channel and across the Pacific Theater.