Apologies for cross-postings.

The LOUISiana Digital Library and the Earl K. Long Library of the 
University of New Orleans are pleased to announce that the Higgins 
Industries Collection is now available online 
(http://louisdl.louislibraries.org/HIC/Pages/home.php).  Although part of 
it has been online since last summer, the ravages of Hurricane Katrina 
have delayed our finishing this first phase of the collection until now.  
This collection will be of interest to anyone working on World War II 
naval history.

The first 640 drawings in this collection are of Motor Torpedo Boats 
(MTB), better known as PT boats, which formed a major part of the 
company's war effort. From 1939-1945 the U. S. Navy contracted for 808 of 
these boats, generally in squadron-sized groups of twelve. Higgins 
Industries built or contracted to deliver 221 of them. PTs 5, 6, 70, and 
564 (Hellcat) were prototypes while the rest were series, or "classes" of 
contracts: 71-94; 197-254; 265-313; 450-485; 625-660; and 791-802. The 
contracts for Nos. 797-808 were cancelled in the latter half of 1945 and 
these boats were never completed. Most of the plans in this collection 
applied to an entire class (designated by the number of the first boat in 
each group: 71, 197, 265, 450, 625, and 791).  If a plan pertains only to 
a subset of the class, then the Sub-Class field is listed as well (e.g. 
199-210).  There are also some plans for other boats or variations worked 
on by the company: 100' Motor Powered Destroyer; 34' PT Commando; 70' 
MASB; 70' MTB; 70'-6" MTB; 70'-8.5" Patrol Vessel; 76' MTB; 78' MTB.
 
The drawings are in JPEG2000 format, which means they are able to be 
viewed using your web browser and don’t require any special software to be 
downloaded.  You can use CONTENTdm’s pan and zoom feature to examine the 
individual drawings in great detail.

Please direct any inquiries or suggestions about the collection to John 
Kelly ([log in to unmask]).

John C. Kelly
Digital Initiatives Librarian
Earl K. Long Library
University of New Orleans
New Orleans LA 70148
[log in to unmask]
504.280.6550

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