The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-09-22

built or tested, offered the best promise"
 Therefore, the Bureau of Ships, after the White House conference which determined on. a second front, ordered large number of its own design tank lighters, and placed the orders with various Navy yards, giving Higgins no orders at all.
 The first of these was finished in April and tested at Ipswich, Mass, in calm water, where it was found that the Bureaus tank lighter had no directional con- trol when the engines were placed in reverse. Again tests were held in Philadelphia in early May, where 1t was found that the light CT could not back off the beach after landing, unless the crew rocked it back and forth, mean while racing the engines at top speed.
 However. despite the deficien- cies shown in these two tests, the Navy stubb0rnly proceeded to develop its own type of tank landing boat and to ignore the Higgins type, regardless of the effect it might have upon the lives of American soldiers or the success of second front. Pre- stige was more important.
 But late in May the final test came. Two tank landing boats, one designed by the Bureau of Ships, one by Higgins, were tried out at Norfolk. The results were disastrous--to the Navy.
 Pictures were taken of the Navy's lighter and show various high officers wearing life-belts, scrambling in very undignified manner up one side of the boat for fear it would sink.
 HIGGINS WINS OUT
 Captain Dan Barbey, one of the most efficient younger men in the Navy, was present, and wrote the following report:
 "En route to Fort Story, the Bureau tank lighter shippedNsO much water off Thimble Shoals that it was forced to turn back for fear of laundering. The Hig- gins tank lighter reached Fort Story successfully and disgOrged the 3O-tOn tank on the beach without difficulty, except that more time than necessary was taken in the disgOrging opera tion because the tank command CT feared the water was too deep. This did not prove to be the case.
 ITO put the matter baldly,. the Higgins tank lighter fulfilled it's mission under reasonably rough water conditions and the Bureau tank lighter did not"
 Yet some officers in the Bureau of Ships still wanted to stick to their type of lighter. despite the need for speed and the impending urgency of the second front.
 This, however. was promptly oyer-ruled above. It was imm9dt" ately decided to build Higgins type Of landing boats from that point on. A telephone conversation next day between Commander F. E. Roth of the Bureau of ships and Captain John D. Crecca of the Boston Navy Yard, said in part:
 Commander Roth; Commander Daggett (chief designer Of the Bureau llghteFsl took q plane and vent up to Philadelphia and he's just coming back at five o'clock tonight. But it's true, can't inc aglne anything that would have developed today to change it. and yOu'Ve got to adjust yourself and make out, We're going te make them co Hiefins type instead ot Bureau Type"
 CapiaIn cFsecai Well. they'll handla ilR w0Fk Just Ike they're handling lt noW, Plans and ail1
 Commander ifsthi Yes, { thl1k they Niil. There's DO change ul she setsip. ignt what y0m heard as rana0r lf iiet aa iflie ae C cen be and I'm very sorry se heye 70 confirm f
 ThWs. gripeiamtiF aia ihs nyF. ssu ~ NhlpA atief fisbisHr