We were met with a pleasant surprise when examining Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum’s latest artifact.
The two-ton winch used to open the ramp of the LCVP (landing craft, vehicle, personnel) Higgins boat is a local product. Beebe Bros, Inc., founded by R.H. Beebe in 1924, began making winches at a brick factory building (built in 1910) located on 6th Avenue South in Seattle.
During World War II, over 1,000 of the 20,000 or so LCVP landing craft made were equipped with Beebe-made winches. Beebe Bros became part of Ingersoll Rand in 1987.
Cory Graff is military aviation curator at the museum.
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