Higgins Aircraft was a subsidiary of Higgins Industries

Higgins Industries

Higgins Industries was the company owned by Andrew Higgins based in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Higgins is most famous for the design and production of the Higgins boat, an amphibious landing craft referred to as LCVP, which were used extensively in D-Day Invasion of Normandy...

 set up to build aircraft during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

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Higgins Aircraft was contracted to build the all-plywood-construction Curtiss-Wright C-76 Caravan

C-76 Caravan

The Curtiss-Wright C-76 Caravan was an all-wood military transport aircraft. The C-76 was intended as a substitute standard aircraft in the event of expected wartime shortages of light alloys. However, both prototype and production aircraft failed several critical flight and static tests, and...

, and later, the C-46 Commando

C-46 Commando

The Curtiss-Wright C-46 Commando was a transport aircraft originally derived from a commercial high-altitude airliner design. It was instead used as a military transport during World War II by the United States Army Air Forces as well as the U.S. Navy/Marine Corps under the designation R5C...

, but both contracts were cancelled at an early stage, and the company managed to complete only two C-46A aircraft before production shut down. Before the government repossessed the factory complex, Higgins managed to finish a helicopter of early design in 1946. The Higgins factory complex was subsequently subdivided and sold at auction.