Higgins PT-71 boat

The Higgins 78 ft PT-71 is a American motor torpedo boat.

The PT-71 was laid down on December 2, 1941 by Higgins Industries, in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was launched on May 4, 1942, and was completed on July 20, 1942. It was commissioned on April 27, 1943 as the USS PT-71, and it was assigned to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron FOUR (MTBRon 4) under the command of Lt. Comdr. William C. Specht, USN. MTBRon 4 was the training squadron for motor torpedo boat crews, based at MTB Squadrons Training Center, at Melville, Rhode Island.

The PT-71 was transferred to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron SIXTEEN (MTBRon 16) under the command of Lt. Comdr. Russell H. Smith, USN, on January 20, 1943. MTBRon saw action during the Aleutian Campaign.