The Higgins 78ft PT-71 was the first of 24 PT-71-class PT boats produced by the Higgins Industries company as the first standard model of the Higgins PT boats. It was laid down in New Orleans on 2 December 1941, launched on 4 May 1942, and commissioned on 27 April 1943. After being assigned to the 2nd Torpedo Boat flotilla, the PT-71 was deployed to the Aleutian Islands in August 1943. A year later, it was deployed in the English Channel and participated in the D-Day landings. As with the other PT boats, the PT-71 was decommissioned and disposed of after the war, and it was sunk as a target on 11 October 1945 in the Philippines.

The PT-71 was introduced in Update 1.77 "Advancing Storm". It is largely similar to the related Elco PT-103, featuring largely the same armaments except for an additional pair of torpedoes. As the Higgins has two pairs of Browning MG mounts flanking the bridge, it offers a more accurate firing angle at the front at the cost of overall coverage. However, the PT-71 is still extremely vulnerable from the sides just like any other American PT boats, and it doesn't take long for any autocannon-armed boats to destroy it.