maverick
Member
- 249
- 1
- 18
- Location
- Southern England
Hi Guys
I've been meaning to post this for a while now. A friend of mine is really into his motorbikes and likes to do things a little diffrent so he came across some photos of a prototype bike from WW2 and he thought I'll make one of those just for fun.
Attached are the original photographs and the information on the bike and idea behind it.
During the invasion scare which followed the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940, the officer commanding one of the Reconnaissance Battalions stationed in the Hastings/Pevensey sector thought it would be helpful to have some faster way of moving a Bren gun , plus ammunition, over short distances than was possible by an infantry section on foot. This was normally a job done by a Bren gun carrier but they were not available.
What he visualised was a solo motorcycle which could nip in and out of hedgerows , were a sidecar outfit would tend to be more confined to roads.
Using the HQ Triumph 3SW as it was available, the machine shown in the photographs was produced by the workshop company in less than a week. The gun and ammo being removed from the motorcycle on arrival and fired from natural cover . In the case of no natural cover the machine was fitted with an armoured shield for protection to form a temporary Pillbox.
To offset the weight of the side armour the tool box was repositioned to the opposite side of the motorcycle and filled with about 50lbs of lead. The original machine was sent to join a 3 day exercise at Thursley (UK) where it performed without any major problem.
Now the project passed into the military system where it was slowly bogged down due to lack of motorcycles to convert and other more urgent projects . In October 1940 with the threat of invasion dwindling the project was quietly dropped.
The converted motorcycle was probably stripped and returned to general use.
I've been meaning to post this for a while now. A friend of mine is really into his motorbikes and likes to do things a little diffrent so he came across some photos of a prototype bike from WW2 and he thought I'll make one of those just for fun.
Attached are the original photographs and the information on the bike and idea behind it.
During the invasion scare which followed the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940, the officer commanding one of the Reconnaissance Battalions stationed in the Hastings/Pevensey sector thought it would be helpful to have some faster way of moving a Bren gun , plus ammunition, over short distances than was possible by an infantry section on foot. This was normally a job done by a Bren gun carrier but they were not available.
What he visualised was a solo motorcycle which could nip in and out of hedgerows , were a sidecar outfit would tend to be more confined to roads.
Using the HQ Triumph 3SW as it was available, the machine shown in the photographs was produced by the workshop company in less than a week. The gun and ammo being removed from the motorcycle on arrival and fired from natural cover . In the case of no natural cover the machine was fitted with an armoured shield for protection to form a temporary Pillbox.
To offset the weight of the side armour the tool box was repositioned to the opposite side of the motorcycle and filled with about 50lbs of lead. The original machine was sent to join a 3 day exercise at Thursley (UK) where it performed without any major problem.
Now the project passed into the military system where it was slowly bogged down due to lack of motorcycles to convert and other more urgent projects . In October 1940 with the threat of invasion dwindling the project was quietly dropped.
The converted motorcycle was probably stripped and returned to general use.
![[thumbzup]](https://www.steelsoldiers.com/images/smilies/icon_smile_thumzup.gif "Thumbs Up [thumbzup]"){kind=icon}
....... That bike looks Great .......... How dose it handle with that armour on it ??
He says its only any good on the flat like riding around airfields etc