The Bikes of War
Bicycles have been used in the military since WWI and if anyone has spent anytime at an Army-Navy Surplus you have undoubtedly ran into a couple. The Japanese, Brits, Italians, Germans, Danes, and Chinese all had airborne bicycle divisions to get troops into enemy territory. They were cheap, most were foldable, required no fuel and were virtually silent. However, no military utilized the bicycle more so than the Bicycle Grenediers of the Swiss Army. They disbanded in 2003 after 100 years of service. Das Schweizer Militaerfahrrad & Militaer Velo shop has all your Swiss bike needs covered. Army Bike Carl has some terrific info and photos of Swiss Military bikes as well.
Swiss Light Infantry Bicycle 1940’s-1950’s
Swiss Light Infantry Bicycle 1990’s
Apparently, the US military was not as keen on outfitting their airborne troops with bikes strapped to them. That said, Huffman and Westfield Columbia both made excellent bikes for the US military. The Westfield Columbia models are the most desirable and are quite rare. These were mainly used to get around the bases, airfields, depots and I suspect a great many beer runs.
WWII Westfield Columbia
McCellan Field, Sacramento, CA in 1942
If you want to learn more about military bicycle history look no further than this thesis by Major Stephan Tate from 1989 on the, “Suitability of using bicycles to enhance the mobility of U.S. light infantry units.” It will no doubt educate your head off. 188 pages! I noticed this in Stephan’s thesis and it doesn’t surprise me in the least:
“The bicycle’s simplicity may be the reason it has been constantly overlooked by the American military.”
Located in England, Buy Vintage, is a very detailed and thorough site dedicated to buying vintage vehicles. It’s packed with interesting, rarely seen gas and pedal powered modes of transportation. I was skimming through it recently and ran across the English company BSA (Birmingham Small Arms Co.) who made airborne bicycles for the British paratroopers. It turns out they made around 70,000 of these foldies from 1939-1942. However, by the time the big invasions of 1944 came around the Brits had bigger aircraft than the Hotspur to fly in Jeeps, etc. Apparently the soldiers disliked the bike intensely and discarded them within a few miles of the beach. Can you blame them? Just imagine hitting the beaches of Normandy with Germans firing on you with all that gear + a bike to lug in the deep sand.
British Commandos with BSA Paratroopers Bicycles Preparing for D-Day, June 1944
Enroute to Normandy
Canadian Troops Landing with BSA Airborne Bicycles
BSA Airborne Bicycle. After the war, Hudson Bay & Co. was selling them for around $5US.
More military bike info can be found here:
