The World War II Airdropped Minibike

The welbike- a British motorcycle fitted in an air drop canister for use during WWII. pic.twitter.com/pDukGVIhrJ
— Lost in history (@lostinhist0ry) August 1, 2022

During World War II, Britain wanted to ensure that its special forces troops who parachuted behind enemy lines had the ability to travel quickly away from the drop zones and to their mission destinations. In The Famous James Military Lightweight, motorcycle historian Peter Miller explains that the folded-up Welbike motorcycle had to fit inside a 15-inch wide drop container and weigh only 70 pounds. A trained soldier could get it working within 11 seconds.

The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was eventually dissatisifed with the utility of the Welbike, but it soon became popular with airborne troops and saw use during Operation Market Garden in 1944. Various British firms produced 3,853 Welbikes. One is on display at the Spy Museum in Washington, D.C.

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Very cool!

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Kinda neat, but I could see a few issues with this. 1)As with any motorbike, prolly dangerous if you wreck. 2)If it breaks down, how you gonna fix it? prolly needs specialized parts. 3)Can't shoot and drive at the same time, and it makes noise so, you're probably vulnerable while riding on it.

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Royal Enfield made the WD/RE which was an air-dropped two stroke 125cc motorcycle of a more conventional design. Troops called it the "Flying Flea." They were generally sent in with airborne troops on gliders and were used to run dispatches and establish lines of communication. They were popular enough that Enfield made them for civilian use until 1950.

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