Operations such as PLUTO 1 ensured that fuel was available to keep these vehicles running. The bicycle was used in a few operations by both British and Canadian troops from 1942, including Norway in 1942, Sicily in 1943, D-Day, during the second wave of the Normandy invasion, and Arnhem in 1944.īy D-Day however, lighter motor vehicles, such as Jeeps, had been introduced that could be carried in gliders. For these reasons the bike was designed to be disposable.Īn infantry unit was expected to be able to walk up to 25 miles (40km) in a day at an average speed of 3mph (4.8kph), however paratroopers mounted on bicycles could travel up to 75 miles (120km) at an average speed of 10mph (16kph). Nor was the bicycle fast enough to allow for a quick escape from enemy fire, and it offered no defensive protection. It was impossible to ride the bicycle and fire a rifle at the same time. They were never strapped to the paratroopers' backs, as popularly depicted – obviously this is where the parachute was kept.Ī drawback of the folding bicycle was that it had to be abandoned in a conflict situation. Paratroopers would drop from aircraft gripping the bicycles in their hands. Although it is sometimes called the 'Parabike', this nickname is incorrect and was first used at a later date to market children's versions of the bicycle. The bicycle was named the Paratrooper's Folding Bicycle but also officially known as the Airborne Bicycle. The BSA logo of three rifles was prominently displayed. The bike weighed 21lbs (9.5kg), even less than the original design specification, and it is believed over 60,000 were made, half the number of bicycles made during the Second World War. Unlike modern folding bicycles, the paratrooper's folding bicycle had a full-size diamond frame and full-size wheels. These could be pushed through the pedal crank shaft so that, when folded, the pedals did not get in the way. The bike also was equipped with simple cylindrical spindle pedals, rather than the flat square pedals that cyclists' feet usually rest on. In addition there was a wingnut that, when unscrewed, allowed the handlebar to fold out of the way. The top of the frame itself was unusual in that unlike most diamond-frame bikes, which have the same thickness frame for all four tubes, it had smaller twin cylindrical top tubes. Instead of one central lever hinge, the main fold was achieved through two wingnuts, one on the top and one on the bottom of the bike's frame, that was hinged to allow the frame to fold back on itself. It was lighter, which was of benefit when taken in large numbers on board gliders, and had a completely different folding mechanism. The WWII version was a completely different design to its earlier counterpart, more suited to the unique needs of a paratrooper. This specialist manufacturing knowledge made them the perfect choice to produce the paratrooper's folding bicycle. The BicycleīSA – Birmingham Small Arms company – had produced bicycles for the British Army during the Great War, including a folding variety which worked by means of a single-lever hinge with a thick tube running from the top to the bottom of the frame, approximately halfway between the saddle and the handlebars. The paratrooper's folding bicycle allowed this to happen.Īn additional advantage of the bicycle as a means of transport was that it did not require fuel to operate petrol stations and fuel depots were often among the first targets destroyed in war zones.
A lightweight means of allowing paratroopers to regroup quickly, reach their target speedily and quietly without being detected was needed. Also, paratroopers were often dropped a distance from the intended target to minimise the risk of being spotted. When dropped from aircraft the unguided parachutes drifted and paratroopers often ended up dispersed over a wide area, with valuable time lost in regrouping.
Ww2 bsa bicycles how to#
One of the major problems, faced by paratroopers on raids into enemy territory, was how to get to the intended target quickly and silently, without being spotted. During the Second World War Britain had a secret weapon – the BSA Paratrooper's Folding Bicycle.
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