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C-47 Dakota, Ford GPW jeep and BSA airborne
bicycle.
When and where was this photo taken?
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ANSWER: Would you believe 1999 at CFB Comox, British Columbia
at the air show for the RCAF's 75th Anniversary? Barry Alexander (left) and Colin Stevens
(right) at with a C47
Dakota, Ford GPW jeep and 1942 BSA airborne bicycle.
 | Douglas "Dakota" C-47 ex-RCAF at Comox Air Force Museum,
CFB Comox, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. This is the
most common type of plane used by Allied parachute troops in
WWII.
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1943 Ford GPW ("jeep") - Owned by Ian Newby (International Movie Services).
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| 1942 (?) BSA airborne bicycle - Owned by Colin Stevens. Single seat column
serial number R12463.
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The folding airborne bicycle was made mainly by Birmingham Small Arms Company
(BSA) starting in 1942 I believe. No factory records are known to be available.
My web pages on the BSA airborne bicycle are organized as follows:
- BSA Home Page
- BSA
Photos
- BSA
Models Early
Model Late
Model Post-war
Off-shoots
- Getting
to Battle
- BSA
in Action
- BSA
Survivors
- BSA
Restoring
- BSA
Parts
Please
also look at my friend David Gordon's page in Texas: http://visualcollector.com/OBLI/BSABike.htm
BSA
was well known for its firearms and military motorcycles.
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LOCATION OF SERIAL NUMBER - This example is BSA R12463. All
serial numbers seem to start with "R" and the number may be
from R1 to R77527 or possibly higher.
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Wing nut and upper body hinge point when bicycle is
folded. R12463
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BSA R12463 showing frame wing nut (one of two for
folding the bike)
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| Tommybar on stem for tightening & loosening the
handlebars as they should be turned 90 degrees when the bike is folded for
parachuting. R12463 |
Photo of left hand grip made by BSA and one of the two
brake levers. R12463
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BSA showing brake assemblies. R12463
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| Pedal pulled out for pedalling. R12463 |
Pedal pushed in for folding and parachuting. R12463 |
BSA (detail by pedals showing large BSA) R12463 |
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| Rear hub of BSA showing markings .
B.S.A. MARK X (Believed to mean Mark - i.e. model - number 10) R12463
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The serial number on the BSA airborne bicycle is stamped
into the left rear 'drop out' (where the rear axle is attached. R12463
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Shown is
SN R17807 with the axle nut removed. This bike is in the Canadian
Military Engineers Museum, which is now at CFB Gagetown, New Brunswick I
believe.
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| Front bracket on bicycle. Note BSA name and piled rifles.
NOTE: The No. 1 lamp does NOT fit on this as many people claim! That lamp
is a belt lamp and has the wrong attachment. R12463 |
Original BSA seat, Model 40. BSA The
maker's marking is in the big oval stamped on both sides of the seat. R12463
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Original WAR GRADE tire on BSA R12463 One of the
tubes was also marked WAR GRADE.
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| "Broad Arrow" transfer for front of BSA airborne bicycle.
Mounted on the front of the bicycle, just above the front forks. Replica
shown here.
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Patent information transfer on BSA airborne bicycle.
Mounted above the broad arrow on the front of the bicycle. Replica shown
here.
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BSA piled rifles symbol for BSA as found on later model
(single seat tube) airborne bicycles. Has also been reported in SILVER,
apparently without magazines on the rifles. SILVER MAY BE THE ORIGINAL
PATTERN FOR THE BSA AIRBORNE BICYCLE. No such transfer (decal) is
known for early twin tube model. Replica shown here. |
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Replicas of these transfers (decals) are available from
Classic Transfers , P. O. Box 17, Wotton-under-Edge, Glos, GL12 8YX
England. |
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PHOTO BY ZIGGY W. in the UK.
BSA airborne bicycle 1943 New Old Stock tool bag with original tools
and the original waxed paper that they were wrapped in. Note the BSA
marking on the tool. Ziggy W. in the UK sold it on eBay in March 2002
No he does not have any more for sale but he agreed to my using his
photos to help other collectors.
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PHOTO BY ZIGGY W. in the UK.
Tool pouch for the RIGID British Army Mark IV bicycle. In typical army
"make-do" fashion, some of these were used on
BSA airborne bicycles. Second photo shows one mounted on a BSA airborne
bicycle at a Royal Marine Commando kit inspection shortly before D-Day
in 1944.
This type mounts in FRONT of the seat. the side
strap attaches to the vertical seat post, and the two top straps to the
tube(s) between the rider's thighs. Ziggy W. in the UK sold it on
eBay in early 2002
No he does not have any more for sale but he agreed to my using his
photos to help other collectors.
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| Colin Stevens with BSA airborne bicycle at Fort Rodd Hill
National Historic Site, near Victoria, BC in May 1999. I am dressed as a
member of 1 Canadian Parachute Battalion, am holding a No. 4 Mk. I* Lee
Enfield rifle, and behind me is a Bren Mk. I and a restored (and operable)
WWII twin-six-pounder gun turret. |
Colin Stevens' BSA airborne bicycle with Everest Carrier and
Bergen Rucksack and mannequin dressed as a Commando on the D-Day invasion
June 6 1944. Displayed at the Annual Gun Show, British Columbia Historical
Arms Collectors, in Coquitlam, BC. Note the poster of the then
"politically correct" Prime Minister Winston Churchill - holding
a Thompson Machine Carbine (Sub-machinegun). The table cover is a 1944
British camouflage mountain troop bell tent. |
Colin Stevens' first BSA airborne bicycle "as found" on the
evening when I bought it. It was dirty but all original. Click to
enlarge photo. |
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| Don Thomas and Colin Stevens with Colin's BSA airborne
bicycle at Fort Rodd Hill NHS, May 1999. |
Colin Stevens with BSA airborne bicycle folded, in front of
my 1944 British mountain troop bell tent. Fort Rodd Hill NHS, May 1999. |
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| Michael Desmazes wearing WWII RCAF officer's uniform in
Colin Stevens' 1944 Willys MB jeep now in RCAF markings for 2nd Tactical
Air Force. Note BSA airborne bicycle folded and on front of jeep. |
Colin Stevens with 1944 Willys MB jeep now in RCAF markings
for 2nd Tactical Air Force. Note BSA airborne bicycle folded and on
front of jeep. I am wearing my current issue air force uniform as I
work with 583 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Cadets in Maple Ridge, BC. |
Analysis of the serial numbers indicate that over 70,000 were made. They are
now considered to be rare, and collectible. Many were sold surplus after WWII
for as little as Canadian $3.95 from Capital Iron in Victoria BC, to Cdn $9.95
from the Hudson's Bay Company.
The early airborne bicycles had twin columns under the seat. Later models,
which appeared sometime between serial numbers R8000 and R13000 had a single column under the seat.
These bikes are often called "parabikes" by collectors, but so far
it seems that this is an erroneous term. This appears to be a post-war nickname applied
to a commercial variant. The only war time manual references found so far clearly call it the
"airborne bicycle".
The bike was designed to be folded in half and carried on board an aircraft.
It could be landed by glider, thrown out of the aircraft with its own small
parachute, or carried by a paratrooper as he jumped out of his aircraft. It was
NOT carried on his back as some authors have suggested, as he had his parachute
there.
By the time of the big invasion of June 1944, larger gliders were available
and other larger vehicles were available, so the folding bicycle was already
obsolescent.
The paratroopers disliked them and the main combat use was by infantry in the
second wave on the British (2 beaches) and Canadian (1 beach) on D-Day, 1944
June 06. The other two beaches were American and they did not use them
apparently. The soldiers disliked the bikes intensely and most were discarded
within a few miles of the beach.
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