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The Welbike was a British single-seat folding motorcycle produced during World War II at the direction of Station IX — the "Inter Services Research Bureau" — based at
Welwyn Welwyn is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Hertfordshire, England. The parish also includes the villages of Digswell and Oaklands, Hertfordshire, Oaklands. It is sometimes referred to as Old Welwyn or Welwyn Village, ...
, UK, for use by
Special Operations Executive The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. Its pu ...
(SOE). It has the distinction of being the smallest motorcycle ever used by the British Armed Forces. Between 1942 and 1943, 3,641 units (plus a prototype and some pilot models) were built and, although not much used by the SOE, some were issued to the British 1st and 6th Airborne Divisions and some were used at
Arnhem Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both banks of ...
during
Operation Market Garden Operation Market Garden was an Allies of World War II, Allied military operation during the World War II, Second World War fought in the Netherlands from 17 to 27 September 1944. Its objective was to create a Salient (military), salient into G ...
. The Italians, Germans and Americans also developed small motorcycles for their airborne forces during World War II.


Development

The original prototype was designed by SOE motor cycle enthusiast Harry Lester, from an idea developed by Lt. Colonel John Dolphin, the Commanding Officer of Station IX, the secret Inter-Services Military Research Establishment based in a mansion called
The Frythe ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
(latterly owned by the pharmaceutical company GSK) an hour's drive north of
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
near the town of
Welwyn Welwyn is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Hertfordshire, England. The parish also includes the villages of Digswell and Oaklands, Hertfordshire, Oaklands. It is sometimes referred to as Old Welwyn or Welwyn Village, ...
in
Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...
, which had been taken over for the war effort. Powered by a Villiers single-cylinder two-stroke
petrol Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic co ...
(gasoline) engine, the Welbike was designed to fit into a
CLE Canister The CLE Canister, or CLE Container was a standardized cylindrical container used by the British during World War 2 to airdrop supplies to troops on the ground. The name initially derived from the Central Landing Establishment The Central Landin ...
– the standard parachute airdrop container long, high, and wide. Once deployed, they were easily assembled and ready for use as quickly as possible. The name ''Welbike'' comes from the custom that all the clandestine equipment devised at Station IX in ''Welwyn'' had names starting with ''Wel'', e.g., ''
Welman The Welman submarine was a Second World War one-man British midget submarine developed by the Special Operations Executive. It only saw action once and was not particularly successful. Design Designed by the Commanding Officer of SOE's Inter S ...
'', ''
Welrod The Welrod is a British bolt action, Magazine (firearms), magazine fed, suppressor, suppressed pistol devised during the Second World War by Major Hugh Reeves at the Inter-Services Research Bureau (later Station IX). Station IX, being based near ...
''. There was very limited space in the airborne equipment container, so the Welbike, which was carried in the container at an angle, had no suspension, no lights and just a single rear brake. The fuel tank was as small as possible and, because its bottom feed point was located lower than the carburetor, had to be pressurised occasionally by a hand pump built into the tank. The range on maximum capacity of of fuel was at about . Tanks were pressurised before the Welbike went into action to save time. The Welbike was then packed into the parachute container with the rear wheel to the base of the parachute canister, which had a percussion head to minimise damage on landing. Once it hit the ground all that was needed was to twist the handlebars into position and lock them on spring-loaded pins. The saddle was pulled up and the footrests folded out ready to
push start Push starting, also known as bump starting, roll starting, clutch starting, popping the clutch or crash starting, is a method of starting a motor vehicle with an internal combustion engine and with a manual transmission and with a mechanical fuel ...
the two stroke engine and ride into action. The aim was that a paratrooper could remove the Welbike from its special green container (which was marked in white lettering with the words ''Motor Cycle'') and its easily identified coloured parachute, and be on the road within 11 seconds. The prototype survived extensive drop testing at the Special Operations School at
Arisaig Arisaig ( gd, Àrasaig) is a village in Lochaber, Inverness-shire. It lies south of Mallaig on the west coast of the Scottish Highlands, within the Rough Bounds. Arisaig is also the traditional name for part of the surrounding peninsula south ...
in
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
where it was demonstrated to the commando forces. The prototype was then sent to Excelsior Ltd for further development. A number of pre-production "pilot" machines were built for further testing and experimental modifications at the
Airborne Forces Experimental Establishment The Airborne Forces Experimental Establishment (AFEE) was a branch of the British Air Ministry, that researched and developed non-traditional airborne applications, such as gliders, rotary wing aircraft, and dropping of personnel and equipment ...
at
RAF Sherburn-in-Elmet Sherburn-in-Elmet Airfield is located east of Sherburn in Elmet village and west of Selby, North Yorkshire, England. Pre-War and Wartime history In the 1920s, the Yorkshire Aeroplane Club began operating here. The novelist, pilot, and aeron ...
near
Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
in September 1942, including dropping them from aircraft to land by parachute. The Villiers engine was found to be seriously underpowered when ridden by a fully equipped soldier, so it was retuned to improve the power output. The simple design of the Welbike meant that it was easy and quick to produce and from 1942 went into full production for issue to airborne forces. By 1943 it was also being widely used by ground assault forces, including the Commandos and the
Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...
Commando units, particularly for beach landings at
Anzio Anzio (, also , ) is a town and ''comune'' on the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about south of Rome. Well known for its seaside harbour setting, it is a Port, fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine I ...
and
Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
. The small size of the Welbike meant that it also proved very useful as a general airfield transport by the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
and aircrews based in the large Far East airfields would "stow away" a Welbike if they could find one. There were three production versions of the Welbike. The first 1,200 were known as the Mark 1 and were a developed version of the original prototype with tuned engines and did not have a rear mudguard. 1,400 Mark 2 Series 1 Welbikes were produced which had a range of minor modifications, including the addition of the rear mudguard. The final batch of 1,340 was the Mark 2 Series 2 and had "saddle" fuel tanks with a splash shielding between them, and an improved filler cap replacing the original design which required the removal of the pressurisation pump which was found to be too time consuming. In combat situations the Welbike could prove a liability as paratroops needed to get under cover as quickly as possible and had to find the Welbike containers before they could start to assemble them. The difference in weight between a parachutist and a container meant that they often landed some distance apart, rather defeating the purpose, and some were captured by enemy forces or lost before they could even be used. The low power and small wheels also meant that they struggled to cope adequately with the often rough battlefield roads so were often abandoned by troops who found it easier to continue on foot. Another problem for the Welbike was that, by the time it was in mass production, much larger gliders had been developed that could carry bigger and more powerful motorcycles such as the
Royal Enfield WD/RE The Royal Enfield WD/RE known as the "Flying Flea" was a lightweight British motorcycle developed by Royal Enfield for the British War Office (the WD came from War Department) as a means of transport that could be dropped by parachute or carr ...
.


Production

Prototype Frame number 1. Pilot models Frame number 2 to 13. The Prototype and Pilot models are distinguished by teardrop shaped saddle tanks. At least two of these early Welbikes have been saved (number 2 and one other). 1. Contract 294/23/S.789 dated 26 August 1942 for 1,000 (changed to 1,200) Welbikes Frame number 14 to 1214, War Department number C4658444 to C4659673. Received 15 October 1942. 2. Contract 294/23/S.1649 dated 19 November 1942 for 1,400 Welbikes Frame number 1214 to 2613, War Department number C5152014 to C5153413. Received Feb 1943 to 14 March 1943. 3. Contract 294/23/S.1946 dated 27 December 1942 for 1,341 (reduced to 1,241) Welbikes Frame number 2614 to 3954 War Department number C5153414 to C5154654. 4. Contract 294/23/S.3662 dated 21 June 1943 for 7,778 (reduced to 1,241 then reduced to 0) Frame number 3955 to 5195 War Department number C5367454 to C5368694. CANCELLED. It appears that only the Mark II Welbikes had a contract number dataplate. This was brass and was attached to the frame below the seat post.


Corgi scooter

Many of the later models never saw action and were disposed of at the end of the war, mostly exported to the U.S. where they were sold by a
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
department store. The lack of a front brake meant that they could not legally be used on the road, so most were bought by farmers for off road use. The originator John Dolphin developed his ideas further and set up the Corgi Motorcycle Co Ltd. of which he was Managing Director, and had them produced as the Corgi by Brockhouse Engineering (Southport) Ltd., who had been manufacturing military trailers during the war. The Corgi scooter was powered by an Excelsior Spryt Autocycle engine and went into production in 1947. Most were initially exported to North America branded as the "Indian Papoose" and not sold in the UK until early 1948, with some 27,050 being manufactured. The single-speed
two-stroke engine A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of t ...
proved too slow, and despite the high post war demand for transport, lack of power and reliability problems meant it was discontinued in October 1954. Corgi scooters were sometimes painted a military green but were not much used by the British armed forces. A few were used by the Royal Navy. The concept continued to be developed by other manufacturers and led to the folding
Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...
Monkey bike The Honda Z series or Monkey Bike was a line of minibikes made by Honda which have a model number starting with the letter Z. The bike came to be known as a monkey bike because most people looked large in relation to the very small motorcycle: ...
of the 1960s.


Survivors

There are surviving Welbikes in countries around the world including the UK, US (where many were sold surplus after World War II) Canada, Australia, South Africa, India, the Netherlands, France and Belgium. Welbikes are quite rare and very few survive with the original War Department number intact as it was painted on. Many restorations have added a typical or estimated War Department number when the original was missing. The only permanent identity of a Welbike is the frame serial number which is stamped on the front of the frame, above the fork. Examples include: * RAF Harrington Aviation Museum, Harrington,
Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...
, UK: WD Number C5152111 *
South African National Museum of Military History The South African National War Museum in Johannesburg was officially opened by Prime Minister Jan Smuts on 29 August 1947 to preserve the history of South Africa's involvement in the Second World War. In 1975, the museum was renamed the South Af ...
,
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...
, South Africa: WD Number C4659131 *
Imperial War Museum Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...
*
Musée de l'Armée The Musée de l'Armée (; "Army Museum") is a national military museum of France located at Les Invalides in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. It is served by Paris Métro stations Invalides (Paris Métro and RER), Invalides, Varenne (Paris Métro ...
*
National Motor Museum, Beaulieu The National Motor Museum (originally the Montagu Motor Museum) is a museum in the village of Beaulieu, set in the heart of the New Forest, in the English county of Hampshire. History The museum was founded in 1952 by Edward Douglas-Scott- ...
Two of the Prototype/Pilot models have been preserved: Serial number 2 found in Oregon, restored and sold to a collector in the Netherlands, and another with an unknown number in the UK. Colin MacGregor Stevens' (MVPA Member 954 since 1977) private collection in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, had three complete Welbikes Mark II: Frame Serial number 1253; Frame Serial number 3839, found in original condition in Ohio, USA; and Frame Serial number 2348, found in Australia, apparently one of the 302 Welbikes boxed for export and delivered on 16 March 1943. Some Mk. II Welbikes had a contract dataplate on the frame, below the seat.


See also

*
List of motorcycles of the 1940s This a listing of motorcycles of the 1940s, including those on sale, introduced, or otherwise relevant in this period. Motorcycle * Acme motorcycle (1939–49) * AJS 18 *AJS 7R * AJS Model 16 * AJS Model 20 *AJS Porcupine *Ariel Red Hunter *A ...
*
List of motorcycles of the 1950s This a listing of motorcycles of the 1950s, including those on sale, introduced, or otherwise relevant in this period. * AJS 18 (1949-1963)


References


External links

{{Commons category, Welbike motorcycles
Welbike




Saint-Côme-du-Mont, France (Archived) Motorcycles of the United Kingdom Military motorcycles World War II vehicles of the United Kingdom Special Operations Executive Minibikes Motorcycles introduced in the 1940s Two-stroke motorcycles