Steve Wilson looks at the main motorcycles used by the British in World War Two
Motorcycles were used for a variety of roles by both Allied and Axis forces during World War Two. They were a vital part of the military machine thanks to their mobility and the fact that they were also easy to transport and were used for everything from delivering messages when radios could not, to transporting cargo or injured soldiers.
Although they were not used in combat roles much due to the prevalence of Jeeps and armoured vehicles, motorcycles were used for escorting convoys and scouting missions. Here are some the main types used by the British during the war.
BSA WD M20
Small Heath’s 496cc side-valve single was the guv’nor among two-wheelers supplied by British manufacturers to our own and Allied forces. In World War Two, 126,334 BSA motorcycles were produced from an overall British total of 425,000, the vast majority M20s, with a few thousand 250s for training purposes.
With production rising to a peak rate of 1,000 a week, economies of scale meant that in late 1941 an M20 set the War Department back just £49 12s 2d – cheap enough to replace if machines were destroyed or had to be abandoned. But one ex-dispatch ri…
