Welbike

Infobox Motorcycle
name = Welbike


aka =
manufacturer = Excelsior Motor Company of Birmingham
parent_company =
production = 1942-1945
predecessor =
successor =
class =
engine = 98cc, two stroke, single cylinder, air cooled
power =
torque =
transmission = single-speed
suspension =
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tires =
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dry_weight = 32 kg
wet_weight =
fuel_capacity = 3.7 litres
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The Welbike was a small British single-seat motorcycle devised during World War Two at Station IX - the Inter Services Research Bureau - based at Welwyn, UK, for use by SOE. Subsequently it was not much used by SOE, but many were issued to the Parachute Regiment and used at Arnhem during Operation Market Garden.

It was designed by the pseudonymous John Dolphin and built by Excelsior Ltd. It was powered by a Villiers 98 cm³ single-cylinder two-stroke petrol (gasoline) engine and was designed to fit into a standard parachute airdrop container.

3853 units were built between 1942 and 1945 by the Excelsior Motor Company of Birmingham.

Post war the Welbike design was produced as the Corgi 50 "Dinky Devil" by Brockhouse Engineering, and can in part be seen as the forerunner of the Monkey bikes popular in the 1960s.

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", "Welrod".

urvivors

; WD Number C5152111:Harrington Aviation Museum, Harrington, Northampton, England; WD Number C4659131:South African National Museum of Military History, Johannesburg, South Africa.

External links

* [http://bcoy1cpb.pacdat.net/welbike.htm Welbike]

* [http://www.alliedspecialforces.org/soewelbike.htm SPECIAL OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE WELBIKE]