I found this recently, an interesting read. A WW II paratrooper motorcycle, designed & made in England. I've seen some info on this before, thought some may find it interesting. More info on the link, and the site at its home page is a resource for info on ships, planes, weapons of all sorts from grenades to the ones that if I write the name, it sets off all sorts of alarms in certain gov't. offices... . People are profiled as well on the site so if you find the history of WW II interesting, you should see it.
http://ww2db.com/vehicle_spec.php?q=O455
The Excelsior Welbike was a wartime attempt to improve the mobility of airborne forces by providing them with a motorcycle that could be parachuted in a container or landed by glider. Therefore the machine needed to be small, lightweight, cheap and expendable. The task, which was inspired by the German's use of air-portable motorcycles in the Crete campaign in Greece, was placed in the hands of the government's military research centre in Welwyn in Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom (hence the name of Wel-bike) whose designer, Lieutenant Colonel John Dolphin, began with a standard airborne equipment container and then sketched out a miniature motorcycle with foldable handlebars and saddle to fit inside.
http://ww2db.com/vehicle_spec.php?q=O455
The Excelsior Welbike was a wartime attempt to improve the mobility of airborne forces by providing them with a motorcycle that could be parachuted in a container or landed by glider. Therefore the machine needed to be small, lightweight, cheap and expendable. The task, which was inspired by the German's use of air-portable motorcycles in the Crete campaign in Greece, was placed in the hands of the government's military research centre in Welwyn in Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom (hence the name of Wel-bike) whose designer, Lieutenant Colonel John Dolphin, began with a standard airborne equipment container and then sketched out a miniature motorcycle with foldable handlebars and saddle to fit inside.
