100 years Of Motorcycle cops- Boston PD

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Boston Police Department Preparing to Celebrate the 100 Year Anniversary of the Department’s Motorcycle Unit – Celebration set for September 16, 2012

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In the year 1912, William Howard Taft – the 27th President of the United States – was in the White House, the Titanic set sail from England, Fenway Park opened its doors for the very first time and the Boston Police Department established one of the country’s very first motorcycle units. While the Berkeley, California Police Department  is credited with establishing the first official police motorcycle unit in the United States in the year 1911, the Boston Police Department would soon follow suit. Over the years, hundreds of officers have ridden motorcycles – be they Indian or Harley-Davidson – while patrolling and protecting the streets of Boston. During the unit’s history, tragically, six officers – while assigned to the unit – were killed in the line of duty. In honor and memory of their heroic sacrifices and service to the city and citizenry of Boston, six hero signs have been posted correlating with the locations where these brave officers were killed in the line of duty.
Mayor Tom Menino, Police Commissioner Ed Davis, members of the Mobile Operations Unit (both past and present) will gather at 364 Warren Street in Roxbury to honor and commemorate the sacrifice, service and history of the Motorcycle Unit. Prior to the gathering, officers – while participating in a ‘Ride to Remember’ – will ride past the locations of the six Hero Signs.
Said Commissioner Ed Davis, “When you have a department as rich in history as the Boston Police Department, it is essential to remember, honor and celebrate it. The 100 Year Anniversary of the motorcycle unit is a hugely significant event and I look forward to gathering, thanking and remembering all those officers who dedicated themselves to protecting and serving our city while assigned to the unit.”
The Hero Signs – honoring the following officers – can be viewed at the following locations:
Patrolman Ward M. Bray killed in the line of duty on April 14, 1921 at intersection of Centre Street & Seaverns Ave in Jamaica Plain
Patrolman Peter Paul Oginskis killed in line of duty on May 5, 1923 at intersection of Pond Street & Arborway in Jamaica Plain
Patrolman Herbert D. Allen killed in the line of duty on December 25, 1927 at intersection of Washington Street & Fairbanks Street in Brighton
Patrolman William L. Abbott killed in the line of duty on November 28, 1931 at the intersection of Riverway & Brookline Ave in the Fenway
Patrolman Daniel A. McCallum killed in the line of duty on May 12, 1935 in the area of Jamaicaway and Bynner Street in Jamaica Plain
Patrolman Michael J. Crowley killed in the line of duty on May 12, 1961 in the area of 283 River Street in Mattapan
*** Please note: In the days leading up to the 100 Year Anniversary, the department will be posting photos on its Facebook page – taken over the past 100 years – of the Motorcycle Unit provided courtesy of Department Chronologist Officer Bobby Anthony. BOSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT

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Harley-Davidson LR-64 Rocket.

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Harley-Davidson LR-64 Rocket-engine-LR64 Rocket-U.S.Navy


Harley-Davidson-produced LR-64 Rocket. Manufactured by H-D for the U.S. Navy at their York, Pennsylvania, assembly plant, the LR-64 was used to power drones during military training exercises. Harley produced more than 5,000 of these rockets between the mid-Sixties and the Nineties.

VIA Hemmings

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world war 1 & 2 – Rare Motorcycles

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L-300 L-300 – the first serial Soviet motorcycle. Prototype – German Lux-300.
Was used in the Soviet Army in recon and signals units. 
PMZ_A_750 Heavy motorcycle PMZ-A-750 was produced in 1934-38. Those vehicles were used in the Soviet Army 
IZh_9 IZh-9 was produced since May 1940 until Nov. 1941 and used in RKKA 
TIZ-AM-600 TIZ-AM-600.
(prototype – British BSA-600)
Was produced in 1936-1943. Was used in RKKA 
L-600 L-600 fire motorcycle was composed from L-300 motorcycle chassis and Village Motor Pump MP-2
(MP-2: 60x625x665mm, 140 kg weight).
Was produced in years 1934-1939. Was used in fire-brigades during WWII. L-600 also was used as a base for other vehicles. For example lighting variant carried six PES-35 searchlights having 500W lamps. Also was known to be used as a mobile welding machine for electricians. 
ML-3 ML-3 light motorcycle (1939-1941) [6]
L-8 and IZh-12 Upper veiws: L-8 motorcycle.


Lower view: IZh-12 motorcycle (Izhevsk modification of L-8. 49 vehicles built) [7]
Others
Restored motorcycle. Initially this was positioned as M-72. Now I was reported it is K-750 [8]
A column of M-72 motorcycles moving to the fronline, Leningrad Front, Autumn 1941 [9]
Rem. AMVAS – this was an original caption. I was told most likely it’s one of IZh models, or some foreign analog
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The Excelsior Welbike: A military vehicle with a sense of humor.

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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 (latterly owned by the pharmaceutical company GSK) an hours drive north of London near the town of Welwyn in Hertfordshire,[4] which had been taken over for the war effort.[5] Powered by a Villiers 98 cm3 single-cylinder two-stroke petrol (gasoline) engine, the Welbike was designed to fit into a standard parachute airdrop container 51 inches (130 cm), 15 inches (38 cm) high and 12 inches (30 cm) inches wide and be easily assembled and ready for use as quickly as possible.[1] 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. 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, it had to be pressurised occasionally by a hand pump built into the tank. The range on maximum capacity of 6.5 pints of fuel was a respectable 90 miles at about 30 mph. To save time the tanks were pressurised before the Welbike went into action. 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 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 in Scotland where it was demonstrated to the commando forces.


The prototype was then sent to the 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 at Sherburn-in-Elmet near Leeds in September 1942, including dropping them from aircraft to land by parachute. The Villers engine was found to be seriously under powered when ridden by a fully equipped soldier, so it was retuned for maximum power.


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 Commando units, particularly for beach landings at Anzio and Normandy. The small size of the Welbike meant that it also proved very useful as a general airfield transport by the Royal Air Force and aircrews based in the large Far East airfields would ‘stow away’ a Welbike if they could find one.[1]


There were three production versions of the Welbike. The first 1,200 were known as the Mark 1 and were really the developed version of the original prototype with tuned engines. These did not have a rear mudguard fitted however. One thousand four hundred Mark 2 Series 1 Welbikes were produced and these 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, as the original design required the removal of the pressurisation pump which was too time consuming.


In combat situations, however, 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 even 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 object, 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.

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