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Remembered Today:

WW1 Military Motors - 1916 set x 50 cards


Lancashire Fusilier

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Another common place to store the spare rear-wheel drive belt, was on the carrier on the back of the motorcycle, as can been seen in this photo of a Motor Machine Gun Corps. Officer's Triumph motorcycle.

LF

IWM This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

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Another method used to carry the spare rear-wheel drive belt, was for it to be rolled and stowed attached to rear of the motorcycle frame.

Here we see a Despatch Rider on a ' Zenith ' motorcycle, the Zenith having a particularly long drive belt, with the spare drive belt rolled and stowed on the rear of the motorcycle using small leather retaining straps.

LF

C/o. S. Chambers - Uniforms & Equipment of the British Army in World War 1.

This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

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The same spare drive belt storage method as was used on the ' Zenith ' in the previous post, is again being used on this Despatch Rider's Triumph ' H ' Type 550 cc. motorcycle, with the spare drive belt rolled and stowed on the back of the motorcycle.


Some 30,000 Triumph motorcycles, were supplied to the British military during WW1.


The Despatch Rider is carrying a revolver, with the case/holster on his right side, with the revolver's lanyard around his neck.




LF



This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.


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Apart from the drive belt breaking, another common problem for the military Despatch Rider was a tyre puncture damaging the tyre's rubber inner tube.


In the attached photo we can see a Despatch Rider with a punctured tyre, being assisted by a other Despatch Riders on Triumph motorcycles, bringing him a spare rubber inner tube. This photo was taken on a mountain road, somewhere in Italy.



LF



IWM This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.



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IIRC, the Zenith used expanding pulleys to give a primitive gear-box effect. The mechanism is too thick to go by the rider's foot so it ended up at the bottom of the down-tube. The longer belt might have allowed a bit more stretch to accommodate the effect of varying the pulley diameter.

I don't know much about the Italian campaign but the British forces at Asiago were fighting relatively close to the escarpment down to the Venetian Plain, some 4,000 feet below. The men walked up the slope but supplies and so on went by road to ease the gradient. I'm not saying that it is Asiago but, if it is, this is on such a road.

Keith

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I don't know much about the Italian campaign but the British forces at Asiago were fighting relatively close to the escarpment down to the Venetian Plain, some 4,000 feet below. The men walked up the slope but supplies and so on went by road to ease the gradient. I'm not saying that it is Asiago but, if it is, this is on such a road.

Keith,

You may be right, the photo caption only mentions " a mountain road in Italy ".

Here is another photograph from that same set of photos, showing a Despatch Rider on a Triumph motorcycle delivering a despatch to a Signals Officer in that same part of Italy.

This photo, gives a good view of the mountainous region in that particular part of Italy.

LF

IWM This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

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Many Despatch Riders carried a spare inner tube, as we can see from the attached 1917 dated photograph of an extremely well equipped Despatch Rider on his Triumph Model ' H ' 550 cc motorcycle, he has a spare tyre inner tube tied around his neck.


He is also wearing a pair of rubber trench waders, a rubberized Despatch Rider's coat, and a leather helmet with goggles.


His equipment includes, a Brodie helmet on the back of his motorcycle, a map case, binoculars, a cartridge pouch and he is armed with a service revolver.


Interestingly, he also has a German bayonet and scabbard on the motorcycle's handlebars, either as a weapon or a souvenir.



LF




C/o. S. Chambers - Uniforms & Equipment of the British Army in World War 1.


This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.




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Some interesting information on the ' Zenith ' WW1 era motorcycles, and photos of two superb examples, the 1912 Zenith Gradua 770 cc., and the 1918 Zenith Gradua JAP 680 cc., with a sidecar combination.



LF



" Among the bikes favoured by sporting riders before World War I, Zenith bikes fitted with the factory's Gradua gear were among the first to offer a really practical variable drive ratio. For a few years they were so successful in hill climbs and other early events that they were barred from single-gear competitions. The company took this as a compliment and even added the word 'Barred' to their badge.



The earliest pioneer bikes relied on direct belt drive to the rear wheel. Although their engines were designed for maximum flexibility, the fixed gear that resulted meant that a bike that could start off and pull up hills easily would have had a severely limited top speed. The alternative adopted by early sporting riders was to use an adjustable pulley which could be opened to give a similar effective diameter and hence a higher gear. The only problem this posed was that the belt tension was lost and it had to be shortened to suit. One early rider's manual devoted two pages to the process of climbing a hill and a similar amount to descending at speed afterwards.


Zenith changed all that with a belt drive system, the ratio of which could be varied on the move. Although technically limited, it was good enough to ensure the marque's success in many important competitions and having demonstrated the virtue of variable gearing it paved the way for even more practical alternatives.



Zenith was established in 1904 in Stroud Green, North London. Like many pioneers, they used proprietary engines, fitted to a bicycle-type frame with direct belt drive. But in 1908, designer Freddie Barnes developed the variable engine pulley. This had a pair of flanges that could be moved in or out by winding a handle while the bike was on the move. There were a number of limitations to this device. Unlike the chain drive that would eventually take over, belts were prone to slip in the wet, while the limited gear ratios still needed a large, flexible engine to make the best use of them. But with the JAP V-twins fitted to the majority of early Zeniths the theoretical limitations were overcome.


Improvements to the Gradua system followed including a variation in which a chain transmitted power to a gearbox forward of the engine. Transmission from there on was by Gradua belt drive.



Zenith continued in production from a new site in South London, making bikes powered by everything from a lightweight Villiers-powered two-stroke single to a 1100cc side-valve V-twin. Post-war, they restarted with a 750cc V-twin but in 1950 ceased production mainly because of the lack of suitable proprietary engine makers."




These images are reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.


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Good photo's of the Zenith Gradua LF. I was just looking through one my books on this prior to your post, I have a couple of shots that may be of interest regarding the front pulley flanges ,are opened and closed to give a larger or smaller effective diameter, also the belt tension is adjusted by moving the rear wheel back and forth, controlled by the bevel gears at the base of the shaft. I think Rockdoc mentioned this in post 1779.

Crimson Rambler.

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I have a couple of shots that may be of interest regarding the front pulley flanges ,are opened and closed to give a larger or smaller effective diameter, also the belt tension is adjusted by moving the rear wheel back and forth, controlled by the bevel gears at the base of the shaft. I think Rockdoc mentioned this in post 1779.

Crimson Rambler.

More excellent information on the Zenith's design, and a nice photo showing a shaped drive belt with ' barbed ' edges. Was the belt shaped for better traction, or just a design feature ?

Regards,

LF

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this type of belt looks like Bramah belt which can be made longer or shorter by taking out or adding links it is still used occasionaly it is not toothed as it appears but it is built in various plies depending on load.and comes in various widths.

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this type of belt looks like Bramah belt which can be made longer or shorter by taking out or adding links it is still used occasionaly it is not toothed as it appears but it is built in various plies depending on load.and comes in various widths.

Many thanks for the interesting information on the ' linked ' drive belt, I can now see how that worked.

Attached are a couple of examples.

Regards,

LF

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With reference to post # 1782, and Zenith using the word " Barred " as part of their advertising logo, attached is a 1915 Zenith advertisement using the ' Barred ' logo, and a close up of the Zenith Motorcycle's ' Barred ' logo.

LF

These images are reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

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This photo of a Despatch Rider on his Triumph motorcycle, shows the more conventional method used by Despatch Riders for carrying their spare inner tube and drive belt, on the back of their motorcycle.

The Despatch Rider is also armed with a service revolver, carried in an open-topped holster.

LF

This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

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A Medium Mark A ' Whippet ' Tank in action, moving forward on open ground past infantry who are digging in.

LF

This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

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A disabled Medium Mark A ' Whippet ' Tank near the airfield at Premont, a small village in the Picardy region of Northern France close to Cambrai and St. Quentin. Alongside the Whippet tank, is the grave of one of the tank's crew members.


LF




AWM This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

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An Austin 3rd Series Armoured Car, captured by the Germans, taken to Berlin and used by the Para-Military German Freikorps.


Most of the captured Austin 3rd Series Armoured Cars used by the German Freikorps came from the Russians ( who had been supplied with Austin 3rd Series Armoured Cars by the British earlier in WW1 ), as towards the end of WW1, the British were equipped with the Austin Model 1918 Armoured Cars.



LF



This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.


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Back to Motorcycles:

I am interested in two early motorcycle engine manufacturers one is MMC (Motor Manufacturing Company of Coventry entirely British) and the other more interesting one Daw (Daw engine syndicate?). Apparently DAW of Germany also made motor cycle engines. Were they the same company and did British and German motor cycles at some point have the same engines? Daw were considered being of British manufacture and did make water cooled engines as well.

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I am interested in two early motorcycle engine manufacturers one is MMC (Motor Manufacturing Company of Coventry entirely British) and the other more interesting one Daw (Daw engine syndicate?). Apparently DAW of Germany also made motor cycle engines. Were they the same company and did British and German motor cycles at some point have the same engines? Daw were considered being of British manufacture and did make water cooled engines as well.

Many thanks for the post.

The German ' DAW ' motorcycle designed by Ing Köhler and made by Diana-Werke GmbH, München, Germany seems only to have been in production for one year 1924-1925, so it is outside of our WW1 time frame.

It nevertheless looks to be of a very unorthodox design for the period with the bodywork encasing most of the motorcycle, it also had some advanced design features including lighting and a control panel. The engine was a single cylinder 405 cc two-stroke engine produced in-house.

LF

This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

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I am interested in two early motorcycle engine manufacturers one is MMC (Motor Manufacturing Company of Coventry.

The Motor Manufacturing Company ( MMC ) of Coventry, was founded in 1898 and started making tricycles and copies of the French De Dion engine, MMC also made motorcycles for the French ' Werner ' Company.

MMC expanded into the manufacture of early motorcars, however, they seem not to have been successful as in 1905, MMC went into Liquidation, and was wound up.

LF

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We have seen converted canal barges being used as ambulances on the French canal system for the transportation of wounded soldiers, here we see converted canal barges being used as veterinary ambulances to transport some of the many horses wounded in action to an inland Veterinary Hospital. The photograph was taken at Canal de 1'Aa, St. Omer, on 9 June 1918.

LF

IWM8908 This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

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The care of the Army's horses was of the utmost importance, and was the responsibility of the Army Veterinary Corps ( which became the Royal Army Veterinary Corps on 27th November, 1918 ).


Some 53,000 horses accompanied the British Expeditionary Force ( B.E.F. ) and by the end of WW1 over 1 million horses had been used by the British Army, the vast majority of which were killed in action.


As with ambulances provided for the troops, many of which were donated, horse ambulances were also donated.


Here are photographs of a donated Horse Ambulance using the 3 ton lorry chassis made by the Luton based ' Commer Car ' Company. This particular Horse Ambulance belonging to the No.2 Veterinary Hospital at Le Havre, was donated by the Home of Rest for Horses charity.



LF



These images are reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.


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Some additional photographs of the Commer Cars Horse Ambulance, these belonging to the No. 10 Veterinary Hospital at Neufchatel, which was located 8 miles south of Boulogne in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of Northern France.

LF

IWM 1518 These images are reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

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This particular type of Horse Ambulance had an interesting design feature, in that the horse box was mounted on a turntable which enabled the horse box to be turned so that the doors of the horse box could be aligned with the loading ramp.

Here we see the Horse Ambulance's crew using a wooden spar to turn the horse box into position, and from the design of the Horse Ambulance's wheels, it could possibly be mounted on a Thornycroft lorry chassis.

The photograph was taken at the No.23 Veterinary Hospital at St. Omer.

LF

IWM 9006 These images are reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

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With the loading ramp successfully in position, horses could be loaded or unloaded from the Horse Ambulance.

This photograph was again taken at the Veterinary Corps' No.23 Veterinary Hospital at St. Omer.

LF

IWM This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

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