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Pictures of bicycles in WW II

Old 04-17-24, 05:11 PM
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Pictures of bicycles in WW II

If anyone here has an online subscription to The Atlantic, there's an interesting photo feature today of bicycles being used, one way or another, in World War II. I tried to upload a sample, but no dice--file was "not an approved image."

https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/20...war-ii/678086/
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Old 04-17-24, 05:38 PM
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There weren’t any pictures from what I understand was the most effective tactical use of bicycles in WW2 by the Japanese against the British in Malaya:

https://www.welovecycling.com/wide/2...le-blitzkrieg/
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Old 04-17-24, 06:02 PM
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Originally Posted by jonwvara
I tried to upload a sample, but no dice--file was "not an approved image."
pic assist:


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Old 04-17-24, 06:58 PM
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^^^^^^

Those heavy bikes, the uniforms, the masks... Those guys had to be tough.
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Old 04-17-24, 07:37 PM
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In the years after WWII, the North Vietnamese/Viet Minh used bicycles very effectively, not as personnel transport, but loaded down with hundreds of pounds of supplies and pushed. They supplied their army at Dien Bien Phu that way in 1954, and they moved tons of supplies down the Ho Chi Minh Trail that way in the 1960s and 1970s.
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Old 04-17-24, 08:09 PM
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Great photos, thanks!
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Old 04-17-24, 09:56 PM
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Originally Posted by Chuck M
^^^^^^

Those heavy bikes, the uniforms, the masks... Those guys had to be tough.
As well as scared and psycho, failure was not an option.
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Old 04-18-24, 01:03 AM
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BSA folding paratrooper bicycle

used by British and Canadian troops in conflicts during WWII including D-Day

https://bsamuseum.wordpress.com/1942...cle-para-bike/

.

Last edited by t2p; 04-18-24 at 01:09 AM.
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Old 04-18-24, 03:48 AM
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Damn fine article.
Some decent photos too.


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Old 04-18-24, 05:54 AM
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Originally Posted by Aardwolf
Damn fine article.
Some decent photos too.


That was one of my favorites--great lighting and such a wonderfully swoopy bicycle
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Old 04-18-24, 06:01 AM
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Originally Posted by bikingshearer
In the years after WWII, the North Vietnamese/Viet Minh used bicycles very effectively, not as personnel transport, but loaded down with hundreds of pounds of supplies and pushed. They supplied their army at Dien Bien Phu that way in 1954, and they moved tons of supplies down the Ho Chi Minh Trail that way in the 1960s and 1970s.
On of the national museums in Washington DC--I forget which one-has several such bikes, wheels heavily reinforced with wooden slats. They were used like pushcarts. A wooden push handle was inserted in place of the seatpost, and a wooden extension was attached to one end of the handlebars so it could be steered from behind where the person was pushing. A full load might weigh 500 lbs or more.
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Old 04-18-24, 06:38 AM
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Thanks for sharing! The Atlantic allows 2 free articles per month.

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Old 04-18-24, 07:25 AM
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I must have used up my two free articles because the article wouldn't download. That's okay, I got the gist of it reading this thread.
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Old 04-18-24, 07:45 AM
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The guy standing by the street sign looks like he has an Adidas logo on his sleeve.
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Old 04-18-24, 08:06 AM
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Originally Posted by flangehead
There weren’t any pictures from what I understand was the most effective tactical use of bicycles in WW2 by the Japanese against the British in Malaya:

https://www.welovecycling.com/wide/2...le-blitzkrieg/
Good article, but completely, factually wrong in paragraph two about the date of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
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Old 04-18-24, 08:12 AM
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Originally Posted by ScottCommutes
Good article, but completely, factually wrong in paragraph two about the date of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Time zone difference of 18 hours between Singapore and Hawaii.
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Old 04-18-24, 08:14 AM
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Originally Posted by thinktubes
Thanks for sharing! The Atlantic allows 2 free articles per month.
Thank you for the heads up on this otherwise I might not have attempted to view it. The pictures posted thus far are just the tip of the iceberg.
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Old 04-18-24, 08:28 AM
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Originally Posted by Chuck M
Time zone difference of 18 hours between Singapore and Hawaii.
My apologies. I guess the 8th of the month actually does come before the 7th.
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Old 04-18-24, 08:47 AM
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Fascinating! Bikes were so cumbersome compared to todays bikes.
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Old 04-18-24, 09:05 AM
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Originally Posted by jonwvara
That was one of my favorites--great lighting and such a wonderfully swoopy bicycle
The caption is "A Civil Defense air-raid warden stands beside a street sign during a blackout, circa 1943"

I was presuming it's somewhere in UK, probably London.
But the sign says "Cedarbrook St" and "Greenwood St", can't find that anywhere.
And it looks like an American bike.

Did the USA ever have blackouts in 1943 ?
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Old 04-18-24, 09:40 AM
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Originally Posted by ScottCommutes
My apologies. I guess the 8th of the month actually does come before the 7th.
Funny thing, that International Date Line . . . .
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Old 04-18-24, 10:06 AM
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Originally Posted by Aardwolf
The caption is "A Civil Defense air-raid warden stands beside a street sign during a blackout, circa 1943"

I was presuming it's somewhere in UK, probably London.
But the sign says "Cedarbrook St" and "Greenwood St", can't find that anywhere.
And it looks like an American bike.

Did the USA ever have blackouts in 1943 ?
Not that much of a blackout either if we can see light lighting up the warden and his bike.
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Old 04-18-24, 10:16 AM
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Originally Posted by RB1-luvr
The guy standing by the street sign looks like he has an Adidas logo on his sleeve.
Well spotted.
Blown up:



According to Google that's a WW2 American Civil Defense Air Raid Warden armband.
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Old 04-18-24, 10:17 AM
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Originally Posted by Aardwolf
The caption is "A Civil Defense air-raid warden stands beside a street sign during a blackout, circa 1943"

I was presuming it's somewhere in UK, probably London.
But the sign says "Cedarbrook St" and "Greenwood St", can't find that anywhere.
And it looks like an American bike.

Did the USA ever have blackouts in 1943 ?
Kinda looks like it might be from a movie?
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Old 04-18-24, 10:20 AM
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Originally Posted by merziac
Kinda looks like it might be from a movie?
It does, but I'm fairly sure it isn't - photo credit is "Harold M. Lambert / Getty"
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