BSA Airborne

This is a bike made using the frame and forks of a BSA Paratrooper bike. This folding bike was made during World War II. At the time, parachute drops were not terribly accurate and the men would be spread over a large area on landing. The idea of this bike was that the paratrooper carried it with him in the plane, threw it out first, then jumped out. The bike was tied to his harness by a few yards of line. On landing, the paras would unfold the bikes and ride to a rendezvous point to fight the Germans.

The bikes were never used operationally in this way, though there is a photograph of Canadian soldiers coming ashore after D-Day with the bikes to use them to get forward.

Curved tubes are never a good idea in the main frame of a bike. They cost money to bend and add weight. BSA used them to make the frame wider so that the hinges would work better. For bikes that weren't meant to fall from the skies, BSA stuck to the traditional frame design. Curved tubes might look elegant, but they compromise function.

The thing to remember about this bike is that it was a munition. Like a bullet, it was designed to work once. It's not really very good for everyday use. The Pashley Tuberider is a poor and pointless copy.

This page is all we know about this bike. Much more information is here.