In an article on the 70th anniversary of D-Day, June 6, 2014, about the primary American military motorcycle of the Second World War–the Harley-Davidson WLA–I mentioned that the photographs and information were from a book I was writing about that well known but often misunderstood vehicle. I now can announce that the book is finally completed and available for purchase, titled Liberator: The Harley-Davidson WLA in the Second World War. For the benefit of anyone interested in the subject, I will provide some information to help those persons determine whether the book’s approach and content are what they are looking for.
The book is first and foremost about how the U.S. armed forces and other Allied armies used the WLA. It is not a detailed history of the development or production of the WLA or of Harley-Davidson during the era. It also is not a glossy picture book, being a self-published paperback in black and white with photo resolution far below what a coffee table book from a major publisher can offer. What it offers is a description of how the WLA came to be, tracing its development from Harley-Davidson commercial models of the 1930s; a brief history of U.S. military use of motorcycles between the world wars; and a detailed description of the use of the WLA in each major type of U.S. Army and Marine Corps unit, from armored and infantry divisions to military police units.
This treatment reveals how American soldiers and Marines actually used these machines at the battlefronts. It includes several profiles of individual soldiers who achieved noteworthy feats on motorcycles, including one of the soldiers in the photograph above, who originally enlisted in the horse cavalry, participated in prewar experimental exercises with motorcycles as scout vehicles, survived the entire campaign from Normandy to Germany in 1944-45, and became a military police motorcyclist in Germany after the war.
Far from being glamorous or colorful, the role of military motorcycles and their riders was complicated and often highly unpleasant, just like everything in war.
Airborne divisions used bicycles, Cushman scooters (shown), and Servicycle motorized bicycles in addition to motorcycles, and the book covers the little-known use of these small but valuable two-wheeled vehicles. Band of Brothers did not dare to show any Screaming Eagles on scooters, but this book does.
Red Army use of the WLA and other American military motorcycles has been practically nonexistent in the English language, and Liberator tells the dramatic story for the first time. The Soviet Union was the largest user of the WLA, receiving 27,100 of them as well as several thousand Indians under Lend-Lease, and they equipped Motorcycle Battalions that were the main reconnaissance units for the Red Army’s tank forces. Red Army scouts in the Motorcycle Battalions, such as these smiling men on their newly issued WLAs, rode them deep behind German lines ahead of the Red Army’s advancing tanks in offensives all the way to Berlin.
The WLA and its Indian competitors went to numerous other Allied armies under Lend-Lease or direct contracts, and the motorcycles provided to each country are described. These countries included Canada (which received its own distinct Harley-Davidson model, the WLC), the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Polish forces in exile (under both British and Soviet command), France (Third Republic and Free French forces), Brazil, and the Republic of China. Our friend in New Zealand, Kiwibryce, will appreciate this photograph of a New Zealand military policeman with an Indian 741B in New Caledonia.
In some instances, the book mentions interesting appearances by American military motorcycles about which little is currently known and that time would not allow looking into further. For example, it is known that the Imperial Iranian Gendarmerie received a quantity of the Indian 741B in 1944 (shown above, in a stunt riding demonstration), but how many and what happened to them is unknown.
The book also briefly describes the postwar fate of these motorcycles, including their use as civilian transport in Europe before eventually becoming collector’s items. This photograph shows Dutch civilians examining surplus ex-Canadian Army WLCs and British motorcycles. The widely used nickname “Liberator” originated in Belgium, where the WLA has been widely used and collected since immediately after the war.
Allied soldiers riding the WLA and other American motorcycles went to some remarkable places and did some remarkable things during the war, and Liberator attempts to convey as much of the story as possible. (This photograph taken in China near the China-Burma border shows the deputy commander of a supply convoy on the Ledo Road, part of the supply lifeline that supported the Republic of China in its war against Imperial Japan.) Its 92 8.5×11 pages of text and photographs and 60 pages of tables of organization and equipment tell the story as well as I can at this point. I hope that you will appreciate it as-is, and in an ideal world, several years from now I will be able to re-issue it with newly discovered information.
Available From:
Related Reading:
D-Day History Classic: The Harley-Davidson WLA in the Second World War
Sounds pretty good ! .
In the 1960’s I had a teacher , Richard Blake who’d ridden his WLA in Germany in the War , he was a dispatch Rider during the occupation and one night rode directly into a dirt berm in front of a gone missing bridge , breaking his leg and ending his riding career .
He had fond memories of that old Flathead Harley .
In the 1970’s I bought a N.O.S. WLA parts manual Army surplus for $5 , the seller commented ‘ no one wanted that thing , I was about to throw it out ” .
-Nate
An entire Indian new cost 5 NZ pounds lend lease about $35 US at the time.
I’m not a big motorcycle fan, but I am a WW2 fan, so the author has a good niche subject. I was under the impression that the Jeep, intended for scout/liason duties, made motorcycles less important for the Allies than for the Germans, who were chronically short on motorized transport & had to rely on types like the often-portrayed BMW R75 with sidecar. Wiki says the Harley XA was inspired by it.
You’re correct, but the predominance of the Jeep did not relegate the WLA to irrelevance. They were used, and used well. It just didn’t get the kind of use that motorcycles had gotten in WWI, being outclassed.
If anyone missed out on military duty, it was the Indian. When then original competition was announced, the Army asked for a 500cc motorcycle. Which Indian supplied – a militarized version of the Scout. Harley-Davidson felt that the military was under-speccing for the job required, and used the 750cc WL. Which blew the Indian into the weeds during trials.
Indian’s sales were primarily to the British and French prior to the invasion of France. Once the French had surrendered, that market was dead, and the British were being supplied by Triumph, BSA, Norton, Matchless and AJS.
Thanks for elaborating. France was also a big customer for pre Lend-Lease US warplanes, not so much because of technology, but because of domestic production shortfalls; after the capitulation, Britain inherited what was not yet delivered, e.g. Curtiss & Grumman fighters, Douglas bombers. A significant portion of the Armée de l’Air was American made; surprisingly, their Hawk 75s had a good kill ratio against Me109s.
As with other successful military procurements, Harley made a good risky call, anticipating what the customer needed, rather than merely trusting what they said they wanted.
There was an interesting counterpart on the German side, the Zündapp KS 750 (c.f. http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z%C3%BCndapp_KS_750_Gespann ; not in Engllish, however.) I think there were more Zündapps then BMWs in use during WWII on the German side.
You may be correct, although I do not have exact numbers. The BMW R75 and Zundapp KS750 were acquired and used in approximately equal numbers (both around 18,000) and were equally capable. The Wehrmacht bought or commandeered motorcycles of practically every model made in Germany during the 1930s while rearming, and Zundapps may have been more common as a result.
Neil and Syke – You are both essentially right. The only other significant detail to add is that the BMW R71, a prewar civilian machine, was the basis for the Harley-Davidson XA, not the wartime military-specialized BMW R75. The R75 was far larger and more sophisticated.
An interesting further detail is that copies of the BMW R71 became both the Harley-Davidson XA and the Soviet Union’s M72, which became the Ural after the war. The WLA then took the place of both, because the US Army decided not to continue developing the XA and settled on the WLA after mass production of jeeps began, and the Red Army could not acquire enough M72s since production had only just started to ramp up before the German invasion and was then disrupted by the evacuation of the factory from Moscow to the Ural Mountains.
I go into further detail on the XA, Indian 841, R75, Zundapp KS 750, and M72 in the book.
A good reference on German military motorcycles in WWII is this book. It gives an idea of the dizzying variety of civilian motorcycle makes and models that the German armed forces bought or commandeered when it rapidly expanded during the 1930s. It obviously was a repair and logistics nightmare.
http://www.amazon.com/Military-Motorcycles-Reichswehr-Wehrmacht-1934-1945/dp/0764301926/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1424370694&sr=8-1&keywords=german+military+motorcycles
Thanks Robert, good info. Your latter point confirms a pattern: Germany in general had more haphazard military procurement than the Allies, who were more centralized. This could be due to complacency from winning too many early, cheap gambles. While at times this gave them exceptional weapons, it was at the cost of greater logistical drag & wasted resources. For example, Russian experts reportedly were baffled at the number of different heavy-tank designs the German had.
Indian 841. Now THAT was the interesting motorcycle. Makes you wonder if Indian couldn’t have survived had they brought that out rather than the big-fendered Chief that was the final V-twin for Springfield. But the government cutting the contract, then refusing to pay for what had already been done was about the next to last nail in the Indian coffin.
One of my best friends has a ’49 Chief, and I was always stunned to realize that, other than the full circulation oil system replacing the total loss, it wasn’t all that advanced from the ’30 101 Scout I used to own. The amount of development in the Indians was very primitive in that twenty year period. Makes you appreciate what a game changer the ’36 EL (Knucklehead) was, and how Harley was smart enough to add those advancments to all their other big twins within a couple of years.
Being a motorcycle fan, I’ll definitely be following that Amazon link.
Oh, the bad o’ days when motorcycle was used in war in a big scale. probably the last few significant motorcycles used in war were those scooters in Vietnam before motorcycles became too spartan in military.
I still remember the XA, as a gamer of Battlefield 1942. Harley XA it’s the smallest moving vehicle in the game ( if excluding raft ) .
Even though it’s different to WLA and far less popular, they prefer to share one model of XA for both US Army and Waffen-SS by putting different colors, rather than making Harley WLA for US Army and BMW R75 for Waffen-SS ( in later stages of war with Schwimmwagen, of course )
I was surprised seeing a Harley ad for an off-road military model during the ’80s; anyone know more about this?
Oh, that’s so modern and futuristic, comparing to what’s back in ’40s.
http://www.bikebandit.com/community/articles/history-of-military-motorcycles
Thanks; so the MT350 & MT500 were license-built Armstrong bikes for the Brit Army, not organic Harley developments.
Harley Davidson sold a LOT of bikes they did not make. Many of them were made by Aermacchi in Italy. They even had a scooter. The U.S. military is now using a Kawasaki KLR650, converted to diesel.
Didn’t know that, obviously a logistical move. Do any civilians anywhere operate Diesel bikes? I can’t imagine these, or any badge-engineered foreign models, getting respect from the brand cult.
Individuals use them from time to time but they are homemade. I remember writing an article for CC on special motorcycles that had a 350 diesel IIRC. The guy stuffed it into a Kawasaki street bike and took it to bonneville.
Good article about something that always interested me. Wish you luck with the book.
Only diesel motorcycle I’ve ever seen is a guy who mounted a diesel stationary engine (500cc, I think) into the frame of an early 50’s Ariel 500cc (don’t remember the model). He did a very neat job, made it look factory, and it was fascinating to hear it run.
I have been riding since age 8 (started on a Bultaco Lobito 100) I have had a lot of bikes, but never a really vintage one. Oldest was a ’66 Triumph Bonneville. About a year ago I bought a new Royal Enfield Bullet. It came with EFI and a cat exhaust, which I quickly replaced with an Amal carb and a Dunstall pipe.
I have been riding since age 10. Started on a Honda 50 sport made in the early 1960s…4 speed manual clutch with a reverse shift pattern and no throttle return spring. This is how bikes should be made.
The WLA was long gone by the time I was buying old bikes, but there were others of similar design still around. The model WL was the smaller brother to the big model FL. The WL was similar to the WLA army bike. The model K replaced the WL and the sportster replaced the model K. I’m pretty sure all of these were 45 inch motors with right side final drive chain and 4 cams…WLA, WL, K, and sportster.
There was a model G which was a 3 wheeler and it had the same basic engine/tranny a the model WL except with a reverse. The G model was made until the early 70s. there was a time when people would buy old worn out model G trikes and convert them to 2wheel hardtail choppers because they were cheap. Those were the good ol’ days.
I currently ride a superglide.
For some reason I have a soft spot for K models.I first became interested in them when I saw a picture of Elvis on one I’m a long time Sportster fan as is my brother(he has a very quick 1200 R)
There was a long stroke 883 flathead KH but only for 2 years before the Sportster was introduced.
right
and the sportster was also an 883 even when first produced. For some reason I had it in my mind they were only 750s back then.
My current bike is 10 years old last fall. Before that I rode sportsters. Before that I rode hondas. The funnest bike I’ve ever ridden is a lowered(slammed) 883 sportster, the older style with solidly mounted engine…no rubber engine mounts and a tiny peanut tank. With skinny tires(18″ front and rear triumph rims) and narrow handlebars and a bare bones solo seat and mid foot controls and a 1300cc big bore kit, tuned for extremely low end torque. The 883 has lower gear ratios than the 1200 which makes it more fun in my opinion.
I called it my “Schwinn with a bigass motor”.
The 45 was the most often seen Harley in 60s and 70s UK.I remember seeing an advert for ex Army 45s and parts at Pratts Greenwich(the London one) in my cousin’s bike mags in the 60s.Thanks for a great read Robert.
I used to think those “surplus motorcycles” were just a myth–but this was easy enough to turn up:
Ex Forces BSA B40,M20 & Triumph TRWs could still be had in the UK in the 70s
A complete WLA engine was FOB Chicago for about $80 in the mid ’60s. Guy ran that ad for a couple of years before he ran out.
Q: What would one of those in-the-crate HD’s go for today (assuming not badly rusted, and engine not seized)?
Any motorcycle in the crate goes for absolutely stupid money nowadays. Just as an example, back in the late ’90’s/early ’00’s you could still find Triumph Bonnevilles from 1978 on until the end of Meriden (’83) in the crate. Going price was to take the year and add two zero’s.
At that time, a functioning decent original late ’60’s into the ’70’s Bonneville went for $2500, and a mint restoration sold for $4000.
Now, take that kind of spread and factor in a WWII era Harley-Davidson. The catch, however, was that as soon as you took it out of the crate, assembled and started it up, you lost half your value.
Lots of Diesel Motos in India…….
Some are kick started , that must be a b*itch .
I used to work with an Indian guy who sold used Machine Tools to India he offered to get me one very cheaply…
-Nate
I rode Harleys for decades , I had a 1937 EL (61″) KnuckleHead and a 1965 FL (:C 1200) PanHead , rebuilt both from the wheels up and loved them dearly , rode them hard .
My dream Moto would be a bone stock K Model , the original ‘ Sportster ~ it had a 45 C.I. FlatHead engine with alloy heads…
Sigh .
-Nate
+1 K model fan here
I never got to ride a K Model but I sure ran fast on my KnuckleHead in 1976 ! there were lots of newer Harleys around in Guatemala City at that time , mostly Army guys with ElectraGlides but some rich young Men who had Sportsters , none could catch me on that old 61″er .
-Nate
Mate of mine had a WLA not really much of a motorbike for the modern world it was far too slow for highway use cruising speed seems to have been around 45mph when new, His had been on active service in New Guinea and returned to Aussie and mildly customised, fortunately the supply of engine spare is unlimited as this example kept snapping rear conrods.. Not something I’d like to ride in modern traffic with full suicide clutch and tank shift according to an interview with a Kiwi despatch rider they were not popular for that activity either being slow and heavy compared to Norrtons and Aerials
Does anyone know where I could purchase this Book? Amazon is out of stock at this time
Trevor
This book cannot be found at any (online) bookstore….
Is it still possible to get your book? The Amazon links don’t seem to work anymore and a search doesn’t find them either