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#1
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Moving anything you’d see in a light infantry or sapper platoon by bike wouldn’t be that hard- LBE with an engineer slung rifle or a couple LAWS or an LMG strapped to the frame wouldn’t be bad. I’m not sure about long distance movement with a ruck holding an approach march load- seems like it would be pretty unsafe and might need a baggage wagon.
81-82mm mortars, MMG/HMG, and atgm launchers might need a trailer or a dedicated cart. One other possibility is a “Dutch style” or tricycle style cargo bike for these items. USAFE and USAREUR used these in the Cold War for parts and stockage distribution in logistics nodes, so maybe there’s a source of supply there. |
#2
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Bike Trailer
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To haul bulky, heavy equipment like light crew-served weapons, ammo and such, a trailer like the one pictured below would probably work. Here's a pic of a Swedish one, made by Husqvarna. I've also seen pics of a Swiss two-wheeled bike trailer.
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Author of Twilight 2000 adventure modules, Rook's Gambit and The Poisoned Chalice, the campaign sourcebook, Korean Peninsula, the gear-book, Baltic Boats, and the co-author of Tara Romaneasca, a campaign sourcebook for Romania, all available for purchase on DriveThruRPG: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product...--Rooks-Gambit https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product...ula-Sourcebook https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product...nia-Sourcebook https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product...liate_id=61048 https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/...-waters-module Last edited by Raellus; 05-04-2024 at 11:45 AM. |
#3
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You bet-
Looking at the weight capacities/space on the trailers and some old photos, it looks like you could probably fit a Mk19 or .50 cal on a group of three- one for the gun mounted in it’s pintle/cradle and maybe a spare barrel; one for the tripod, T&E, and sights; and one for ammo, plus a can or two on the other trailers. That gives you a three man gun team carrying a couple hundred rounds of ammo with a squad leader riding on a bike it hour a trailer to enable pulling ahead to scout emplacements. An AT team could be as easy as two bikes with a gunner carrying an Carl Gustaf/RPG or (gulp) Dragon and an ammo bearer carrying additional rounds in panniers or slung from the rider/frame; alternatively they could have a trailer(s) to carry additional rounds or resupply from the trains. The below article is about e-bikes, but could be a prototype for regular cycle ops as well as long as your bear in mind the physical demands: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-elec.../31865559.html Last edited by Homer; 05-06-2024 at 05:26 AM. |
#4
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I did some reading on the Viet Minh/NVA bicycle transport units. In most cases, the bikes were actually pushed by a pair of porters walking alongside while the frames themselves were modified to hold the weight of the load. Effectively this turned the bicycle into a form of cart. This more than doubled the load from just over a hundred pounds to over 400 pounds. Apparently most of the modification was done with saws and bamboo.
It’s not really cycle infantry, but I wonder if “pack bikes” like these may turn up as vehicles in a civilian caravan or be used for logistics in some resource poor cantonments? |
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