Harley-Davidson’s military motorcycle history spans over a century. In 1917, the United States entered World War I. American companies stood up to the plate to assist in the war effort. This included American motorcycle manufacturers including Harley-Davidson, Indian, Henderson, Excelsior, and others. Motorcycles were formed into all sorts of vehicles from mobile gun platforms to compact ambulances.
Here’s a Henderson outfitted with a sidecar-mounted machine gun for the New York City Women’s Machine Gun Squad Police Reserves. Motorcycle-based combat was serious business.
Captain Elise Reigner in action with the Lewis Machine Gun (gas driven, 600 to 800 shots per minute), operating from the sidecar of a motorcycle chauffeured by Mrs. Ivan Earasoff, with Miss Helen M. Striffler overseeing things from the rear seat, during WWI. Photo taken in 1918.
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