US ARMY BICYCLES IN MAGAZINES, ADVERTISING AND MOVIES

The use of bicycles in large numbers by the US Army did not go unnoticed and they were featured in many magazines and advertisements

 

 

 

Webmaster's Collection via Gerald Mlynek

 

Two Westfield Columbia adds from 1945 and an add for The Morrow Coaster Brake showing bicycles in military use.

 

 

 

Sgt Bill BRITCH and his bike

The IBT RoundUp newspaper featured an article about this cycling Sgt in their February 14th

 

 

From: RoundUp Vol IV/N°23 (For full version Click Here)

Most war movies use a large number of period vehicles but the use of actual WW2 US Army bicycles seems to be limited to two of them. Both '12 O'clock High' and 'From Here to Eternity' were made in the immediate aftermath of WW2 and had a large number of original props.

'12 O'clock High' featured a rather large number of bikes which are seen ridden by USAAF ground crews in the background of a lot of scenes. In 'From Here to Eternity' the use of a WW2 bike is limited to one scene which shows the details of the bicycle very well

 

 

 

Sills from '12 O'clock High', 20th Century Fox DVD

 

Original Army bikes as seen in various scenes of '12 O'clock High'.
Over a dozen bikes can be spotted in the movie

 

Still from 'From Here to Eternity', Columbia Pictures DVD

 

One of few original WW2 US Army bicycles shown in a movie was seen in Fred Zinneman's 1953 epic 'From Here to Eternity'.

 

A Sgt escorts Prewitt on a march after his refusal to enter a boxing contest.