Manchukuo Army motorcycle units?

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Hama
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Manchukuo Army motorcycle units?

#1

Post by Hama » 30 Mar 2017, 13:35

Anyone know if the Manchukuo Army had motorcycle units during the 1930s-40s? I've seen plenty of images of Japanese units in Manchuria with motorcycles and armed sidecars but nothing of Manchukuo troops. If they did have these units I'd be curious to know anything about them.

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T. A. Gardner
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Re: Manchukuo Army motorcycle units?

#2

Post by T. A. Gardner » 11 Apr 2017, 07:26

I can't find anything that shows they had complete motorcycle units as such. The only use of motorcycles appears to be limited to "Motor Car" units that are about the size of a small battalion. 7 were organized during the war. These each had a handful of motorcycles (5 to 15 approximately).


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Re: Manchukuo Army motorcycle units?

#3

Post by Hama » 13 Apr 2017, 14:02

Thanks, do your sources say anything of what make of motorcycle was used by those units, and whether any were equipped with armed sidecars like their Japanese allies?

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T. A. Gardner
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Re: Manchukuo Army motorcycle units?

#4

Post by T. A. Gardner » 16 Apr 2017, 03:03

Well, I did find one photo of one on line:

Image

Otherwise, all I've got is they were commercial models that were purchased.

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Re: Manchukuo Army motorcycle units?

#5

Post by BobTheBarbarian » 16 Apr 2017, 04:05

After reorganization, the nominal OOB for the Manchukuoan Army was roughly as follows:

Internal security forces - 60,000 men
River Unit (Amur & Sungari rivers) - 3,000
Air Defense Unit (c. 100 fighters and 20 heavy AA guns) - 3,000
Border Observation Unit - 2,000
Motor Transport Unit (10 companies, 500 vehicles) - 3,000
Chingan and Hsingan Divisions (operational forces, contained cavalry) - 10,000 each
Misc. government positions - 10,000

Total: c. 100,000

Given that there were at least some motorized elements it can be expected that the Manchukuoan Army had a number of motorcycles, especially with field HQ and reconnaissance units where they would most likely be found. Any models would, of course, be Japanese in origin.
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Re: Manchukuo Army motorcycle units?

#6

Post by T. A. Gardner » 16 Apr 2017, 05:27

The motorcar units that were formed had only a few motorcycles. In 1935 the establishment per motorcar unit (roughly a small battalion in size) had just 5 motorcycles each. I'd assume these were intended primarily for messenger duties as they are too few in number for any other purpose.

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Re: Manchukuo Army motorcycle units?

#7

Post by Akira Takizawa » 16 Apr 2017, 05:41

T. A. Gardner wrote:Well, I did find one photo of one on line:
It is not Manchukuo Army, but Japanese Army.
viewtopic.php?f=65&t=111447#p981799

Taki

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Re: Manchukuo Army motorcycle units?

#8

Post by T. A. Gardner » 16 Apr 2017, 07:13

Akira Takizawa wrote:
T. A. Gardner wrote:Well, I did find one photo of one on line:
It is not Manchukuo Army, but Japanese Army.
viewtopic.php?f=65&t=111447#p981799

Taki
It was captioned as Manchukuo, but it's hard to tell sometimes. I know the motorcycles are rare though, and I'd expect them to be Japanese most likely.

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