Royal Enfield WDCO

[Radek]

Nice to see another one in Czech Rep. 😉

[Alan S]

On 5/21/2021 at 6:39 AM, rewdco said:

Hi Jiri,

I'm keeping a Register for the WD Enfields. Please send me a PM with some pictures of the frame and engine numbers, then this will enable me to tell you the despatch date of your bike. I can also calculate the census number for the petrol tank, the one that you're using now is not for a Royal Enfield.

Regards,

Jan

Hi Jan, Just noticed this post, are you still keeping a register for the WD Enfields?

I have just purchased a 1942 RE WDCO and I would like to know more information on its history, the frame and engine numbers match, they are both 18873.

I believe it was part of an RAF purchase between 1942 and 44. The bike came from Poland and has just been renovated in the uk

Any information would be gratefully received.

Thank you,

Alan Simpson

[Ron]

Same contract as mine.  Some artistic license as I added on the square tool box and I'm not sure the RAF bikes were fitted with panniers. But never say never and they are sooo handy.  👍 Ron

 

Edited February 22, 2022 by Ron

[79x100]

Ron, at some point, some had panniers;..although no headlamp masks here so presumably very late- or post-war use.

[Ron]

That's good enough for me Rik. Ron

[Dennis wdco]

On 5/21/2021 at 7:39 AM, rewdco said:

Hi Jiri,

I'm keeping a Register for the WD Enfields. Please send me a PM with some pictures of the frame and engine numbers, then this will enable me to tell you the despatch date of your bike. I can also calculate the census number for the petrol tank, the one that you're using now is not for a Royal Enfield.

Regards,

Jan

Hello jan.

Can you do the same for my bike,? Its a 44 wdco

Frame nmmr 18505

Engine stamp 18859

Another engine stamp c14219

Thanks already!

[rewdco]

Hi Dennis,

The frame number 18505 and the duplicated frame number 18859 both come from the RAF contract C/14219. This was a contract for 2826 bikes, deliveries from January until December 1943. 

Frame number 18505 was despatched from the factory on 10/06/43, destination War Office - Hartlebury.

(Duplicated) frame number 18859 was despatched from the factory on 09/09/43, destination War Office - Sheffield.

These destinations were depots, from where the bikes were sent to their units. It is impossible to find out where a bike spent its service years.

Unfortunately the RAF census number records haven't survived. With RAOC bikes it is possible to calculate the census number based on the frame number, this is not the case for RAF vehicles. But during my research I have found a few interesting facts...

I think that for this study we have to consider that there were two "sister contracts”: 
There was one large Ariel W/NG RAF contract: C/S14218 (09/04/42 demand date, 1.800 motorcycles, deliveries from 15/01/43 until 23/12/43). 
And there was one large Royal Enfield WD/CO RAF contract: C/S14219 (09/04/42 demand date, 2.826 motorcycles, deliveries from 08/01/43 until 15/12/43). 

I've got some war time pictures with W/NGs with random RAF census numbers (most probably transferred from Army contracts), but I also have several war time pictures showing different RAF Ariel W/NG motorcycles with "close" census numbers: RAF 94707, RAF 94834, RAF 94838, RAF 94863, RAF 95029, RAF 95092, RAF 95764 and RAF 95835. This looks like one block of numbers to me (something like RAF 94200 - RAF 96000). 

We’ve also found some RAF WD/CO photographs with random numbers and pannier frames, which suggests that these bikes were transferred from an Army contract. And we’ve got two pictures with census numbers RAF 116745 and RAF 116809. I also found six Royal Enfield RAF census numbers in post war auction catalogues: RAF 116800, RAF 116919, RAF 116924, RAF 116938, RAF 118142 and RAF 118260. If we consider that contract C/14219 was a contract for 2.826 motorcycles, I think we can assume that the RAF census numbers block for this contract must have been approximately RAF 116000 until approximately RAF 119000. 

The two pictures below are the official C/14219 photographs taken at the factory. They show the exact spec to which the RAF bikes were made: no pillion equipment and no pannier frames (which can also be seen in the first picture above).