Although they were produced in small numbers, the cannon equipped Vespa T.A.P is one of the best known scooters of all time. Wherever one is seen it’s bound to attract a crowd, but what was the story behind this iconic machine?
Small is beautiful
The benefit of using small, air portable motorcycles had been proved during WW2, when British Paratroops were equipped with the folding ‘Welbike’. Although not strictly a scooter, it was a practical machine and a civilianised version was produced between 1948 and 1954 as the Brockhouse Corgi.
Having seen the benefits of the Welbike, the concept was adopted by other armies including France, who, in the immediate post-war period had used American built Cushman machines. By the early 1950s these were ending their service life and the hunt for a suitable replacement began.
The race is on
When the contract was issued in 1952 it stipulated that the successful bidder would provide a machine that could be dropped by parachute into a combat zone, where it could be used to transport weapons, soldiers and material over moderately rough terrain. It would become known as the T.A.P. (Troupes Aéro Portées)
Eventually there were three credible submissions:
- A.C.M.A, the licence holders of manufacturing rights for Vespa machines in France, who proposed a 150cc machine
- Bernardet, with a 250cc machine
- Valmobile with a 100cc design
Initial evaluation took place in 1953, and showed that the Bernardet design, which was based on their civilian machine required too many modifications to be practical, whilst the Valmobile was complex to use. It can be argued that the Vespa design succeeded because of its competitors’ weaknesses rather than its own strengths, but it’s also fair to point out that the Vespa T.A.P could be produced for 140,000 French Francs, whilst the Bernardet would cost the French tax payer almost twice as much!
Whichever the case may have been the contract was awarded to A.C.M A, who stated that they’d be able to produce 500 machines in three months. Interestingly, one of the lead engineers on the project was Geogio D’Ascanio; son of Corradino D’Ascanio who had created the first Vespa prototype.
Not a standard scooter…
The initial concept was that the T.AP machines would work in pairs, the first would carry a weapon whilst the second would transport ammunition. Very quickly it was realised that this would create too many problems to be practical in a combat situation so the design was revised to platform that would remain unaltered throughout the T.A.P’s service life.
The most obvious ‘factory fitted accessory’ is of course the American M20 75mm recoilless rifle (not technically a canon). This weapon had is origins in the later stages of WW2, but was widely used in the Korean War. Its ‘HEAT’ warhead was theoretically capable of penetrating 100mm of armour, but proved to be most effective when used against light armoured vehicles, pillboxes and other battlefield fortifications. The weapon was mounted under the seat and protruded through a cut out in the legshields. Contrary to popular belief, the weapon could not be fired whilst mounted on the Vespa, it had to be removed and mounted on a tripod carried for that purpose.
Ammunition was carried on specially manufactured panniers, which also acted as protection for the machine’s mechanical components. These were certainly crash bars with attitude…
Other modifications included grilles to protect the lights, strengthened luggage carrier a cut away front mudguard to aid ground clearance and a special bracket to protect the fragile handlebar switch gear.
mechanically, the scooter was based on the 125cc engine and retained a three speed gear box but the capacity was raised to 145.2cc, which produced 4.5bhp and increased the payload to 250kg.
The model was produced in two versions, the initial ’56’ model, which was updated in 1959 to become the T.A.P 59.
Service life
Despite France being involved in post-colonial struggles for much of the 1950s, the T.A.P was never destined to see active service. Perhaps too late the French army realised that a scooter was not an ideal machine to go to war on. When dropped by parachute on pallets, few scooters survived and despite Piaggio’s successful entry in the 1951 International Six Day Trail event, the eight-inch wheels were not really suited to off-road conditions, particularly when carrying a paratrooper and his equipment.
By the early 1960’s the T.A.P Vespa had outlived its usefulness and this unusual machine had passed into the history books. Rumours exist that some machines are still held in storage but several have found their way onto the civilian market where they command prices in excess of 100,000 Euros.
Although we can’t supply you with a Vespa T.A.P from stock, we do offer a range of air weapons over on our sister site: www.rondaleyairguns.co.uk.
