SirMike1983
Riding a '38 Autocycle Deluxe
Schweinfurt was somewhat unique in that it was the center of ball bearing production in Germany going back many years. It was bombed many, many times by the allies during WWII, and particularly was hit hard during the daylight bombing campaign in 1943. The raid caused loss of about 1/3 of production, and much of the city was destroyed. This was also the target of the famous "Black Thursday" bombing raid of October 14, 1943, when there extensive losses to the bombers during the raid. At that time, escort fighters could only partially escort the bombers into Germany, so many of the heavy bombers faced Luftwaffe fighters alone in one of the most intense air battles of the war. After the war, the center was largely re-built by the US Army and locals returning to the city. The re-building was rapid, to the extent that industry was producing consumer goods again within a few years of the war. Schweinfurt again acted as a bearing and precision manufacturing center, producing many coaster brake hubs for European and, a little later, American bicycles. The hubs show classic German-style markings with the highly stylized eagle, ball, and fine script writing.
) to try it out and man oh man...sehr gut.
