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Ariel W/NG Contracts

I have been having a further rummage through some Instruction Manuals and Handbooks that I have acquired over the years and this morning discovered 2 Instruction Manuals for the Ariel Military Model W/NG.

The first is dated December 1940 relating to Contract C 8722 for 2,000 machines which gives the Engine Number Series as BH 4131 - and the Frame Number Series as XG 14759 -. The photographs of the machine in the booklet shows full rear carrier, pannier frames and panniers bags, rubber knee pads on the fuel tank and the large foam unsprung based pillion seat. The driver's footrests appear to have rubber coverings but not so for the pillion which appear to be the ribbed steel units. The headlamp does not have a hooded blackout mask.

The second is dated March 1941 relating to Contract C9387 for 3,500 machines which gives the Engine Number Series as BH 6150 - and the Frame Number Series as XG 17,001 - ( an interesting point to note is that in terms of engines there is a gap of 20 engines between the last engine of Contract C8722 and the first engine of Contract C9387 and in terms of frames the gap between the two contracts is 243 - all rather strange?

The second Instruction Manual records the WD Numbers allocated to Contract C9387 as C 1034001 - C 1037500.

The photographs of the machine in this second booklet is the same as that noted above.

I then discovered a couple of W/NG Illustrated Spares Lists.

The first is dated April 1942 relating to Contract C11103 for 3,500 machines which gives the Engine Number Series BH 15,001 - 18,850 and the Frame Number Series as XG 23,751 - XG 27,250. It records the WD Numbers as C 4692899 - 4696398.

Relating to another aspect of Ariel W/NGs recently being discussed this spares book lists Part No. 6400 - 40 - Handlebar bend only 1" to 7/8"taper.

The second is dated September 1945 and relates to 4 Contracts as follows;

Contract S6520 for 350 machines Engine No. Series NBH 40251 - 40600 and the Frame Number Series XG 51506 - 51855. It records the Admiralty Numbers as 35151 - 35500RN

Contract S8049 for 250 machines Engine No. Series NBH 40601 - 40700 and NBH 45101 - 45250 and the Frame Number Series XG 56298 - 57177. It records the Admiralty Numbers as 46014 - 46163RN and 49312 - 49411RN

Contract S8574 for 43 machines Engine No. Series NBH 45251 - 45293 and the Frame Number Series XG 57178 - 57220. It records the Admiralty Numbers as 54096 - 54138RN

Contract S9167 for 300 machines Engine No. Series NBH 47801 - 46100 and the Frame Number Series XG 57221 - 57520. It records the Admiralty Numbers as 58403 - 58702RN.

It would appear from the above that W/NGs issued to the Army had engine numbers beginning BH whilst those that went to the Navy / Admiralty had engine numbers prefixed NBH. It does inevitably raise the question regarding W/NGs that were issued to the RAF and were those engine numbers identified separately?

Review of the allocated frame and engine numbers reveals odd gaps which are uneven i.e. a gap in frame numbers does not always tally with a gap in engine numbers.

In this illustrated Spares List the Handlebar is recorded as Part No. 6401 -44 and is also noted as having Proprietary Number LV7/BC/91-111 which would indicate a standardisation of the handlebars across these contracts tallying with other makes and models.

email (option): keithchandler@clistandchandler.co.uk

Re: Ariel W/NG Contracts

Keith the RAF W/NG's I've come across have the engine number prefixed RBH. Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

Re: Ariel W/NG Contracts

Keith,

Much interesting Ariel info here.
You mention Contract S9167 for the Navy and from which I have a survivor.
I confirm my engine number starts with NBH.

Correspondence with Ariel Owners' MCC last year turned up more of interest.

The despatch book confusingly lists the contract as S6197, delivered up to 21st August 1945 ie. almost the end of the war.
It was the last contract for the WNG and they were to be rust proofed and tropicalised.

It also shows the engine, frame and tank number tie-ups which are completely random and the man at the Club says this is true of all Ariel contracts.
Certainly true for this one as he sent abbreviated copies of my machine's entry proving the existing frame/engine combination to be those fitted originally

I have a feeling that some or all of these may have gone straight to storage as mine was allocated a civilian number in July 1946 and was registered to the Ministry of Works in Lambeth until its first non-government owner in 1950.

AOMCC know of 6 surviving frames from this contract.

David

Re: Ariel W/NG Contracts

Useful gen. Keith...Is anyone collating WD information at the Ariel OC or separately ? I know that BSA, Norton and RE are quite comprehensively rivet-counted. I've not come across anyone doing the same for WD Ariels though.

Re: Ariel W/NG Contracts

Gents
I can confirm that myself and another AOMCC member are undertaking ongoing research and documentation into the Ariel W/NG specification changes, relating those changes/addition of parts (identified by their part numbers)to the contract numbers in which they occurred. There were some thirty W/NG contracts according to the factory despatch books and at present we have 19 parts books which cover all the years of production from 1940 to 1945, the majority of the missing ones are from RN and RAF contracts.

A number of curious anomalies have arisen during the research, such as the fitting of steel primary cases in late 1943 which only applied to three contracts before reverting to the alloy cases in late 1944, whilst the steel timing cases cover continued from late 43 to the end of production.

As will be appreciated the task is long term and the more information we have the more definitive the result will be. Finding the missing parts books is an ongoing task.

Cheers, Alan

email (option): cloggy.moore@ntlworld.com

Re: Ariel W/NG Contracts

These Ariel WNG instruction books date from 1940/41,the lower left one was issued in December 1940,the lower right one in March 1941 contract number 294/C/9387.

Photo below is the same in the two top instruction books.

Photo below is the same in the two bottom instruction books,Dec & Mar , panniers are now fitted.

Below some later rider handbooks.

Below two late rider handbooks,the right hand one has instructions for the air filter so must be late issue

NAYLOR & ROOT were selling late model WNGs in this advert from 1950,fitted with air filters and late lighting,could they have been the Royal Navy models ?


Some of the WNGs from contract 294/23/S8049 made it to the Far East,this photo taken in Klang in November 1945 shows one of the RN bikes.

Re: Ariel W/NG Contracts

I have just picked up on the posting by Keith re the contract W/ng numbers, I have XG20758 so appears to be about 200 after the end of this contract, however it is below the next mentioned contract records any views welcome chaps.
kind regards

email (option): woolnough@mchenry.plus.com

Re: Ariel W/NG Contracts

Richard 20758 appears to be the 258th bike from 3000 under contract C10477 in 1942. Some were sent to RAF and RN. Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

Re: Ariel W/NG Contracts

The 3000 machines were intended to be split 1500 RAOC Chilwell (C4589426 - C4590925) and 1500 RASC (C1308302 - C1039801).

There is a pencilled note dated 11/8/1941 in RAOC records "Probably 422 for RAF Depots"

It looks as if Chilwell received their first deliveries on 11/10/1941 and the last of their 1500 on 19/12/1941 so presumably the RAF allocation were from the RASC batch and were from the first 1500 frames....although it's not actually stated how the frame numbers were allocated.

Re: Ariel W/NG Contracts

thanks for your info guys, would any of this help me to get a [near enough] army number should I wish to put same on the tank?
kind regards

email (option): woolnough@mchenry.plus.com

Re: Ariel W/NG Contracts

Richard I calculate it to be C4589683. But according to Rik's observations 422 of that first 1500 for the RAOC might have gone to the RAF, but I doubt anyone will ever know. Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

Re: Ariel W/NG Contracts

These early Ariel contracts are difficult and any with RAOC / RASC splits are poorly documented. It looks to me as if the RAOC deliveries did not occur until after the RAF diversions....so my best guess is that they were from the RASC allocations and weren't sent to Ashchurch as originally ordered. The RAOC were something of sticklers for numbers matching serials...

The RAOC machines were probably XG 22001 - 23500...meaning that any lower numbers were RASC or RAF....If RASC then the serial was from the C1038302 - 1039801 range.

By chance, an image of one appeared on Facebook today.

Ariel-C1038999

Re: Ariel W/NG Contracts

I ve inherited my father's wng 350 but it hasn't been on the crowd since 1950s

The frame number is Xg50255

The engine has steel chaincases and time case is pressed steel.

From posts, I believe it's a 1943 machine. It was registered in late 1948 by Naylor :Root in London

Any info on age etc would be useful.

email (option): cliveoliver@hotmail.com

Re: Ariel W/NG Contracts

Clive Oliver
I ve inherited my father's wng 350 but it hasn't been on the crowd since 1950s

The frame number is Xg50255

The engine has steel chaincases and time case is pressed steel.

From posts, I believe it's a 1943 machine. It was registered in late 1948 by Naylor :Root in London

Any info on age etc would be useful.
From British Forces Motorcycle 1925 - 1945 book.

It would appear my Ariel is from contract S4554, placed in Sept 1943 for 4000 units.
Delivery started in Jan 44 fir about 8.5 months

My frame and engine number are approx 75% into the contract ,so I believe delivered around June 44.

Any confirmation or additional info would be gratefully received. Eg not sure what category 16 means

Thanks

email (option): cliveoliver@hotmail.com

Re: Ariel W/NG Contracts

This thread has prompted me to have a look at the V5 for my Ariel which has the frame number XG52908. Having looked at O&M it seems to be a Royal Navy contract. Can someone please tell me if this is correct and if so what colour should it be and can someone please post a photo of an RN Ariel. All I know about this bike is that it had a Isle of Mann registration when I bought it. Thanks JT

Re: Ariel W/NG Contracts

John I make yours from Army contract S6287 in 1945 (Census number C6195018) Yours falls within the last 2000 before the contract was canceled.

Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

Re: Ariel W/NG Contracts

Indeed, John's bike comes from contract S6287 (an Army contract), census number C6195018. Despatch date 11/06/1945. Here's a picture with a close number:

619

Clive's bike comes from Army contract S/4554, census number C5493405. Despatch date 30/06/1944. Some pictures with close numbers below. Bikes from this contract were clearly used during the liberation of the Low Countries:

10
11
12
13

And these are stills from some rare colour footage of a despatch rider training camp:

1
3

Jan

email (option): wd.register@gmail.com

Re: Ariel W/NG Contracts

Gentlemen,

I was wondering, was this info useful to you?

Jan 🧐

email (option): wd.register@gmail.com

Re: Ariel W/NG Contracts

"Gratia non solum maxima, sed etiam parens omnium virtutum."

“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”

Cicero

email (option): wd.register@gmail.com

Re: Ariel W/NG Contracts

Oh yes ! thank you! now trying to digest it all :grinning:

Re: Ariel W/NG Contracts

Thanks Jan , that is really helpful. The photos too will be very useful in my restoration challenge. My late dad told me he thought the bike was a 1943 model he bought it in 1952 but I never saw it on the road.

email (option): cliveoliver@hotmail.com

Re: Ariel W/NG Contracts

Very much so , Thank you Jan

email (option): cliveoliver@hotmail.com

Re: Ariel W/NG Contracts

I am very grateful for your support. My delayed response is because I am currently travelling and have patchy access not a lack of gratitude.

email (option): cliveoliver@hotmail.com

Re: Ariel W/NG Contracts

"Ignoscito siepe alteri, nunquam tibi"
"Forgive the others, never yourself"
😐

You were also asking for the catalogue numbers Clive. Specifications of these bikes varied, according to the contract number. That's why every contract number had its own specific parts catalogue number. The parts catalogue number was printed in purple ink on the cover of each parts list. If a bike from your contract needed spare parts to be ordered, they had to take the parts list with number 16 on the cover to check the ID numbers of the parts.

email (option): wd.register@gmail.com

Re: Ariel W/NG Contracts

Thanks again. I did order a illustrated parts book from Draganfly for Xg 47251-51250, it had a code PB44_9,

But they've sent a PB44_11 saying the earlier one is superceded by this PB44 _11 covers xg44251-47250, it shows Contract S5514 /17/1 issued Nov 44.

The bike is in "baskets" at the moment and I m checking through the bits . The steel primary and inner case are not true With rippled edges, I'm not sure i can be correct them or if there is a specialist who could ?

I understand steel was only used for a couple of years 1943 44 ? . So I was wondering if it would be worth tracking down alloy versions for the rebuild. I think they have casting codes E9/731 and E9/600 ?

email (option): cliveoliver@hotmail.com

Re: Ariel W/NG Contracts

Just to expand a little on the Catalogue References, the system applied to all WD vehicle contracts and appears to have commenced in the early 1930s. It began at Cat. Ref 1 for each manufacturer and continued consecutively across all models and types. By the end of the war, the large suppliers were well past 300 but not in the case of motorcycles.

In addition to being noted in the master lists, it was shown, along with the contract number on the brass 'contract plate' affixed to the vehicle and stamped on all accompanying vehicle literature. The advantage presumably over simply using the unique contract number was that workshops and units only needed to keep a list relating to the manufacturers of the vehicles they dealt with and not the whole War Office inventory. Additionally, it provided a double-check that the contract number had been read correctly.

It allowed for the issue and use of the correct Spare Parts List, Driver's Handbook and Maintenance Manual. In practice, with the major War Office motorcycles, apart from the changes between Matchless G3 and G3L, it was more a case of evolution and the Spare Parts Lists rarely kept up anyway.

The rivet-counter's route involves a set of vehicle literature, early examples of which will bear the contract number, Cat. Ref and a number denoting the type of publication ( /1 for the Spare Parts List, /2 for the early Driver's Handbook).

There are actually only very small differences between these 1939 / 1940 Norton publications other than the covers and rubber stamps. After REME was brought into existence, the Driver's and Maintenance Manuals changed types and reference again.

IMG-1247

forum image host

Re: Ariel W/NG Contracts

Thanks Rik

email (option): cliveoliver@hotmail.com

Re: Ariel W/NG Contracts

Jan,
Apologies I have only just seen your post. Many thanks to both you and Ron, the information was very helpful. My bike was on the Isle of Man. JT

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