1944 Cushman Model 53 Motor Scooter

Engine: Cushman 16M71, vertical, single-cylinder, four-stroke, air-cooled
Displacement: 242 cc (14.8 ci)
Bore & Stroke: Unknown
Power: 3.43 kW (4.6 hp)
Transmission: 2-forward, manual
Weight: 115 kg (254 lb)
Original Cost: Unknown

The Cushman Model 53 was a special military scooter designed to be dropped from airplanes during the invasion of Normandy and other beach heads. The intended use was for reconnaisance by advance scouts. The scooter was equipped with its own parachute and was heavily reinforced to withstand the impact of landing from significant heights. Prototypes were tested by hoisting and dropping them from a tall tree behind the Cushman factory. Very few Model 53 scooters saw action on the front lines but were instead used as airfield runabouts.

Chronology:

1903 - Everett and Clinton Cushman founded Cushman Scooter Company in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA and produced farm equipment, pumps, lawn equipment, and boats
1913 - Incorporated as Cushman Motor Works
1922 - Cushman began producing their 4-stroke Husky engine
1936 - Auto-glide scooters began production as a means to increase sales of Husky engines during post-Depression years
1944 - Produced the Model 53 Airborne scooter for the US military
1946-1948 - Produced the Mode 53A, a civilian airborne scooter
1949 - Cushman introduces their Eagle scooter, their most popular scooter and it resembled a motorcycle
1952 - Cushman Truckster introduced, a small light-duty commercial/maintenance vehicle
1958 - 15,000 scooters produced
1962 - Cushman became a division of Outboard Marine Company
1965 - Scooter production ended but some Cushman Eagles sold as 1966 models
1966 and on - Cushman made golf carts, industrial vehicles and turf maintenance equipment
1989 - Ransomes purchases the Cushman Division and then Textron purchases Ransomes
1991 - Donor purchases scooter from Vanderhoof, British Columbia, Canada
2018 - Donated to Reynolds-Alberta Museum