TO COMBAT BANDITS.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 21 May 1927, Page 14

TO COMBAT BANDITS.

ARMOURED 1 MOTOR-CYCLES. Armoured motor-cycle and side-car outfits .are being installed by the New York police to combat bandits, who are very active in America at present. It is hoped they will afford proper protection to motor-cycie officers when chasing bandit cans. The armour equipment consists of two large shields of 1-1 Gin. bullet-proof metal, one located over the handle-bars in front of the .rider, and the other before the .side-car passenger. For visibility each shield has a recta ngukir.slraped bullet-proof “.safety glass’’ inserted just above the centre. This glass is 7-Sin. thick. Two big shields complete the protection of the rider. The inside of the side-car is lined with this same .steel, so that any bullets aimed at the outfit from ia bandit car in front could not possibly strike the passenger. The rider’s .shield is low enough to permit his shooting over the top. when sitting upright. The armour adds only 401 b to the regular weight of the outfit.

Tests have proved the ability of the armour equipment to .stand up to bullets. Shots fired at the outfit with both revolver and rifle from, various distances bounded harmlessly off, and failed to loosen the bolting of the shields to the motor-cycle frame. Jt i.s the Intention of the New York Police Department to post two or three of these outfits on each of the city’s main tlioroughfares, allowing them to patrol throughout the day and night.