History: Demonstration of loading wounded soldiers into motorcycle ambulance. 1918. Attaching cover and end curtains. Motorcycle ambulances were used during World War I by the British, French and Americans. At the time the advantages of light weight, speed, and mobility over larger vehicles was cited as the motive for the use of sidedcar rigs in this role. The US version had two stretchers arranged one on top of the other. The French ambulance used a sidecar that held a single patient, who could either lie down or sit up. The British Red Cross Society used an 8 bhp (6 kW) NUT motorcycle with a double decker sidecar like the US version. During testing it needed only a 9 ft (2. 7 m) turning area, versus 35 ft (11 m) for a motor car ambulance, and had a lower fuel consumption of 55–65 mpg-US (4. 3–3. 6 L/100 km), compared with 12–17 mpg-US (20–14 L/100 km) for car ambulances. Due to lighter weight they were said to be less likely to get stuck and could be pushed out more easily than a large vehicle. Sidecar ambulances were used in Redondo Beach, California in 1915, stationed at a bath house at a beach resort to reach drowning victims quickly. Prior to using the motorcycle, life guards had to run or row up to several miles along the beach to respond to calls. The Knightsbridge Animal Hospital and Institute, London, was using a sidecar ambulance to transport dogs in 1912, and this mode was still in use in 1937 by the Maryland Humane Society. Beach life guard motorcycle, Redondo Beach, California, 1915