What can I say? They are cute as a bug!
From a design stand point, I was fascinated by the tank. It is such an unlikely shape given what else is around in 1955 in outboards! My first thoughts were that it much more like a motorcycle tank...and what did I find but this - an Anzani cyclemotor, 1922! Fantastic.
The original Anzani Moteurs d’Aviation company was established in Paris and opened for business in 1907.
The British Anzani Engine Company was an agency of the original French operation and the first premises were established in 1912 in London and were only concerned with aero engines.
After WW I they had trouble positioning themselves in the airplane engine market, but had success in establishing a V-6 engine useful in airplanes, motorcycles and cars. There is a lot of interesting car stuff to read about this period between wars (Morgan, Frazer-Nash gossip).
But to cut to the outboards, "The company had been slowly failing and in 1938 Charles Henry Harrison A.M.I.Mech.E., an ex-J.A.P apprentice and keen motorcycle and powerboat racer, took over as their Chief Designer and Managing Director and moved the company to their next home in Hampton Hill, Middlesex."
AOMCI member Dick Gorz, published on his web site (with permission) an article by Lawrence Carpenter from Trailer Boats Magazine, which said:
"Finally, in the mid-1960's, there was a ray of hope as the old English firm of British Anzani Engineering Co. Ltd. purchased the whole operation. Dating from shortly after the turn of the century, the company was an established builder of a wide array of engines powering everything from bicycles to airplanes. And, from about 1935, it had also produced outboard motors. A few readers may recall a tiny, weird-looking, single-cylinder model called the "Minor" that was exported into the U.S. during the 1950s.".
- British Anzani Archives - Extremely thorough company history, of course!
- Cool site, great info by Mark Daniels...his Anzani page where I found photo of bike tank
- Arne Lagerholm>British Anzani outboards, 1952 Many thanks to Mr. Lagerholm for all his research that he lets me use on our web sites and here.
I fell in love with this other Anzani product...I wonder what they cost if you find one somewhere???
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