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Old July 29th, 2018, 10:17 AM
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Default Re: Netherlands OOB28 v.11 (2018)

Dutch Vehicle Notes

During World War Two, the Dutch Army, known as Koninklijke Landmacht (KL, Royal Land Forces), served only in the Netherlands; the Koninklijk Nederlands Indische Leger (KNIL, Royal Dutch Indies Army), served in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia); and the Korps Marinier (Marine Corps) served in the Netherlands, as well as in the Dutch East and West Indies. The KNIL was separate from the army in Holland, and often ordered its own equipment.


25. VCL MI936(b):
The Dutch had placed an order with Vickers Armstrong for 73 vehicles of the VCL Model B 1935 light tank in 1935. At war's outbreak, fewer than 25 of these tanks had been received and were designated VCL model 36 vechtwagen ('fighting vehicle'). The KNIL's Mobiele Eenheid ('Mobile Unit'; the only armored Dutch unit in Java) had 2 platoons of 7 vehicles, with 3 vehicles in reserve. The Japanese managed to capture 15 vehicles when the Dutch surrendered and immediately pressed them into service.

26. CTLS-4(a):
In 1940, the KNIL began a major modernization program. With Europe, and the motherland itself, either actively preparing for war or actively fighting it, an alternate source of vehicles had to be found. This left only the U.S. as a procurement source, but most U.S. factories were already committed to the expansion of the American forces or to the newly-created Lend-Lease program. The search for a company with uncommitted capacity led to Marmon-Herrington and, in 1940, the KNIL ordered a total of 600 light tanks of various new models just entering production. The first to be produced was the CTLS-4 light tank. It was built in two versions, the difference being which side of the vehicle housed the driver (some sources say this was to cater to European countries whose civilian vehicles featured a right-side driver). Design and production problems delayed the initial order until just after war had broken out in the Pacific. The Japanese invaded the Dutch East Indies in January 1942. In mid-February, the first of twenty-four Marmon-Herrington CTLS-4 light tanks were delivered to the Dutch forces in Java. The tanks arrived without armament, but machine guns similar to the Browning .30 caliber were procured from the Dutch Air Force and used to equip the vehicles. The first seven crews to be trained in the tank were issued vehicles on February 27, the day before the Japanese invaded Java. The KNIL surrendered on March 8, 1942, and the Japanese occupation forces found over a dozen of these vehicles in working order and quickly put them into service.

27. Pantsenvagen M.36 & M.38:
In 1935-36, the Dutch took delivery of 12 Landsverk L180 from Sweden and gave them the designation Pantserwagen Model 36. These vehicles were used to equip 1e Eskadron Pantserwagen (lEPaw) stationed in s'Hertogenbosch. In 1938, a second squadron (2EPaw) was formed and stationed in Amersfoort. This unit was equiped with 12 Landsverk L 182 (also from Sweden and designated Pantserwagen Model 38 by the Dutch Army). Along with this shipment came 2 M.38 command vehicles, one for each squadron. Both the M.36 and M.38 were medium armored cars armed with a Bofors 37mm gun and two Lewis 7.92mm machine-guns, but their armor was thin. The command vehicles only had dummy guns. Early during the German invasion, the lEPaw operated in Gelderland and on the Grebbe Line. They were later ordered to fall back on Fortress Holland, a naturally defensible redoubt within Holland. The 2EPaw's armored cars were stationed at the airfields of Schipol (Amsterdam), Ypenburg (The Hague), and Waalhaven (Rotterdam). These M.38s, as well as the M.39s of the 3rd EPaw operated in the province of Zuid Holland (South Holland) where the majority of German airborne operations took place. When the country capitulated, some of its armored cars were destroyed by their crews, although most were captured by the Germans and put to use as police vehicles. The Danish army also bought 2 Landsverk L180 from Sweden but they are not believed to have seen action.

28. Pantserwagen M.39 "Lynx":
In 1939, the Dutch formed and equiped the 3EPaw with 12 DAF Type 3 armored cars, given the designation M.39 by the Dutch Army. Built by the Van Doome Aanhanwagen Fabriek (now known as the Van Doome Automobiel Fabriek), the vehicle mounted a Bofors 37mm gun and a 7.92 machine-gun in the turret, as well as two 7.92 machine-guns in the hull. It featured all-wheel drive and had small roller wheels, mounted on the chassis about 18" above the ground, in front of the rear tires to prevent the low sitting hull from grounding when crossing obstacles. Not all vehicles, though, were fully equipped by the time the Germans invaded. The Danish Army had purchased 3 DAF M.39s, but none saw action.

29. Marmon-Herrington III (b) Armored Cars:
The British supplied the Dutch East Indies with the Marmon-Herrington III MFF after the vehicles had finished service with the British army in the Libyan desert. Approximately 50 arrived prior to the Japanese invasion but they did so with no main annament. The KNIL improvised by mounting twin Vickers machine guns in the turrets. The Depot Vechtwagen had 10 MH III armored cars assigned to it and they were almost all eliminated on 5 March 1942 in a battle outside Bandoeng.

30. Jeep(a):
The KNIL forces had approximately 110 US Willys Jeeps in service when the Japanese invaded Java. They were issued to motorized eskadrons of the cavalry in 2 platoons (11 Jeeps each). Each platoon had a Vickers section which consisted of 2 Jeeps mounting Vickers MMG. The MG armed versions were labeled "Blitsbuggys" by the Dutch. In Java, they were found in depot vechtwagens eskadrons HQ of the KNIL with 6 Jeeps and in the Verkennende en beveiligende Afdeling (Mobile Recon Unit) which had one Jeep platoon assigned to it.

34. M3AI Scout Carr (a):
The Dutch KNIL had placed an order for 400 M3A1 Scout Cars from the U.S. but had only received 25 by the time the Japanese had invaded Java. They were armed with a Browning 12.7mm MG.

Source ASL Chapter H Vehicle Notes
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