List of Dutch military equipment of World War II

The following is a list of Dutch military equipment of World War II which includes artillery, vehicles and vessels. World War II was a global war that began in 1939 and ended in 1945. On 10 May 1940, Nazi Germany, which aimed to dominate Europe, invaded the Netherlands and occupied the entire country by 17 May. By 12 March 1942 the Dutch mainland and all their major colonies were controlled by Germans and Japanese. Dutch power was not restored until final Axis collapse in 1945. This list covers the equipment of armed elements centered on Royal Netherlands Army and Royal Netherlands East Indies Army, but not the Free Dutch Forces, which was equipped mainly by the Western Allies.

Knives and bayonets

Model Blade length From: Comments
Sabre M.1912 variable - officers sword
Klewang (sword) 62,5 cm 1898 officers, NCOs
Fighting knife M.17 20,5 cm 1917 front units
M.95 bayonet 24.5 cm 1896 fitted on Dutch Mannlicher rifles and carbines

Small arms

Pistols (manual and semi-automatic)

Type Base model Maker Rounds Cartridge From: Produced Weight Comment
FN Model 1910#Variants FN Model 1910 FN and Colt Firearms 7 .32 ACP (7.94×25mm) 1910 ? 0.59 kg semi-automatic
FN Model 1922 FN Model 1910 FN and Colt Firearms 8 .380 ACP (9×17mm) 1925 ? 0.7 kg semi-automatic
Browning Hi-Power P35 FN and Browning 10 7.65x21mm Parabellum 1935 1.500.000 1 kg semi-automatic
M.73 revolver M.73 revolver Stevens, de Beaumont 6 9,4mmR No. 5 (9.4mm) 1873 ? 1.04 kg for support units
Mauser C96 Mauser C96 Mauser, Hanyang Arsenal 10 7.63×25mm Mauser 1899 ? 1.13 kg Dutch East Indies only
Borchhardt-Luger Luger P08 DWM, Mauser 8 9x19mm Parabellum 1898 3.000.000 0.871 kg Dutch East Indies only

Automatic pistols and submachine guns

Type Base model Maker Rounds Cartridge From: Produced Weight Comment
MP 28 II MP 18 Haenel 50 7.63×25mm Mauser 1939 2420 4.18 kg sergeant weapon in single cavalry regiment in Dutch East Indies[1]
Thompson submachine gun M1928 Thompson submachine gun Savage Arms and others 50(extended mags) .45 ACP (11.43×23mm) 1942 2000 4.9 kg Only in Dutch colonies, some may have not been delivered [2]

Rifles

Type Base model Maker Rounds Cartridge From: Produced Weight Comment
Rifle M.95 Mannlicher M1895 Steyr-Mannlicher 5 6,5x53,5R 1896 470000 3.95 kg also 8 derived carbine models
M1941 Johnson rifle M1941 Johnson rifle Iver Johnson, FMA 10 .30-06 Springfield 1941 ~1000 4.31 kg only in Dutch East Indies

Grenades and grenade launchers

See also: [1]

Grenade Introduced Type Weight, g comments
Eihandgranaat No.1 ? fragmentation 600 used by Germans as "handgranate 312 (h)"
Eihandgranaat No.2 ? fragmentation 765 imported Mills No. 23, rod-type rifle launcher
Eihandgranaat No.3 ? concussion 215 used by Germans
Hexiet Rookhandgranaat ? smoke 500 used by Germans as "333(h)"
Gashandgranaat ? tear gas ~800
Ronde handgranaat 1906 fragmentation 1065 colonial army only
Geweergranaat 1915 concussion ~420 colonial army only, hand-thrown version of Veldhandgranaat
Veldhandgranaat 1917 fragmentation 650 long handle, colonial army only
Offensieve handgranaat No.2 1928 concussion 650 paper&wood body, colonial army only, imported from USA
Offensieve handgranaat No.3 (US Mk.3) 1941 concussion 310 paper&steel body, colonial army only

Machine guns

Infantry and dual-purpose machine guns

The Dutch army in 1940 was in the process of converting their machine guns to the unique 7.92x57mm rimmed cartridge.[3] Exact numbers of machine guns converted is unknown.

Gun Fire rate, RPM Effective range Cartridge From: Produced Weight Comment
Lewis gun M.20 550 800 6.5×53mmR and 7.92×57mmR 1917 9500 13 kg occasional AA gun
Vickers machine gun 475 2000 .303 British (7.7×56mmR) and 7.92×57mmR 1912 300 23 kg occasional AA gun,basis for aircraft guns
MG 08 Spandau heavy machine gun (M.25) 475 2000 7.92×57mm Mauser 1908 452 69 kg occasional AA gun, obsolescent
Schwarzlose MG M.07/12 heavy machine gun (M.8) 490 1300 7.92×57mm Mauser 1905 2248 41.4 kg
Madsen machine gun Geweermitrailleur 450 6.5×53mmR 1915 9.2 kg Only in the Dutch East Indies.
Madsen machine gun Karabijnmitrailleur 450 6.5×53mmR 1926 8.4 kg Only in the Dutch East Indies, shortened variant.

Vehicle and aircraft machine guns

Artillery

Infantry mortars

Model Caliber Max. range From Produced Weight, kg fire rate, RPM Comment
Stokes mortar 81mm 800 1915 360 47.17 25 heavy recoil, therefore difficult to fire from improvised positions

Field artillery

Model Caliber Max. range From Produced Weight, kg fire rate, RPM Comment
Krupp 7.5 cm Model 1903 (7-veld) 75mm 6000 1904 304 1079 8 partly license-built or upgraded to Siderius Model 02/04
8 cm staal 84mm 3500 1878 108 1517 2.5
12 cm Lang staal 120mm 8500 1878 158 3450 1.5 former fortress gun, upgraded in the 1920s
15cm Krupp heavy field gun 150mm 8800 1878 72 4700 1 former fortress gun, upgraded in the 1920s
10.5 cm Cannon Model 1927 (10-veld) 105mm 16500 1926 52 3650 7
Krupp 105mm field gun L30 M1905 105mm 9250 1912 2 2835 6
120 mm Krupp howitzer M1905 (12 lang 12) 120mm 5800 1912 50 1125 2
10.5 cm leFH 18 105mm 10675 1939 8 1985 5 imported, training-only
Bofors 12 cm M. 14 (12 lang 14) 120mm 6050 1918 10 1610 3
BL 6-inch 30 cwt howitzer (15 lang 15) 152.4mm 8400 1918 30 3690 2 only extended-range version
15 cm sFH 13 (15 lang 17) 149.1mm 8600 1918 44 2250 3 World War I war reparations from Germany

Fortress and siege guns

See [4] for geographic distribution of coastal defenses and fortresses in continental Netherlands. The listing below do include both army and land-based Navy weapons, but do not include 47mm guns, which are counted as anti-tank guns.

  • Bofors 37 mm, 45 or 50 calibers barrel length : 23 pieces, of them 12 imported and 11 license-produced
  • 75mm guns, 40 calibers barrel length : 63 pieces (2 distinct Krupp types, 5000m range, rapid-fire)
  • 120mm guns, 40 calibers barrel length : 18 pieces (2 distinct Krupp types, 12500m range, 9 RPM fire rate)
  • 149.1mm or 152.4mm guns, 30 calibers barrel length: 5 (type unknown)
  • 149.1mm or 152.4mm guns, 35 calibers barrel length: 6 (type unknown)
  • 149.1mm or 152.4mm guns, 40 calibers barrel length: 21 (Krupp guns, 14200m range, 9 RPM fire rate)
  • 240mm guns, 30 calibers barrel length: 11 (Krupp guns of the 19th century, 8000m range, 0.25 RPM fire rate)

Infantry guns

Model Caliber Max. range From Produced Weight, kg fire rate, RPM Comment
Krupp light field gun M1894 (6-veld)[5] 57mm 5000 1894 210 700 5.5 used also as anti-tank

Anti-tank guns

Model Caliber Penetration 1 Penetration 2 Muzzle speed Max. range From Produced Weight, kg fire rate, RPM Comment
Bohler 47mm gun 47mm 58mm@100m 43mm@500m 630 7000 1935 380 315 5 also very effective as infantry gun
HIH Siderius 47mm casemate gun 47mm 50mm@1000m 750 2500 1931 8 1300 18 semi-automatic[6]
Artillerie Inrichtingen 47mm casemate gun 47mm 50mm@1000m 750 2500 1932 60 1300 9 low-cost alternative to Siderius gun

Anti-tank weapons (besides anti-tank guns)

Anti-aircraft weapons

Light anti-aircraft guns

Model Caliber Eff. alt. From Produced Weight, kg fire rate, RPM Comment
MG 08 Spandau heavy machine gun (M.25) 7.92mm 1300 1908 452 69 475 obsolescent, also infantry heavy machine gun
Vickers machine gun (M.18) 7.7mm 1300 1912 300 23 475 also infantry heavy machine gun
Bofors 40 mm gun L/60 (4 tl) 40mm 4100 1932 46 1981 120 light/medium AA gun
3.7 cm Flak 18/36/37/43 L/57 37mm 4200 1936 3 2000 150 no ammunition during war
Oerlikon 20 mm cannon L/70 (2 tl. No.1) 20mm 1300 1939 120 363 285 planned main light AA gun
Cannone-Mitragliera da 20/77 (Scotti) (2 tl. No.2) 20mm 914 1939 35 227.5 250 substitute for Oerlikon gun
Hispano-Suiza HS.404 20mm 1100 1939 30 ~400 700 probably too lightly build barrel resulting in poor accuracy

Heavy anti-aircraft guns

Model Caliber Eff. alt. From Produced Weight, kg fire rate, RPM Comment
Krupp gun 6 tl 57mm 2500 1916 21 7180 3 obsolescent
Krupp gun 7 tl 75mm 3300 1916 15 7980 5 obsolescent
QF 3-inch 20 cwt (8 tl) 76.2mm 3750 1917 3 5990 17
Krupp gun (10 tl) 94mm 6800 1925 3 ~10000 7.5 may be prototypes related to QF 3.7-inch AA gun development
Vickers Model 1931 (7.5 tl no.1) 75mm 8500 1935 81 2825 12 partially license-built, had a fire-control mechanical computer
Skoda AA gun (7.5 tl no.2) 75mm 6500 1940 9 4200 25 model unclear

Vehicles

Tankettes

Carden Loyd Mk IV tankette - 5 tankettes used in Battle of the Netherlands

Tanks

Armored cars

Vehicle Developed Produced Armament
L181 (M-36) 1936 12 37mm Bofors cannon and 3x 7.92mm Lewis machine gun
L180 (M-38) 1938 14 37mm Bofors cannon and 3x 7.92mm Lewis machine gun
M39 Pantserwagen 1939 12 37mm Bofors cannon and 3x 7.92mm Lewis machine gun
Ehrhardt Potkachel[7] 1918 1 57mm Krupp gun 6tl
Alvis Strausser AC3D[8] 1938 12 a 12.7 mm Colt-Browning MG in the turret and a 6.5 mm Vickers machine gun on the left of the driver
M3A1 Scout Car 1941 40 two .30-caliber M1919 Browning machine gun and one .50-caliber M2 Browning machine gun
GMC 'Kippenhok'[9] 1931 3 three 6.5mm lewis m20 machine guns
Morris Wijnman 'Koekblik'[10] 1932 3 Space for up to four 6.5mm lewis m20 machine guns
Wilton-Fijenoord[11] 1933 3 three 6.5mm Lewis m20 machine guns
Overvalwagen[12] 1940 90 different versions had different armament

Utility tractor

  • VCL Utility Tracor - 50 ordered for the KNIL
  • Praga TIII/3 Artillery Tractor - 1 prototype delivered to the KNIL.

Engineering and command

  • L180 (M-38) - 2 of 14 armored cars were built as command cars (dummy main gun made of wood).

Trucks

All numbers are for European part of Dutch armed forces.

  • horses 30000
  • Trado 1200 - mostly for towing artillery and 1 motorized light infantry division
  • DAF-139 amphibious truck (prototype testing at outbreak of war)
  • Ford Model AA 380 - in AA units[citation needed]
  • Ford GP - in Dutch East Indies cavalry units

Passenger cars

  • unknown models (~70-140 total) for carrying officers

Motorcycles

  • unknown model (at least 840 in 2 motorized cavalry regiments)

Miscellaneous vehicles

  • bicycles (at least 1500000)

Navy ships and war vessels

Royal Netherlands Navy

At the moment of the German attack on 10 May 1940 the Dutch European Navy consisted of 50 vessels:

  • 1 light cruiser
  • 3 coastal defense ships
  • 10 destroyers
  • 12 minelayers
  • 4 minesweepers
  • 6 submarines
  • 14 auxiliary and light vessels

Also, 31 various vessels were under construction. Of these, 6 were eventually completed in England and 21 in Nazi Germany.

Present in the Dutch West Indies was the sloop Van Kinsbergen.

Destroyed or scuttled during Battle of the Netherlands:

  • Destroyer Van Galen [Rotterdam, by a Stuka attack]
  • Destroyer escort Christiaan Cornelis (scuttled after being damaged by coastal artillery)
  • Destroyer escort Z3 (scuttled)
  • Destroyer escort G16 (scuttled)
  • Gunboat Johan Maurits van Nassau (sunk by Luftwaffe aircraft)
  • Gunboat Friso (sunk by Luftwaffe aircraft)
  • Gunboat Brinio (scuttled)
  • Gunboat Braga (scuttled)
  • Gunboat Helfring (scuttled)
  • Gunboat Freyr (scuttled)
  • Minelayer Hydra
  • Minelyaer Bulgia
  • Minesweeper Abraham van Hulst (heavily damaged by Luftwaffe aircraft attack and scuttled)
  • Minesweeper Pieter Floriszoon (scuttled)
  • Minesweeper M III
  • Submarine HNLMS O 12 (scuttled)
  • Coastal defense ship HNLMS IJmuiden (scuttled)

Escaped to England during Battle of the Netherlands:

  • Light cruiser Sumatra
  • Destroyer escort Z5
  • Destroyer escort Z6
  • Destroyer escort Z7
  • Destroyer escort Z8
  • Destroyer escort G13
  • Destroyer escort G15
  • Gunboat Flores
  • Gunboat Gruno
  • Minelayer Willem van der Zaan
  • Minelayer Medusa
  • Minelayer Van Maerlant
  • Minelayer Douwe Aukes
  • Minelayer Nautiles[13]
  • Minelayer Jan van Brakel[14]
  • Minesweeper Jan van Gelder
  • Torpedo boat TM51
  • Submarine O9
  • Submarine O10
  • Submarine O13
  • Light-cruiser Jacob van Heemskerck (under construction at outbreak of war)
  • Destroyer leader Isaac Sweers (under construction at outbreak of war)
  • Submarine O21 (under construction at outbreak of war)
  • Submarine O22 (under construction at outbreak of war)
  • Submarine O23 (under construction at outbreak of war)
  • Submarine O24 (under construction at outbreak of war)
  • Many tugs, pilot boats and patrol boats

Captured by the Germans:

  • Minesweepers MI (sunk and raised by Germans)
  • Minesweepers MII (sunk and raised by Germans)
  • Minesweepers MIV (sunk and raised by Germans)
  • Gunboat Tyr
  • Gunboat Balder
  • Gunboat Hadda (unarmed at outbreak of war)
  • Gunboat Thor (unarmed at outbreak of war)
  • Minelayer Vidar
  • Torpedo workship Vidar
  • Submarines O 8
  • Submarine O 11
  • Coastal defense ship HMLMS Gelderland
  • Coastal defense ship HNLMS Hertog Hendrik
  • Cruiser De Zeven Provincien (under construction, not used by Germans)
  • Cruiser HNLMS Eendracht (under construction, not used by Germans)
  • Destroyer leader HNLMS Tjerk Hiddes (under construction, scrapped by Germans)
  • Destroyer leader HNLMS Gerard Callenburgh (under construction, damaged and repaired by Germans)
  • Destroyer leader HNLMS Philips van Almonde (under construction, scrapped by Germans)
  • Submarine O 25 (under construction, finished by Germans)
  • Submarine O 26 (under construction, finished by Germans)
  • Submarine O 27 (under construction, finished by Germans)
  • 6 Minesweepers (under construction, names not assigned, all used by Germans)
  • Tanker (under construction, name not assigned, finished by Germans)
  • 10 Fast attack craft (E-boats) (under construction, names not assigned, all finished and used by Germans in Mediterranean)

Royal Netherlands Navy in the East Indies

At the time of Japanese attack on 7 December 1941, the Dutch Navy in the East Indies comprised 78 vessels. Most of them were destroyed defending Java island:

  • 3 light cruisers
  • 7 destroyers
  • 15 submarines
  • 7 minelayers
  • 11 minesweepers
  • 35 auxiliary or small ships (of them 8 tankers)

Task Force One (Doorman; off Paternoster Island)

Task Force Two (Sunda Strait en route Singapore)

NEI Submarine Flotilla (at Surabaya)

  • submarine tender Zuiderkruis
  • SS K-VI
  • SS K-VIII
  • SS K-X

Submarine Division 1

  • SS O-16 (Karimata Strait)
  • SS K-XVII (north of Singapore)
  • SS K-XVII

Submarine Division 2

  • SS K-IX
  • SS K-XI (north of Singapore)
  • SS K-XII (north of Singapore)
  • SS K-XIII (north of Singapore)

Submarine Division 3

  • SS K-XIV (South China Sea)
  • SS K-XV (South China Sea)
  • SS K-XVI (South China Sea)

Submarine Division 4

  • SS O-19 (South China Sea)
  • SS O-20 (South China Sea)

Mine Service (at Surabaya)

  • CM Gouden Leeuw (at Tarakan)
  • CM Prinz Van Oranje
  • CM Krakatau
  • CM Pro Patria (at Palembang)
  • CM Serdang
  • CM Willem van der Zaan (Lingga)
  • CM Rigel

Minesweeper Division 3

  • AMc Alor
  • AMc Aroe
  • AMc Bantam
  • AMc Bogor
  • AMc Ceram
  • AMc Cheribon

Minesweeper Division 4 (at Surabaya)

  • AMc Djember
  • AMc Djombang
  • AMc Djampea
  • AMc Enggano
  • AMc Endeh

Torpedo Division (at Surabaya)

  • PT TM-4 to TM-15 (12 vessels)
  • Tanker AO Aldegonda
  • Tanker AO Benakat (4763 tons, 10 knots)
  • Tanker AO Djirak (4325 tons, 10 knots)
  • Tanker AO Josefina
  • Tanker AO Juno (2741 tons, 9 knots)
  • Tanker AO Paula (2700 tons, 12 knots)
  • Tanker AO Pendopo (7150 tons, 10 knots)
  • Tanker AO Petronella
  • AT Kraus
  • AT Pief
  • AT Gina
  • AT Jules
  • AT Nolly
  • AT Tata
  • AT Flip
  • AT Rolf
  • AT Hector
  • AT Paul
  • AT Teddy
  • AR Moeara Boelian
  • AH Op Ten Noort

Aircraft

The Dutch before war have an extensive aircraft industry, but most of the aircraft produced were exported and not counted here.

Name Place of
manufacture		 Primary
role(s)		 #
used in Europe		 #
used in Indonesia		 years in use comments
Fokker D.XXI Dutch fighter 36 0 1936-1940
Curtiss P-6 Hawk Dutch (license) fighter 0 11 1930-1942 also 3 P-6 were destroyed before war
Curtiss H-75 Hawk (export Curtiss P-36) US fighter 0 24 1940-1942 model Hawk 75A-7
Brewster B339 (F2A-2 Buffalo) US fighter 0 71 1941-1942
Fokker D.XXIII Dutch fighter 1 0 1939-1940 tandem engines, prototype under test at outbreak of war
Fokker D.XVII Dutch fighter/trainer 7 0 1932-1940 2 of 7 destroyed on ground at beginning of war
Fokker G.I Dutch heavy fighter 35 0 1937-1940 also 1 Fokker G.I destroyed before war
Fokker G.I(export version) Dutch heavy fighter 6 0 1940-1940 24 were produced, but refit was not finished in time
Fokker T.V Dutch bomber 15 0 1938-1940 also 1 Fokker T.V destroyed before war
Fokker C.V Dutch bomber/reconnaissance 28 0 1924-1940 only 28 of 67 were operational at start of war
Fokker C.VIII Dutch reconnaissance 1 0 1928-1940 land-version (prototype) of seaplane Fokker C.VIII-W)
Fokker C.VIII-W Dutch Maritime patrol 9 0 1928-1940 5 of 9 fled to England and were scrapped immediately
Fokker C.X Dutch bomber/reconnaissance/trainer 20 13 1933-1942
Koolhoven F.K.51 Dutch trainer/reconnaissance 83 38 1935-1942
Koolhoven F.K.52 Dutch fighter/reconnaissance 5 0 1937-1940 also 1 aircraft lost before war
Koolhoven F.K.58 Dutch fighter 18 0 1938-1940 manned by Poles, fought for France (not in Dutch army)
Fokker S.IX Dutch trainer 50 0 1935-1942 some escaped to England and were scrapped immediately
Bücker Bü 131 Germany trainer 0 ? 1935-1942
Curtiss-Wright CW-21B US interceptor 0 24 1942-1942 17 ready at start of Japanese attack
Dornier Do J Wal Dutch (license) Maritime patrol 1 5 1937-1942 most were already scrapped at outbreak of war[citation needed]
Dornier Do 24 Dutch (license) maritime patrol 0 37 1937-1942 replacement for Dornier Wal, imported and license-produced in Netherlands.
Fokker T.IVa Dutch Maritime patrol/torpedo bomber 0 33 1927-1942
Fokker C.XI Dutch scout seaplane 4 10 1935-1942 operated from Dutch cruisers and destroyers
Fokker C.VII Dutch seaplane trainer 0 12 1927-1942 30 were produced, but 18 in Europe retired before war
Fokker C.XIV-W Dutch trainer/Maritime patrol 13 11 1927-1942 12 were transferred from Europe to Dutch East Indies after war in Europe was lost
Fokker F.XVIII Dutch airliner/Maritime patrol 0 5 1940-1942 stop-gap ASW aircraft, later reverted to airliner
Fokker T.VIII Dutch Maritime patrol 11 0 1938-1940 some aircraft escaped to England and many captured by Germans
Consolidated PBY Catalina US Maritime patrol 0 48 1935-1942 36 Consolidated 28-5 (export PBY-5) and 12 PBY-5A[citation needed]
Martin 139 (export B-10) US Bomber 0 121 1938-1945 Pre-WW2 bomber in Dutch possession
Fokker T.IX Dutch Bomber 1 0 1939-1940 prototype being repaired at outbreak of war

Cartridges and shells

References

  1. ^ "KNILCavalry". Archived from the original on 11 March 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  2. ^ "Axis History Forum • Dutch sub machine guns". Archived from the original on 11 March 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  3. ^ "7.92 X 57R DUTCH SCHWARZLOSE | Cartridgecollector.net". www.cartridgecollector.net.
  4. ^ "Coastal artillery [War over Holland - May 1940: the Dutch struggle]". Waroverholland.nl. 10 May 1940. Archived from the original on 11 December 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  5. ^ "57 mm infantry gun [6-veld] [War over Holland - May 1940: The Dutch struggle]". Archived from the original on 5 December 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  6. ^ "HIHSiderius3". Overvalwagen.com. Archived from the original on 7 March 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  7. ^ "Ehrhardt Potkachel". tanks-encyclopedia.com. 20 January 2021.
  8. ^ "Alvis-Straussler Armoured Cars in the Netherlands East Indies". warfare.gq.
  9. ^ "GMC Improvised Armoured Cars". Tanks Encyclopedia. 24 August 2019.
  10. ^ "Morris 'Koekblikje' Armored Car". Tanks Encyclopedia. 21 May 2019.
  11. ^ "Wilton-Fijenoord Armored Car (1933)". 30 December 2017.
  12. ^ "Braat Overvalwagen (1940)". www.tanks-encyclopedia.com.
  13. ^ "Minelayer Hr.Ms. Nautilus". Netherlandsnavy.nl. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  14. ^ "Dutch minelayer Jan van Brakel". Netherlandsnavy.nl. Retrieved 14 February 2022.

External links

  • Dutch army strategy and armament in World War II
  • Order of battle of Netherlands East Indies Naval Forces at 7 December 1941
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