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 invaded the Netherlands , aiming to dominate Europe . The country was fully occupied by 17 May. By 12 March 1942, the Germans and Japanese controlled the Dutch mainland and all their major colonies. 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)
Automatic pistols and submachine guns
Rifles
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 7.92×57mm rimmed cartridge.[ 3] Exact numbers of machine guns converted is unknown.
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
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
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
Utility tractor
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
Trucks with Trado drive:
Chevrolet KD/DAF (4x4)
Chevrolet VD/DAF (6x4)
Ford type 51/DAF (6x4)
Ford type 79/DAF (6x4)
Ford type 81Y/DAF (4x4)
Ford type 91Y/DAF (4x4)
Ford type 01Y/DAF (4x4)
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
BSA G14 and various others (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 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.
Cartridges and shells
References
External links