Queen of the Netherlands Wilhelmina, surrounded by high-ranking officers, during an inspection, 1937.
The Armed Forces of the Kingdom of the Netherlands were divided into the Royal Armed Forces (Koniklijke Landmacht -KL), which consisted of units stationed in the Metropolis, and the Royal Netherlands Indies Army (Koniklijk Nederlands Indisch Leger -KNIL).
THE VERY BEGINNINGS
The German divisions retreating from Belgium a few days after the Armistice of 11 November 1918 were granted permission from the neutral Dutch government for the transit of some troops through Limburg. The condition, however, was to leave all weapons on the territory of the Netherlands. Therefore, the Germans were forced to pass, among others, a partially armoured Ehrhardt truck to the Dutch. It is not entirely clear whether this was the chassis on which the Germans built their own armoured cars, i.e. Strassen-Panzerkraftwagen Ehrhardt Model 1917, or a chassis of the same brand designed as an anti-aircraft gun carrier. The vehicle was only partially armoured, therefore the Dutch commissioned the design of full armour for the vehicle at the Siderius company from Utrecht.
The armoured body of the car differed significantly from the German Ehrhardt armoured cars, although both types of vehicles are sometimes confused. This car served a long time with the KL – it was decommissioned as late as in the mid-1930s.
The next AFVs of the Dutch Army were two Renault FT M1918 light tanks. Thus, the Netherlands joined the large group of users of this then popular tank. It is not entirely clear how long the two tanks remained in service. Some authors claim, for example, that these vehicles were imported in 1928 only for test purposes. However, it cannot be ruled out that they survived in service until 1940.
In the late 1920s, the Netherlands developed its own pattern of armoured car. Eight vehicles of this type were built on American GMC truck chassis. These cars were characterized by considerable size, and thus poor manoeuvrability. Their armour was also too thin and insufficient.
In 1932, based on a 4x2 twoaxle chassis from the British Morris-Commercial truck, three armoured cars were built at the Haarlem plant, named Bison, Buffel and Winsent. In 1938-1939 at least one of these cars was extensively rebuilt by mounting the hull on a three-axle 6 x4 chassis of an unknown make, adding electric lighting and other minor modifications. It is likely that vehicles of this type took part in the fighting in 1940.
In 1935, the modest ranks of the Dutch armoured force were joined by five obsolete British Carden-Loyd Mk VI tankettes. They received names derived from wild cats: Jaguar, Luipaard, Lynx, Panter and Poema.
MODERNISATION
The purchase of twelve Landsverk L181 armoured cars from Sweden in 1936 turned out to be a more serious strengthening of the Dutch defensive potential. This modernlooking design was built in 1933 on the basis of a German Daimler-Benz 6x4 chassis with a six-cylinder engine and an output of 80 HP. By the way, on the same chassis the Germans constructed part of the series of their own Sd.Kfz. 231 armoured cars. The Landsverk L181 vehicles were manned by a crew of five or six, their maximum armour protection was 9 mm, and the armament in the Koniklijke Landmacht variant consisted of a 37 mm Bofors gun and three 7.92 mm Lewis machine guns. The vehicle was able to be operated by two drivers, one of whom was responsible for driving forward, and the other, whose position was located at the rear of the fighting compartment, was to drive the vehicle while travelling backwards. In the KL, Landsverk L181 cars were given the designation Paw. M36 (Paw for pantserwagen, the number means the year of entry into service), and each of them received an individual number from 1 to 12, painted on both sides of the turrets, on the side hatches and on the front and rear of the hull. These cars formed the 1st Armoured Car Squadron (1. EPaw = 1e Eskadron Pantserwagens) stationed in Hertogenbosch and formed on 1 April 1936. The squadron commander was Captain H. Wibrenninck. In October 1939, all Dutch AFVs including the Paw.M36s were given national identity markings in the form of an orange triangle. Paw.M36 vehicles also sported civilian registration numbers, placed next to a rectangle painted in the national colours of the Netherlands, starting with the letter ‘N’ denoting the province of North Brabant (Noord-Brabant).
Another Dutch order placed in Sweden was for 12 armoured cars of the newer Landsverk L182 type, built on the Buessing-NAG chassis with an eight-cylinder engine and output of 150 HP. These vehicles were adopted by the KL in 1938, so their official name was Paw.M38. The Dutch Landsverks received a number of minor modifications in the form of additional rearview mirrors, mechanical traffic indicators, periscopes above the rear driver's position and additional headlights. The Paw.M38 vehicles on 1 July 1938 formed the 2nd Armoured Car Squadron (2. EPaw.) stationed in Amersfoort. The commanding officer was Captain J.L. Brunier. The Paw.M38s sported individual numbers from 13 to 24, and their civilian registrations began with the letter ‘L’ for Utrecht.
The Dutch also purchased two command armoured cars, known as Landsverk L180CC. Their armament was limited to machine guns only - the Bofors guns were replaced with tubes imitating the presence of a cannon in the turret. One of the vehicles with the designation C1 (N48359) went to the 1st EPaw. while the other, i.e. C2 (L36256), to the 2nd EPaw.
The Landverk armoured cars captured by the Germans in 1940 were used by them under the designation of Pz.Sp.Wg. L202(h).