[nuyt]

Hi all,
Yesterday I took a day off and paid a visit to the Library of the Delft Army Museum aas well as The National Archives in The Hague.

There is some progress to mention but not groundbreaking: I will have to go back some more times, I guess.

Some results:
By March 1941 KNIL had received no less than 50 Commandowagens! That probably fullfilled all their needs as there seems to be no word on further orders nor complaints of non-delivered orders after March 1942.

Indeed, KNIL had initially ordered a batch of DAF 4x4 Chevrolet terreinauto's (similar as the Pag-trekkers). They did this after extensive testing of a large number of different staff cars in 1939. During this tests German Tempo's and Italian Fiat 508's came out on top!
For "practical" reasons KNIL decided to buy the DAF's. The Ford/MH does not appear to have been tested at that stage, so it must have been ordered after delivery of the DAF's was no longer possible.

Robert,
Thanks. Those production figures could be very interesting indeed. Did somebody already try to find them?

Mike, thanks as well. The Australian Ford Battery Staff vehicle appears to be a different vehicle to the NEI one after all?

Hanno,

Thanks for the (stereo) reply. Could you scan the MH T13 at Fort McCoy picture?

I agree it is likely that MH sold just one Armoured Scout Car to KNIL. There was a KNIL Cavalry Depot that deployed 1 "oefenscoutcar" (for training) and obsolete trucks in Central Java during the Japanese invasion. Maybe that's the one?

You are correct about the listings in the US Mission Report. But I am working on a extensive KNIL inventory (not just vehicles) and I find the different listings that I have not always accurate, though in general they are pretty good. I guess there was no time for subtlety in that period. And often brand names became magic words: Trucks were simply Chevrolets (Sipralets in Malay) and Scout cars may have become White Scout Cars or vice versa.

About the use of the MGT's. Col Herrington's quote "to protect airfields, fuel dumps etc" sounds more like the task of the NEI territorial forces of which there was a plethora of units: Stadswacht, Landwacht, Reservekorps, Landstorm.

It were these units and especially the Stadswacht that had to guard objects such as these and maintain law and order. And these were slowly developing into well-armed and partly mechanised units that had been training together for over 1 1/2 years (but they were not well regarded by KNIL officers and KNIL historians alike).

But that's just speculating....

KNIL cavaly had received Armoured cars and plenty of Ford GP's, so they would not need another type of light 4x4 truck.

Here's another shot of the Ford Commandowagen:

Enjoy
Nuyt