Vehicles used by Dutch Prinses Irene Brigade

[Rogier Peeters]

Originally Posted by Hanno Spoelstra

Still not too bad, Bill. A Dodge indeed, I'd say a D60L 3-tonner.

The archive document I mentioned before lists Dodge 3 ton trucks as well.

Some photos:
http://www.nederlandsfotomuseum.nl/c...elf,1/lang,nl/
http://www.nederlandsfotomuseum.nl/c...elf,1/lang,nl/

@Hanno: the vehicle list contains the types of vehicles, including census number, chassis number and allocation.
Also lists of ex-Dutch vehicles are available in the archives.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Rogier Peeters

@Hanno: the vehicle list contains the types of vehicles, including census number, chassis number and allocation.
Also lists of ex-Dutch vehicles are available in the archives.

Rogier,

Do you have access to this information? If so, would you be willing to share this with us? If not, do you have the archive record number?

Thanks!
Hanno

[Rogier Peeters]

Originally Posted by Hanno Spoelstra

Rogier,

Do you have access to this information? If so, would you be willing to share this with us? If not, do you have the archive record number?

I did make some notes, but I did not write all census numbers down. I will present the information I have at hand and will include references to the files in the archives.

In the beforementioned 'opgave auto- en motormaterieel' (Nationaal Archief Toegangsnummer 2.13.71 - Inv.No. 855) the following vehicle types are mentioned (dated 26 March 1943):
- Humber C1.I truck
- Leyland
- F.A. Guy tractor
- Humber utility command car
- 3" mortar carrier
- carrier OP Mk.III
- truck 15 cwt 4x2 GS Ford
- lorry 30 cwt 4x2 GS Ford
- lorry 4x2 anti-tank portee Chevrolet
- lorry 3-T 4x4 Troop carrier Bedford D
- trailer 15 cwt
- car 2-str 4x2 utility Austin
- BSA 500 cc solo class I
- ambulance 4 str 4x2 Austin
- Humber Pullman
- Austin Ten
- Bedford 3 ton
- Ford 4/6 ton
- Ford Utility WOA2
- Dodge 3 ton
- Austin 3 ton
- GMC GS-truck 30 cwt
- Fordson 15 cwt
- BSA 500 cc S/V
- Norton S/V contr 7363 244 cc
- Morris 15 cwt office
- Bedford 15 cwt
- Morris 8 cwt 5 str
- Austin Utility 4 str
- Austin Ten util
- Austrin 30 cwt

ex-Dutch vehicles will follow.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Rogier Peeters

I did make some notes, but I did not write all census numbers down. I will present the information I have at hand and will include references to the files in the archives.

In the beforementioned 'opgave auto- en motormaterieel' (Nationaal Archief Toegangsnummer 2.13.71 - Inv.No. 855) the following vehicle types are mentioned (dated 26 March 1943):

Thank you, Rogier! What an astounding hodge-podge of vehicles. . .

H.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Rogier Peeters

In the beforementioned 'opgave auto- en motormaterieel' (Nationaal Archief Toegangsnummer 2.13.71 - Inv.No. 855) the following vehicle types are mentioned (dated 26 March 1943):
- Ford 4/6 ton

What type of vehicle could this be? Ford 60-cwt?

Image number: 73461
Collection: Nederlands Instituut voor Oorlogsdocumentatie
Caption: Den Haag. In de binnenstad.
Keywords: Civilian Population;Canadian Armed Forces;Dutch Armed Forces;Princess Irene Brigade

73461-hi.jpg

[Hanno Spoelstra]

White M3A1 Scout Car.

Image number: 140025
Collection: Nationaal Oorlogs- en Verzetsmuseum Overloon / Liberty Park
Caption: 'Amsterdam.' Intocht Prinses Irene Brigade met Scout car.
Image Date Period: 1945

140025-hi.jpg

[Rogier Peeters]

Another picture from the NIOD beeldbank. What type of vehicle is this?

[Keith Webb]

Originally Posted by Rogier Peeters

Another picture from the NIOD beeldbank. What type of vehicle is this?

Similar to one Bevan Fenner owned here in Austrlaia - I saw it recently at Len Watkin's place.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Rogier Peeters

Another picture from the NIOD beeldbank. What type of vehicle is this?

Rogier,

It is a Ford WOA2 4x2 Heavy Utility, listed as a "Ford Utility WOA2" in the list of PIB vehicles you posted.

[Rogier Peeters]

This week I visited the Nationaal Archief and recorded some more info from the March 1943 vehicle listing. However please note the brigade also received lots of new vehicles before the invasion of mainland Europe.

Ford 4/6 ton
The Ford 4/6 ton trucks had census numbers L1284652 - L1284657. Hanno posted a photo of the well-known L1284657, the one that's after the twin in Berlin .

Some more details about the 15 cwt trucks
The March 1943 list mentions the following 15 cwt trucks:
- truck 15 cwt 4x2 GS Ford (Platoon truck) census numbers Z1284570 - Z1284618 (Chassis numbers in the 7042xxx range)
- Fordson 15 cwt (platoon truck) 34 trucks numbered L1284700 - L1284714, L1284754 - L1284765, L1284769 - L1284771, L1284773, L1284780 - L1284782 (chassis numbers in the 5801xxx and 6144xxx range)
- Morris 15 cwt office L1284718, L1284750, L1284772
- Bedford 15 cwt (watertank) L1284766
- Bedford 15 cwt (truck) L1284744 - L1284745, chassis numbers MWD.29815 and MWD.31335

CMP trucks
The listing includes a number of lorry 30 Cwt 4x4 anti-tank portee Chevrolet, with the body work listed as ‘lorry' (probably portees converted to lorries). The census, engine and chassis numbers are as follows:
L1283906 - 3756113 - 1844031739
L1283907 - 3757924 - 1844030844
L1283908 - 3758799 - 1844031632
L1283909 - 3761417 - 1844031892
L1283910 - 3757652 - 1844031707
L1283911 - 3743653 - 1844032550
L1283912 - 3757996 - 1844030616
L1283913 - 50686 (?) - 1844031330

The chassis numbers are similar to the ones found on the 30 cwts in contract S/M 2028 as given in http://mapleleafup.org/forums/showthread.php?t=3824 .

Unidentified car
Finally, I would like to invite for opinions regarding the make and type of car in the attached picture. The photo found on the Haagse beeldbank at http://www.haagsebeeldbank.nl/hga:col1:dat254377 .

1191a01.jpg

[Bill Murray]

Hi Rogier:

Your vehicle is a Skoda, almost for sure a Popular of 1938 manufacture.
Thanks for an unusual photo, it is amazing where some of these cars ended up in 1945, 7 years and thousands of kilometers from home after a brutal war.

Bill

[Rogier Peeters]

Thank you very much Bill.
Very amazing indeed!

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Rogier,

I went through your list of vehicles, but cannot see the Standard Utility Truck listed, only Austin Utility Trucks.

Originally Posted by Rogier Peeters

In the beforementioned 'opgave auto- en motormaterieel' (Nationaal Archief Toegangsnummer 2.13.71 - Inv.No. 855) the following vehicle types are mentioned (dated 26 March 1943):

- car 2-str 4x2 utility Austin

- Austin Utility 4 str

- Austin Ten util

Hanno

[Rogier Peeters]

Hanno,

thanks for identifying the car in the photo. The Standard Utility indeed does not appear to be in this list. My thoughts are twofold:
1. the list is from March 1943, the photo from 1945;
2. the vehicle does not belong to the Irene Brigade, but probably to the staff of 'Bevelhebber Nederlandse Strijdkrachten'. For comparison I attached a photo of Prins Bernhard's Mercedes.
(http://www.haagsebeeldbank.nl/hga:col1:dat246344)
MercedesBen.jpg

I also found a photo of an Allied Opel Blitz in The Hague. According to the caption it is Canadian. Unfortunately unit markings are not clearly visible, however the marking on the left fender does look like the Irene Brigade marking.

Rogier

http://www.haagsebeeldbank.nl/hga:col1:dat246553
opelblitz.jpg

[Rogier Peeters]

Hanno,

the photo that you originally started this topic with is also available in High-resolution:
http://www.haagsebeeldbank.nl/hga:col1:dat246646

The census number is H5558309.

At the Nederlands Fotomuseum website I found a photo showing a White Scoutcar, also the census number can be seen. I have attached this photo for easy reference.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Rogier Peeters

the photo that you originally started this topic with is also available in High-resolution:
http://www.haagsebeeldbank.nl/hga:col1:dat246646

The census number is H5558309.

H5558309.JPG

Edit - inserted new link to source: https://haagsgemeentearchief.nl/medi...1-01985adb472a
HGA001048777.jpg


Rogier,

Thanks. One month later H5558309 was also pictured in Amsterdam!

Originally Posted by Hanno Spoelstra

Another FGT with census number H5558309 during the "Defilé der Zegepraal der Canadezen", 29 June 1945, at the Dam, Amsterdam.
fgt_amsterdam.jpg

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Rogier Peeters

thanks for identifying the car in the photo. The Standard Utility indeed does not appear to be in this list. My thoughts are twofold:
1. the list is from March 1943, the photo from 1945;
2. the vehicle does not belong to the Irene Brigade, but probably to the staff of 'Bevelhebber Nederlandse Strijdkrachten'. For comparison I attached a photo of Prins Bernhard's Mercedes.

Rogier, either option could be true, though I would place my bets on it being with the PIB. Like you said, the picture was made two years after the vehicle stock list was drawn up. By that time the "F.A. Guy tractor" was replaced by the Ford FGT as we have seen here.

I also found a photo of an Allied Opel Blitz in The Hague. According to the caption it is Canadian. Unfortunately unit markings are not clearly visible, however the marking on the left fender does look like the Irene Brigade marking.

Most likely PIB too, although the Canadians were renowed for "liberating" equipment.

Hanno

[Rogier Peeters]

Originally Posted by Hanno Spoelstra

Rogier, either option could be true, though I would place my bets on it being with the PIB. Like you said, the picture was made two years after the vehicle stock list was drawn up. By that time the "F.A. Guy tractor" was replaced by the Ford FGT as we have seen here.

Hanno,

thanks for your comments. However the Standard Utility does not bear Irene Brigade markings, neither does the unit number '120' seem to be one of the brigade's units.

Does anyone have some thoughts on the Opel's rear body? It does not seem to be a standard cargo bay.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Rogier Peeters

The archive document I mentioned before lists Dodge 3 ton trucks as well.

Here's one being (un)loaded. Source: beeldbankwo2.nl:

Image number: 8728
Collection: Nederlands Instituut voor Oorlogsdocumentatie
Caption: Dutch forces in Normandy. A Dutch lorry being loaded on to a landing craft.
Image Date Period: augustus 1944

8728-hi.jpg