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. Small arms. Grenades and grenade launchers. See also: Dutch hand grenades 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. Exact numbers of machine guns converted is unknown. Artillery. Fortress and siege guns. See 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. Vehicles. Tankettes. Carden Loyd Mk IV tankette - 5 tankettes used in Battle of the Netherlands Trucks. All numbers are for European part of Dutch armed forces. 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: 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: Escaped to England during Battle of the Netherlands: Captured by the Germans: 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: Task Force One (Doorman; off Paternoster Island) Task Force Two (Sunda Strait en route Singapore) NEI Submarine Flotilla (at Surabaya) Submarine Division 1 Submarine Division 2 Submarine Division 3 Submarine Division 4 Mine Service (at Surabaya) Minesweeper Division 3 Minesweeper Division 4 (at  Surabaya) Torpedo Division (at Surabaya) Aircraft. The Dutch before war have an extensive aircraft industry, but most of the aircraft produced were exported and not counted here.