Hello and welcome!
I am Nuyt and I am the owner and author/editor of this site.
This is a website dedicated to the research of military, commercial and improvised vehicles as used in the Netherlands East and West Indies before 1945.
The website derives its name from the so-called overvalwagens (literally “assault vehicles”). These armored vehicles were designed, built, and used in the Netherlands East Indies by the Dutch East Indies Army (K.N.I.L.) and its auxiliary forces (Stadswachten or Home Guards).
My ambition is to make this site a Kaleidoscope of military vehicles of the Dutch East and West Indies before 1945.
Why? Well, it has never been done before, while the Dutch former colonies’ history is full of interesting and unique vehicles. The East Indies, now Indonesia, were the territory of General Motors and Chevrolet products and variants unknown to the rest of the world. The West Indies (now Surinam and the Dutch Antilles) were Ford and Marmon-Herrington countries: home to many exclusively designed and built K.N.I.L. vehicles and conversions, delivered by these companies.
For those with any doubts: my aim is not to celebrate Dutch colonial history or to glorify K.N.I.L. The focus is on the research of (military) vehicle history.
A small word on the spelling of geographical names: I have mostly used contemporary (pre-1945) Dutch spelling of geographical names for practical reasons. So Surabaya is still Soerabaja when I am referring to the city during, for instance, 1941. Where there is no direct need to use contemporary Dutch spelling I will use the modern Indonesian names.
Few publications exist on this subject and to open it up a lot of research is still needed. In order to make this possible I have temporarily posted many pictures on this site to study and share the subject with as many other people as possible.
Of course, I did not take these photographs myself, nor do I own them. I have found them elsewhere on the internet or scanned them from (copies of) books or contemporary magazines. By doing this I hope to create a unique and dynamic forum for the research of former K.N.I.L. and related vehicles. If anybody objects to the use of his or her original picture, he or she should contact me.
On the other hand, much of the analysis and research work is mine (or somebody else’s where specifically stated). All texts in this publication are therefore internationally copyrighted from August 1st, 2004 onward by the legal owner of these pages.
But be welcome to quote and link from this site!
Kind regards, A.F. Nuyt