- Yes
- No
Welcome to another suggestion, here we’ll be having a look at a Dutch wheeled missile carrier: the YP-408 PWAT.
The YP-408 originated not by request of the Dutch army, but by request of the Dutch federal police. These were looking for a replacement armored vehicle to evacuate high standing citizens like the royal family in case of war. Only 3 vehicles were originally meant to be procured. Responsible instances took up contact with Dutch truck manufacturer DAF to see if they could help with the design and production of these vehicles. DAF was willing to participate and chose their YA 328 truck as the basis for the design. An official agreement was signed in 1957 with the first vehicles being finished just one year later in 1958.
The armed forces of the Netherlands also intended to further modernize their forces in 1958 and immediately looked at the YP-408 as a possible contender for this requirement. Tests were undertaken in which the YP-408 was matched up against a US M75 APC. The latter was noted to be more adept to traversing soft types of terrain, while the YP-408 was more likely to slow down or get stuck in this terrain. A characteristic of course typical for wheeled vehicles. Nonetheless, performance was deemed adequate and a requirement for 465 vehicles was drawn up.
Further testing by the armed forces led to a significant amount of changes to the vehicle compared to the original model. The engine was swapped out for a more powerful model, which in turn lead to an upgrade of the whole drivetrain, changes to the frame and air intakes to fit the new engine, … . Despite this new engine, the vehicle was still deemed incapable of keeping up with the proper tanks in service with the Dutch at that time, at least while off-road.
The order had in the mean time been readjusted to an initial series of 250 with an option for another 50, preceded by a pre-series of 6 vehicles. The first of these pre-series vehicles was delivered in May of 1962 and almost immediately ran into severe issues with its armor. Finding a solution for this problem took another year, the first production vehicles went into trials in 1964.
After the initial production series, trials were held with the American M113A3, but it was deemed not significant enough of an upgrade to further strain logistics with an additional type of vehicle. Thus another order for 349 vehicles followed. Later another order for 151 vehicles followed, bringing the total number of produced units up to 750. The anti-tank version equipped with TOW missiles was conceived somewhere during the first additional order, although production versions of this vehicle wouldn’t enter service until 1975.
The PWAT (Pantser Wiel Anti tank - Armored wheel anti tank) was a variant of the YP-408 that had a mount fitted to fire the TOW anti-tank missile. This mount was fitted onto a hydraulic cylinder that allowed it to be extended and retracted. While retracted, two hatches could be closed on top to fully enclose the crew inside. Apart from the missile in the tube, at least 8 extra charges could be carried in the vehicle as reloads.
The vehicle would have a combat weight of some 12 tons, which in combination with the 165 hp engine, gave the vehicle a respectable power-to-weight ratio of about 14 hp / ton. Eventual top speed of the vehicle varied quite a bit between road and off-road. On the former a top speed of 82 km/h could be achieved, while off-road it was limited to around 60 km/h. Armor was supposedly somewhat better than on an M113A1, although the YP-408s armor is generally noted to vary between 8 and 16 mm in thickness, thus being a lightly armored vehicle.
Service of the YP-408s was rather uneventful. Some vehicles were handed over to Suriname after the independence of that country and some other were sold to Portugal. The vehicles were eventually replaced by the YPR-765 (local designation for the AIFV) between 1987 and 1988.
General characteristics:
- Crew: 3
- Length: 6.2 me
- Width: 2.4 m
- Height: 2.3 meters
- Weight: 11 - 13 tons
- Engine: DAF DS 575 (165 hp)
- Power-to-weight: 14 hp/ton
- Maximum speed: 82 km/h
Armament:
- 1x TOW anti-tank missile launcher
Place in-game:
The YP-408 is a fully unique and domestic Dutch design which has been mass produced and seen service in the Dutch army. With the inclusion of the Netherlands in the BeNeLux subtree, I really can’t think of any reason why this vehicle shouldn’t be added. The TOW version is one that would be very well suited to the game with its decent mobility and good anti-armor capabilities. I’m sure enthusiasts of the Dutch armed forces and enthusiasts of original and unique armored vehicles will be more than happy to see this vehicle join the game.