History of my WLA:
The KNIL officer who rode my WLA during the war time in Indonesia:
- Name: Bernard van Bronckhorst
- Rank: Landstorm Sergeant 2de klassse
- D.o.b: Poerwakarta, Indonesia September 13, 1904
He used to ride one of his WLAs to open the traffic for an armor vehicle (tank, panzer, etc.) during a road training for a new driver. He was a KNIL's mechanic who took care the motorcycles. During that time his main based was Cimahi or Bandung, West-Java, Indonesia.
He married with a local woman and has several childrens who still live in Bandung and Jakarta. This WLA was sold by one of his grand children, who then requested me to tracked down his grandfather.
Many thanks to the members of WWII Asia-Pacific forum who provide me with all necessary information, especially in finding his correct name.
Bernard was died on-board of Junyo Maru ship which torpedoed by British submarine on September 18, 1944 in south-coast of Sumatra, Indonesia.
Other parts of its history given by Tom Womack on March 31, 2003 as an answer to my query.
...Please find a small bit of information that I included in an article I wrote on Dutch armor in the NEI. You might also want to check out the entire article at the link I provided.
Harley Davidson Motorcycles:
The KNIL equipped its front-line and Home Guard units with a large number of motorcycles, including both solo machine and sidecar combinations. The bulk of these bikes had been purchased from Harley-Davidson and BMW.
They were primarily used for reconnaissance and courier duties in areas where motorized vehicles and jeeps couldn't penetrate the jungle.
A number were also converted into ambulances to carry wounded on stretchers attached to the sidecar.
At the time of Pearl Harbor, the KNIL owned 1,100 solo motorcycles and 450 more equipped with sidecars. Another 500 privately owned solo bikes could be immediately impressed for military use when war broke out.
Still, the KNIL estimated that it needed an additional 400 solo motorcycles to equip its expanding armored and reconnaissance formations.
The Dutch first attempted to place an order for these machines with Indian Motorcycle Company in the United States. However, the plant was backlogged and could not accept the order.
The N.P.C. then turned to Harley-Davidson, which accepted an increased order for 800 "normal Army Models" with spare parts, tires and tubes. 400 of these were scheduled to deliver in December 1941 under the Lend-Lease Act, although it remains unknown if any of them arrived before the fall of Java.