Yoda I know that it is mentioned in a book that it was exported to the Netherlands but I never found any proof of it so I doubt it.
Some hints come from US Report Japanese Monograph No.68 (
http://ibiblio.org/hyperwar/Japan/Monos/). This refers to another report [FONT=Trebuchet MS, Trebuchet, Verdana]
[FONT=Trebuchet MS, Trebuchet, Verdana]Infantry Board to the Chief of Infantry "Report of Test: Brandt 47mm Mortar, 17 July 1936" TMs, App.B, File 0878, Box 49, RG 177, National Archives and this below:
From: "Leland Ness" <Lsness@Comcast.Net>
List Editor: H-War List Editor David Silbey <hwar@comcast.net>
Editor's Subject: REPLY: Stokes-Brandt 47Mm Mortar
Author's Subject: Stokes-Brandt 47Mm Mortar
Date Written: 12/10/04
Date Posted: Sat, 10 Dec 2004 23:09:36 -0500 [/FONT][/FONT]Edgar Brandt is a fascinating individual. His first mortar, the 81mm
of 1927, is sometimes referred to informally as the "Stokes-Brandt"
because it built on the earlier Stokes 3" mortar of WW I. It, and a
companion 60mm mortar presented in 1930, remained essentially
unchanged throughout their production runs and into the 1960s.
His efforts in larger and smaller mortars, however, seem to have
undergone an almost constant series of modifications as he tried to
balance the requirements of firepower and mobility. His 120mm mortar
was shown in at least three configurations during the late 1930s. His
47mm mortar, at the other end of the spectrum, came in at least two
flavors. The initial model was essentially a miniature version of his
60mm, complete with bipod and sight. This version was tested by the US
Army Infantry Board in June 1936, but was rejected as being too heavy
for the "bang" provided. The photo you refer to, if it is the one I
have seen, shows something closer to what we would now call a
"commando" style mortar, with no bipod, the barrel being hand-held.
The only confirmed user of the Brandt 47mm was the Netherlands East
Indies. It was reported that Bolivia also used the 47mm in the Chaco
War, but I have found no confirmation of that.
The Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL) was legally an entirely
separate organization from the Dutch Army of the homeland, and they
bought their own equipment. So searching for KNIL weapons in the
Gander/Chamberlain book will turn up nothing. Similarly, the FactFiles
book on mortars does not mention it.
As to how many 47mm Brandt mortars KNIL received, that is unknown but
probably few. As you noted, the Japanese only captured five on Java.
In the autumn of 1940 (when Brandt products were no longer available)
the Netherlands Purchasing Commission in New York requested permission
from the State Department to place an order in the US for 270 Brandt
47mm mortars, but this was refused on the recommendation of the US
Army Chief of Ordnance, who did not want US industry diverted to the
production of non-US-standard weapons.
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