(Updated 11/29/2025) In the late 1940s, DAF started the production of heavy trucks. Prior to the Second World War, the company was best known for their trailers and semi-trailers. But the Van Doorne brothers from Eindhoven also had an excellent reputation for developing and building all kinds of custom-made products, both for the civilian and for the military market.
When the Dutch Ministry of Defence asked DAF to build a stretcher carrier that could be handled by only one bearer, Hub van Doorne developed a new set of wheels. The end result can be seen in the recently expanded DAF Museum.
Both the track width and ride height are adjustable.
Now to some pictures from the factory brochure.
It speaks for itself that two bearers could do the job just as well.
The bare-bones commuter bike hasn’t changed much over the years.
Can someone identify the motorcycle?
It is said that a human test subject found the ride very comfortable, surely thanks to the carrier’s torsion bar suspension.
Writer’s note: upcoming DAFs will have an internal combustion engine.
More pre- and post war military DAF projects
That is incredibly well thought out. I’m sure there are places in the world where that would be useful even today.
That’s very clever engineering. Did DAF also make the bicycle or did they just use a universal rack attachment.
The bike itself is a standard product from some Dutch Acme Corporation.
I’ll put my money on the bike being either a Gazelle or Batavus, although it could be from one of a few smaller manufacturers. And you can still buy a new version of that bike from either of the above manufacturers today.
Quite right. You can still buy a very basic, durable, black commuter bike. Like the Union Curb below. As always, with a fully covered “drivetrain”.
Quite a fascinating contraption. Smallest DAF product perhaps, but not lacking in importance. Stretcher rides in wartime had a tendency to be as risky as battle itself.
The most notorious stretcher mishap in US history was undoubtedly after Confederate General Stonewall Jackson was wounded (by friendly gunfire) at Chancellorsville, Virginia in 1863.
Jackson was seriously wounded, and was evacuated through the woods on a stretcher, however he was rather badly dropped off the stretcher. He survived the gunshot wounds, but died days later, likely from internal injuries brought about by the stretcher mishap. Who knows how different US history would have turned out if that had not occurred.
…and there’s yet another intriguing CC aspect: learning things that you never knew before. Thanks!
Torsion bar suspension is what the modern stretchers should have today. I had an opportunity to ride one during the mock emergency exercise: they needed a few deaf people to test the communication abilities with the first responsers and medical officials. It was an eye-opening experience for me and for them.
The stretcher with smaller hard rubber wheels was so uncomfortable over the rough surface, especially the street with tar joiners or sidewalk with sections not at same level as each other. I could feel each and every jolt.
Ah! The first diffless DAF.
Setting aside all the trailers and semi-trailers they’ve built throughout the decades, the last diffless DAFs were the ones with a Variomatic-swing axle combination. Which means many of them.
Yes, kinda what I was getting at. Btw, I have never understood why that arrangement meant no diff, unless the weights and vacuum stuff somehow made the “inside” wheel in a corner turn slower by altering the pulleys (or the outside faster likewise)?
There’s an independent Variomatic driving unit on each side, basically. Not perfect for very tight cornering, though (inside-wheel-wise).
Later new DAF models, like the 66, had a De Dion construction with a diff.
Very interesting.
I can hear a heavily accented Dutch guy saying :
Are you ghert? Vell den, let’s get you to de ghospital ey?
It’s situated in Noord-Brabant.
More like: “Fons, breng me ‘s nor d’n dokter jonguh. Ik vuul me nie goed nie”.
My thought on the motorcycle: it reminds me of the Belgian FN from the early to mid 30’s. FN singles had the muffler on the left side.
Thanks Wolfgang, you might be very right. I don’t know anything about motorcycles, but the bike may be a tough nut to crack.
I just did a little bit of reading, I counted already 6 Dutch brands of motorcycles. Sparta, Simplex, Eysink, Gazelle, Cyrus and Batavus all made them in the pre-war years. Granted, most of them were light ones.
The number of pre-war European motorcycle manufacturers alone must be sheer endless…
Yes, there were huge numbers of motorcycle companies. Maybe you can confirm my hunch by looking into the military history. Did the Dutch military procure motorcycles from FN?
Are there any Dutch suppliers of 4 stroke singles with a vertical cylinder and the muffler on the left? That’s how I found the FN.
My initial hunch was Sarolea but they have the muffler on the right and no picture matched the silhouette of the machine in the photo. Same thing with BSA and other British bikes.
oh, the MadDutch answered this question already!
After a bit of googling i found a sharper picture of the motorcycle and its license plate N-8516. This motorcycle is, according to the sources i found a FN (Belgian, i think ) motorcycle probably a 350 or 500 cc.
This plate was used for different kinds of motorcylces in the Dutch army. First a Esyink with a gun mounted to its frame and later a BMW or BSA with this number. Later this bike in the picture got this number.
Nowadays license plates are unparted with the car or motorcycle. In the old days it was a personal plate. Starting with a area code. So in this case it starts with a letter N voor Noord-Brabant. The same province as DAF’ origine.
https://deautovanmnopa.nl/verhalen/met-de-motor-op-het-slagveld
Great work Dutch, thank you! FN it is, as Wolfgang already thought.
Another terrific & fascinating article .
-Nate
You guys are missing the British “Gormley-Bulsh Auto Stretcher”. It featured a unicycle wheel, and was designed for use by ambulatory patients who were skilled at riding a unicycle.
Needless to say, it was NOT a great success. But the “Flying Wallendas” used surplus Gormley-Bulsh unicycle parts for their high wire apparatus after WWII.
I will see if I can dig up a picture or two to show what they were like.
We use a single wheel strtcher for lifting injured off the hiking trails it does need 4 people ,one at each corner,but when the terrain is hilly or very rutted it works like a charm