DAF YA-314/324 Military Truck

Manufacturer	DAF
Production	1955 to 1965
Class	military
Layout	truck
Engine	Cylinder
Transmission	Four-speed manual

The DAF YA-314 / YA 324 was a military truck, that DAF produced for the Dutch army from 1955 to 1965

History 

In the 1950s, the Royal Dutch Army consisted mainly of vehicles of the Allies from the Second World War. The maintenance and supply of spare parts for the off-production original British and American vehicles has become increasingly a problem. In, 1951 DAF received a first order from the government for the amount of 175 million guilders. Total orders between 1951 and 1956 totalled 393,583,005 guilders for the delivery of three different types of military trucks, in addition to the YA-314 also the DAF YA-328 and the DAF YA-126.

The truck was basic the YA-314 had no power steering and no heating. In order to warm the cab, the bonnet placed between the seats had to be opened, so that the engine heat, but also noise and oil vapor could spread. The value of a vehicle was 25,000 guilders. 

The Series 1 DAF YA-314 was built from 1955 to 1960 and the second series YA-324 from 1961 to 1965. The YA-324, the chassis was slightly expanded, stronger leaf springs installed on the rear axle with modified shock absorbers front and rear. In addition, the YA-324 next to the speedometer and the level indicators next to the speedometer was illuminated and in addition to the tarpaulin structure, it was now also available with a closed metal structure.

Unlike the DAF YA-328 and the DAF YA-126, the DAF YA-314 and YA-324 barely got into private hands when it was retired from the Dutch army, which began in the 1980s. Probably due to the higher usability, the majority of the specimens landed in foreign armies. Many YAS 314 were scrapped and their front and rear axles used in the construction of containers. In the Dutch army, the DAF YA 4440/4442 was the successor model.

In total 4406 copies built. Later In the 1980s, the model series was replaced by the DAF YA 4440/4442.

Type designation

The type designations YA, YK, YF-314/324 were composed in the following manner:

• Y = military vehicle
• A = General,
• F = (fuel) tank vehicle,
• K = dump truck,
• 3 = payload in tons,
• 1 or 2 = series 1 or 2.
• 4 = number of wheels

Model Variants 

• General service, tarpaulin construction for transportation of soldiers or goods
• Toolset, box body with office equipment
• Radio service or reconnaissance vehicle with box body
• Workshop trolley with box body and winch
• Field kitchen vehicle with box body
• Tanker YF-324
• dump truck YK-314 tipper. With the advent of the YA-616 dump truck, the YA-314 dump trucks became obsolete. As a result, they were converted and instead of the tipper body, they received a tarpaulin structure of the YA-324 standard model with the advantage of higher payload now 4.5 tons.
• DAF YA-414 4-tonne version of the 314 which was only developed as a prototype of DAF, but was built under license from Pegaso.