The YP-408 was a Dutch 8x6 wheeled armored personnel carrier developed and produced by DAF for the Royal Netherlands Army. It carried infantry under armor, used DAF's wheeled automotive layout, served with Dutch UNIFIL troops in southern Lebanon, and appeared in command, ambulance, cargo, mortar-tractor, anti-tank, and radar variants before replacement by the tracked YPR-765 family.
YP-408 designations used the Dutch Pantserwiel prefix for wheeled armored roles, with the baseline infantry carrier supplemented by command, medical, cargo, mortar, anti-tank, and radar configurations.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
| YP-408 PWI | Infantry carrier | Baseline armored personnel carrier and the most numerous configuration; WeaponSystems.net lists 429 built. |
| YP-408 PWCO | Command vehicle | Command-post version with a six-person crew, map table, and additional radios; WeaponSystems.net lists 179 built. Sources: YP-408 |
| YP-408 PWGWT | Ambulance vehicle | Unarmed casualty-transport version for two stretcher patients and four seated patients; WeaponSystems.net lists 28 built. Sources: YP-408, Materieel van toen: DAF YP 408 |
| YP-408 PWV | Armored cargo carrier | Cargo variant intended to move about 1.5 t of supplies forward under armor; WeaponSystems.net lists 28 built. Sources: YP-408 |
| YP-408 PWMT | Mortar tractor | Mortar support vehicle for the MO-120-RT towed mortar, with crew and ammunition carriage; WeaponSystems.net lists 86 built. Sources: YP-408 |
| YP-408 PWAT | Anti-tank vehicle | PWI conversion with a pedestal-mounted TOW launcher; WeaponSystems.net describes about 55 conversions. Sources: YP-408, Materieel van toen: DAF YP 408 |
| YP-408 PWRDR | Battlefield-surveillance radar vehicle | Reconnaissance/radar conversion carrying the Marconi ZB-298 battlefield-surveillance radar; WeaponSystems.net describes about 29 conversions. Sources: YP-408, Materieel van toen: DAF YP 408 |
The baseline infantry carrier used a heavy machine-gun armament rather than a cannon turret.
| Carried item | Item type | Carriage evidence |
|---|---|---|
 | Heavy machine gun | WeaponSystems.net identifies the YP-408 PWI's main armament as a 12.7 mm M2HB heavy machine gun in a one-person turret, while Dutch Defence describes the crew weapon as a .50 machine gun. Sources: YP-408, Materieel van toen: DAF YP 408 |
The anti-tank conversion was a specific YP-408 variant rather than the standard infantry-carrier fit.
| Carried item | Item type | Carriage evidence |
|---|---|---|
 | Anti-tank guided missile | WeaponSystems.net describes the YP-408 PWAT as a PWI conversion with a pedestal-mounted TOW launcher, while Dutch Defence lists anti-tank weapons among the YP-408 family roles. Sources: YP-408, Materieel van toen: DAF YP 408 |
Dutch Defence's Materieelgezien account places YP-408 development at DAF in the late 1950s, before the Royal Netherlands Army ordered an infantry-carrier version.
Army Guide and WeaponSystems.net identify 1964 as the service-entry period for the DAF-built YP-408 armored personnel carrier.
Dutch Defence's retrospective describes YP-408 vehicles being used in the 1970s during hostage incidents, including medical transport after the 1977 train hijacking at De Punt.
Dutch Defence sources state that white-painted Dutch YP-408 vehicles served with UNIFIL in southern Lebanon from 1979 to 1983, with 58 vehicles used by Dutchbat.
Dutch Defence describes the Royal Netherlands Army saying farewell to the YP-408 in 1987 as tracked YPR-765 vehicles took over the role.
Dutch sources place the YP-408 mainly in Cold War Royal Netherlands Army service, with the infantry carrier intended for mobile armored infantry work on roads and firm terrain. The same retrospective records domestic use during 1970s hostage incidents and a white-painted UNIFIL deployment in southern Lebanon from 1979 to 1983.
A 2014 Dutch Defence note says 58 YP-408 armored vehicles operated with the Dutch infantry battalion in Lebanon.
Army Guide lists YP-408 vehicles still in Surinamese service, while the existing image source documents a Suriname-marked vehicle.
Dutch Defence and Army Guide both connect the YP-408's withdrawal to the tracked YPR-765, which offered better cross-country mobility and a different infantry-fighting-vehicle role.
