Armoured Fighting Vehicles in Latin America: An Introduction: Part 4

Armoured Fighting Vehicles in Latin America:

An Introduction: Part 4

By Paul V. Walsh

By the mid- 1960's the Second World War vintage equipment with which the U.S. had supplied the various Latin American nations through Lend-Lease and following the Rio T reaty was becoming increasingly difficult to maintain. As a result, beginning in the mid- 1960's, the final wave of U.S. AFV's. entered service with Latin American armies.

The range of new equipment included the Cadillac Gage "Commando" series of armoured cars, the M- 113 armoured personnel carrier, the M-41 light tank, which had been used by the Cuban Exile Brigade, the M-108 self-propelled gun and the LVTP amphibious armoured personnel carrier. Although they were all in service with the U.S. and allied forces in Vietnam, consistent with previous policies, the Commando, M- 113 and M-41 were all from the range of light equipment, which, presumably, was felt to be the most suitable range for conditions in Latin America.

AFV's. supplied by the U.S. during the Vietnam era.

(Sources for this table: Keegan 1979, English 1984, Olive 1986, Zaloga 1984 and 1987)
(a) = Represents the full order, which was not delivered.
(b) = 100 more obtained from an unspecified Asian country.
(c) = Second hand.
(d)= Obtained from Belgium.

AC = Armoured cars
APC = Armoured personnel carriers
AAPC = Amphibious armoured personnel carriers
SP = Self-propelled artillery

For markings on Brazilian M-41s, see Zaloga 1984, plate "F", for Chilean markings on M-41's see Allison and Allison 1979, p. 183.

The Fourth Phase: Indigenous Production and the return of the Europeans.

There were a number of factors contributing to the end of Latin American dependence on the U.S. for AFV's. The U.S. generally limited the range of equipment they were willing to offer, having in mind the limitations of Latin America in terms of the level of mechanical skill within their armed forces and transportation difficulties, as well as the need to emphasise counter insurgency operations.

Many Latin American armies found this attitude, at best, narrow minded and, at worst, condescending. The larger nations, in particular, resenting the fact that they were unable to obtain world class, heavy equipment, such as the M-48 "Patton" used by the U.S. troops in the Dominican Republic. They may have been justified in suspecting that U.S. influence was changing their armies into single sole, counter insurgency organizations and that the U.S. government did not trust them to posses heavy equipment which might be used in inter-Latin American conflicts.

There was also the question of the reliability of U.S. aid. It could be used as a leverage with which to interfere with intemal affairs, and would often be curtailed if the receiving country did something with which the U.S. disagreed (as was the case with Cuba in 1958, the Dominican Republic in the 1950's and Argentina in 1966). European suppliers, however, presented no such difficulties (though it is true that the Socialist Government of France halted delivery of AMX-30 medium tanks to Chile in the 1980's) (English 1984, p.l42.).

The other Super Power which has provided AFV's. to a select group of Latin American customers, however, has been the forrner U.S.S.R., of course, Soviet aid was exceptional, in so far as it usually came with the same political strings anached as U.S. aid.

Cuba First

The first recipient was, yes you've got it, Cuba, to this day Cuba has the largest and most experienced armoured force in Latin America. In 1987 it was estimated that Cuba possessed 900 x T-54/55 and 60 of the more modern T-62 medium tanks (delivered between 1975 and 1976), a few T-72 medium tanks, 60 x JS2 heavy tanks, a number of PT-76 amphibious light tanks, 200 x SU- 100 assault guns, and over 1,200 other AFV's, including the entire range of Soviet armoured cars and arrnoured personnel carriers (English 1984, p.205, Zaloga 1984-A, pp.25-26, Fermoselle 1987, p.473).

As Soviet equipment became available in larger numbers in the early 1970's, Cuba was able to form three armoured divisions of three tank regiments in each (English 1984, p.205). Aside from the Bay of Pigs, personnel from Cuba's armoured forces have gained tremendous experience fighting in the service of Soviet concerns in various African countries, particularly Angola, where Cuban "Advisors" have frequently clashed with South African armoured forces. It's interesting to note that, to prevent the depletion of Cuban equipment at home and to facilitate the movement of AFV's, Cuban personnel were often sent to Africa, while the vehicles they were expected to man were supplied directly from the former Soviet Union.

Following the installment of a left wing government in Peru in 1969, the Peruvian Army turned to the Soviets for new equipment (though not exclusively), obtaining 250 x (English quotes 350) T-54/55 medium tanks (English 1984, p.377). Although Soviet equipment has often been praised for it's simple, robust design, one eye-witness who observed the delivery of Eastern Bloc equipment to Peru between 1974 and 1976, noted that when the Soviet tank transporters broke down along the Pan-American Highway, as they invariably did, the tanks (he identifies them as T62's), would attempt to proceed onwards, only to break down themselves (Murray 1989, p.24)! Small wonder, then, that in 1982 Peru was forced to order 150 additional T-55's to replace those which had suffered irreparable mechanical failure (Zaloga 1984-A, p.31).

Nicaragua also began receiving Soviet equipment after the Sandinista Revolution of 1979, initially this consisted of 20 x T-54/55's, organised into an armoured battalion and 12 x BTR-60 arrnoured personnel carriers, which, as in the case of Cuba in 1959, served alongside the remaining Pre-Revolutionary equipment; 3 x M-4 Shermans, 6 x half-tracks, and 20 x T-17 armoured cars (English 1984, p.331).

By 1984 the total number of T-54/55's had risen to between 40 and 66, plus additional AFV's, including 28 x PT-76 amphibious light tanks, 8 more BTR60's, 26 x BRDM-2 armoured cars, and 63 x BTR-152 armoured personnel carriers (English 1984, p.472, Fermoselle 1987, p.438). Four years later the total had risen to no less than 110 x T-54/55's, 28 x PT-76's, 200 auxiliary AFV's (Bishop and Drury 1988, p.300).

The U.S. became so concerned with this relatively massive build up of armoured forces in Nicaragua (largely due to the operations of the U.S. backed "Contras") that during the joint Honduran - U.S. manoeuvres in April of 1986, known as "Big Pine III", 42 AFV's were included to test their usefulness as a deterrent against a conventional Sandinista attack (Farrell 1986, p. 19).

The last Latin American nation to obtain Soviet equipment was Guyana, which, by 1988, had received 60 tanks (T-34's, T-54's and PT-76's) and 65 other AFV's (Bishop and Drury 1988, p.292). With the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact and the Soviet Union itself, the flood of inexpensive Eastern Bloc equipment on the market may lead other Latin American nations to purchase former Soviet AFV's particularly as there is now no longer any political stigma attached.

Aside from the former Soviet Union, the principal European supplier of AFV's to Latin America has been France, which has sold equipment to Argentina, Chile, The Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Peru, El Salvador, Venezuela and Mexico (for the later see Messenger 1984, p.22). France began making inroads into the Latin American market as early as the 1950's with the AMX-13 light tank, 40 were sold to Peru in 1954, 20 to the Dominican Republic in 1959 and 40 to Venezuela sometime during the 1950's (English 1984, pp.226, 376, 450). France's wide range of Panhard armoured cars was equally popular in Latin America, but she also offered the larger nations her world class medium tank, the AMX-30, Venezuela purchasing 142 ofthese in 1970's, while Chile obtained 21 out of an order for 50 during the 1980's (English 1984, pp. 142, 451).

Second only to France is Germany as a supplier of AFV's and AFV technology, aside from providing technological assistance, Germany, for the most part, has sold a wide range of light AFV's to Latin American nations, beginning with the 15 HWK-II armoured personnel carriers delivered to Mexico in the 1960's. The UR-416 armoured car, in particular, has been popular with Latin American customers, El Salvador purchasing 20 in the early 1970's, Ecuador obtaining 10 in 1971 and Peru receiving no less than 228 in the 1970's (English 1984, pp. 240, 377, 407).

Among the lesser suppliers of AFV's to Latin America are some unlikely nations, the Swiss Mowag-Roland series of armoured cars, for instance, have been remarkably popular in Latin America, Argentina building them under licence (Keegan 1979, English 1984, pp. 31-32). Whether purchased directly from Switzerland, or from Argentina, they now serve in the armies and police forces of Bolivia, Chile, Mexico and Peru (Allison and Allison 1976, p. 197, Keegan 1979, English 1984, pp.80, 471, 377).

Austria has also sold AFV's to Argentina, and it may be through this connection that Austrian "Kurassier" tank destroyers were purchased by Bolivia and Uruguay (along with the tank destroyers, Austria sold 8 of her French AMX-13 light tanks to Guatemala in 1974) (English 1984, pp. 31-32, 80, 260, 429).

Israeli AFVs

One of the most controversial of the lesser suppliers of AFV's to Latin America is Israel, her military connection with Latin America, and particularly Central America, began as early as the 1940's when the ruling Somoza dynasty supplied the Jewish Independence Forces with a large quantity of rifles. Following the establishment of the state of Israel, the Israelis rewarded the Somozas with the sale of 45 U.S. built WWII vintage T-17 "Staghound" armoured cars (English 1984, p.329). In tum, the Nicaraguans appear to have been attempting to return the favour when, in 1956, they placed an order with Vickers for 20 "Centurion" medium tanks, only to have it cancelled by the British govemment, for fear that it was destined for Israel (Jamail and Gutierrez 1986, p.8).

It was after the fall of the Somozas in Nicaragua, however, that Israel became the major source of arms to a number of Central American states, principally Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. Israel was used as a proxy supplier of arms by the right wing in the U.S., as a means of circumventing U.S. Congressional restrictions. The only AFV Israel has supplied has been the R13V-I arrnoured scout car, having delivered 10 to Guatemala sometime between 1979 and 1984, and 14 to Honduras in the early 1980's (Jamail and Cutierrez 1986, pp.35, 50, 54, English 1984, pp.260, 286).

AFV Counterattack

In at least one incident, they have proved an effective compliment to a fast reaction force, when, in the early morning hours of the 29th of April 1983, a detachment of Salvadoran guerrillas attacked the Amatillo International bridge, that linked El Salvador and Honduras, two platoons of the 2nd Squadron, lst Armoured Cavalry Regiment, was ordered to the area.

The reaction force was equipped with 5 Israeli RBV-I armoured scout cars, two of these were armed with 106mmm recoilless anti-tank guns, the others being fitted out with machine guns, two jeeps were also armed with machine guns. Reaching the scene in less than an hour, the two platoons took up concealed positions, the Honduran infantry that had arrived earlier was pinned down by fire, as were the customs offiicials at the bridge.

As the guerrillas appeared to be massing for an assault across the dry river bed, the commander of the cavalry detachment, Captain Carlos Andino, ordered the 1st and 2nd platoons to deploy north and south of the road, respectively and to open fire on the guerrillas. The RBV-l's concentrated on enemy machine-gun nests, one round of 106mm destroying a guerrilla machine-gun unit held up in one of the Salvadorean customs buildings. Surprised by the heavy fire from the Hondurans the guerrillas soon withdrew and the customs post was relieved (Manzel and Said 1984, pp.l0-12).

Clearly with results such as these, the reputation of Israeli equipment in Latin America could only be enhanced, along with supplying AFV's themselves, Israel has also begun offering technological assistance in AFV construction. Mexico has received such assistance, while in Guatemala the Israelis have aided in the construction of munitions factories in Santa Cruz, Verapaz and Santa Ana Berlin, these have developed processes for the production of armoured plate and have produced an AFV known as the "Armadillo", reportedly resistant to guerrilla mines (English 1984, p.322, Jamail and Gutierrez 1986, p.59).

Non-U.S. sources of AFV's and AFV Technology showing the first year of contract. (Sources: English 1984, Keegan 1979 )

Production

The production of indigenous AFV's was another alternative to purchasing equipment from the U.S., not only did it offer the advantage of providing independence from any external supplier, but also the possibility of raising revenue through the export of ones own AFV's. As noted above, many Latin American armies experimented with the construction of improvised AFV's as early as the 1930's, while in 1942 Argentina began development on Latin America's first purpose built tank.

The flood of inexpensive war surplus material after the Second World War put a halt to further experiments with home-made armour, but by the 1960's, for the reasons outlined above, Latin American countries who possessed a substantial industrial base began to consider this option once again. The development of indigenous AFV industries in Latin America can be seen to have followed four phases, though the few nations which have embarked on producing their own vehicles have not necessarily followed each phase.

To begin with, there were attempts to upgrade existing stocks of AFV's, then came the partial assembly of vehicles with the assistance of European firms, followed by the full production under licence of European designs and lastly, the manufacture of original designs.

Given that the process of upgrading consisted of everything from a minor alteration to the complete transformation of a vehicle, it's not surprising that a fair number of countries have chosen this option. Colombia, for instance, upgraded it's stock of M-8 armoured cars merely by adding a TOW anti-tank guided missile launcher, while, because of the short life-span of the rubber treads of U.S. supplied half-tracks, the track assembly was removed and replaced with a set of rear wheels and a 106mm recoilless anti-tank gun was added for good measure (English 1984, p.l74, Zaloga 1985, p.64). In 1984 Venezuela announced plans to seek the aid of Spain in modernising it's fleet of French AMX-30 medium tanks (English 1984, p.474). Chile, on the other hand, produced a design for a half-track armoured personnel carrier in the 1980's called the "Alacran", which was based on components from U.S. half-tracks and as such it is difficult to determine whether this APC should be classified as an extreme upgrade or an original design (English 1984, p.161).

The most extensive program of upgrading older stocks of vehicles was, however, undertaken by Brazil, by the early 1970's the Brazilian Army began contemplating what to do with it's large stock of WWII vintage M-3A1 light tanks. Earlier they had upgraded their existing half-tracks and M-8 armoured cars by replacing their petrol engines with diesel models, exporting 12 of each of these vehicles to Paraguay in the late 1970's (English 1984, pp.103, 351). Now the Army enlisted the services of the Sao Paulo firm of Bernardini S.A. Industria e Comercio, specialists in the construction of safes and vaults, who had already produced a series of trucks for both the Marine Corps and the Army.

Assisted by the firms of Biselli, Novatracao, Moto Pecas and ZF do Brasil, Bernardini unveiled the prototype of the upgraded M-3AI, the X- I A in 1975 (Olive 1986, pp.39-40). While the original chassis was retained, the petrol engine was replaced with a locally built 280 hp Saab-Scania six cylinder diesel and the old turret was replaced with a new one, fitted with a French DEFA D-921A Fl 90mm gun. The Army was pleased with the results and placed an order for 80 vehicles, though according to Adrian English, only 50 entered service in late 1978 (English 1984, pp. 103-104, Olive 1986, p.40).

The same year that the X-1A was being delivered, Bernardini had begun testing an improved model, the X-1A1 "Carcara" (a Brazilian bird of prey), which received the military designation of XMB-1. The X-1AI had a lengthened hull and a redesigned suspension system. This led to the X-1A2 (military designation XMB-2), with an improved hull design and a new turret containing the EC-90 90mm gun, a local copy of the Belgian Cockerill Mk.3, made by the firm of Engesa. Production of the X-1A2 began in 1979 and concluded in 1983, with 30 in Army service (English quotes 150, perhaps the total of both models) (English 1984, pp.l03-104, Olive 1986, p.41).

Although Bernardini explored the development of a model with automatic transmission, designated X-1A3, it never entered into production. As with other modern tanks, the chassis of the X1A1 and X-1A2 served as the basis for a series of auxiliary vehicles. These included the Xl,P-10 bridge layer, which entered Army service and the XLF-40 rocket launcher, capable of launching 3 x SS-60 missiles, this only reached the prototype stage.

In co-operation with the Centro Tecnologico do Exercito (CTE) or Army Technological Centre, Bernardini developed the XM3-D1, equipped with an updated M-55 quad .50 calibre anti-aircraft turret, the XM3-BI that was a 120mm mortar carrier and the XM3-C1 an armoured recovery vehicle (Olive 1986, pp.42-43). It's not clear if any of these AFV's were adopted by the Brazilian or any other army.

Just as the upgraded light tanks were entering Brazilian service, the Army began considering the need to improve their heavier AFV's, the M-41, of which Brazil had received between 250 and 300 from the U.S. in the 1960's augmented by 100 more purchased from an undisclosed Asian nation, had an unreliable and rather thirsty engine, for which it was becoming increasingly difficult to find spare parts (English 1984, p. 103, Zaloga 1984-B, p.25, Olive 1986, p.43). In co-operation with the Army's Instituto de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento or Research and Development Institute, Bernardini developed a method of replacing the petrol engine with a locally made diesel model in a newly redesigned engine compartment. Testing began in May of 1978 and by December the Army approved the upgrade, so that, in February of 1979, they contracted Bernardini to refurbish all of thc M-41's in Brazilian service.

The first 20 of the improved vehicles, designated M-41 B, retained their original M-32 76mm gun, however Bernardini began experimenting with mounting a more powerful gun in the tank. Initially this consisted of fitting a Cockerill Mk.3 90mm gun, but this was turned down (The Uruguayan Army, did however re-arm the 22 M-41's that they had purchased second hand from Belgium in 1980 with the very same gun, perhaps with assistance from Bernardini ?) (English 1984, p.429, Olive 1986, pp.44-45).

Instead, the Army and Bernardini together transformed the M-32 76mm gun into the new Ca 76/90 M-32 BR-1 90mm gun (later an improved BR-2 was developed). Armed with the new gun, along with spaced armour and side skirts, the tank was redesignated the M-41C "Caxias" (aRer the famous Brazilian general of the War of the Triple Alliance) Carro Padrao or standard tank (the initial 20 M-41B were, in turn, upgraded furtheras M-41C's) (Olive 1986, pp.45-46).

There have only been a few cases of Latin American countries either partially assembling or fully assembling under licence European designs. The most prominent has been the experiences of Argentina. In 1966 Argentina was in the process of receiving an order of 50 x M-41's and 250 x M-113 from the U.S. when further deliveries were suspended in the wake of a coup. It was this experience which led Argentina to develop "Plan Europa", in which European firms in France, Germany and Italy would be enlisted in developing an indigenous arms industry. The first venture was the partial assembly of 40 French AMX-13 light tanks at the Fiat and Kaiser plants, out of a total shipment of 120. Next, Argentina acquired a licence to manufacture a simpler AFV, the Swiss Mowag-Roland armoured car. building 150 for her own armed forces and, possibly, an additional number of vehicles for export to other Latin American countries (Keegan 1979, English 1984, pp.31-32).

The first indigenous AFV designed in Post-War Latin America came from Brazil, even before their upgrading program was begun. In 1966 the Fabrica Nacional de Motores produced the Vete T-1A1 "Cutia" (a guinea pig like animal), this was a 3 ton tracked reconnaissance vehicle/armoured personnel carrier, armed with a single machine-gun and capable of carrying four soldiers, similar in design and function to the British Bren-gun carrier. That same year an armoured car designed by the Directorate of Research and Technical Education (D.P.E.T.), the VBB, made il's appearance, though, unlike the Cutia, which was produced in some numbers, the VBB did not progress beyond the stage of a prototype (Crow and Icks 1975, p.l27, Foss 1977, p. 11, White 1983, p. 18). It was another Sao Paulo firm Engenheiros Especializados S.D., or Engesa for short, who built up a tremendously successful armoured vehicle company ("Engesa...." 1979).

In early 1970 Engesa introduced the EE-l l "Urutu" (a Brazilian poisonous snake) Carro de Transporte sobre Rados Anfihio, a wheeled amphibious armoured personnel carrier capable of carrying 12 soldiers and a crew of 2. In 1974, production began in the Sao Jose dos Campos plant, with 150 entering service with the Brazilian Armed Forces (Foss 1977, p. 11, English 1984, p.103, Bishop and Drury 1988, p.112). As with other modern AFV's, the EE11 forrned the basis for a whole family of vehicles including an ambulance, cargo carrier, command vehicle, recovery vehicle, anti-tank and anti-aircraft vehicles.

With the help of the University of Sao Paulo, Engesa followed up the EE-11 with the EE-9 "Cascavel" (rattlesnake) Carro de Reconhecimento sobre Rodas armoured car, unveiled in late 1970 (Foss 1977, p. 11, Bishop and Drury 1988, p. 112). The prototype, the Cascavel Mk.I, was armed with surplus M-3A1 light tank turrets containing a 37mm gun. The Cascavel Mk.II was an improvement, having a Panhard AMI.-90 turret with a 90mm gun, but was reportedly only for export. The Mk.III, 120 of which entered service with the Brazilian Armed Forces, was armed with Engesa's licence built copy of the Belgian Cockerill 90mm gun in a redesigned turret, while the Mk.lV was equipped with an improved engine (White 1983, p.l8-21, English 1984,p.103,Bishop and Drury 1988,pp.58-59).

In 1977 the EE-17 "Sucuri" wheeled tank destroyer, armed with a 105mm gun was introduced and the following year the EE-3 "Jararaca" armoured scout car was unveiled, but it was the Urutu and Cascavel that remained the most popular vehicle for export, over 3,000 of them being produced by 1984. Within Latin America, at least six different arrned forces have purchased Engesa products, Chile obtained 30 x EE-9's in 1976, Bolivia received a delivery of 20 EE-9's and 10 x EE-11's in the late 1970's, Venezuela purchasing 30 x EE-l l's between 1983 and 84, both Guyana and Suriname obtaining Engesa vehicles in 1984 and Colombia purchased 200 Engesa AFV's in the late 1980's (Keegan 1979, English 1984, pp.80, 174, 270, 474). Outside of Latin America Engesa's equipment has been particularly popular in Africa and the Middle East, where they have seen operational service in the Iran-lraq War, the Gulf War and Libya's operations in Chad. Among the countries which have purchased AFV's from Engesa are Cyprus, Gabon, Iraq, Qatar, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates (Keegan 1979, Bishop and Drury 1988, p.59, Walsh 1991, p.5.).

( to be continued.)

Other Installments

Armoured Fighting Vehicles in Latin America: An Introduction: Part 2
Armoured Fighting Vehicles in Latin America: An Introduction: Part 3
Armoured Fighting Vehicles in Latin America: An Introduction: Part 5

Related:

Uruguayan AFVs: 1933-1995

US Army Secret Report: Cuba 1951 Army Effectiveness

Back to Table of Contents -- El Dorado Vol VII No. 4
Back to El Dorado List of Issues
Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List
© Copyright 1997 by The South and Central Military Historians Society
This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web.
Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com