Argentina (1938-1952) Light Tank – 12 Operated Overview During the late 1920s, Vickers developed a series of export tanks which found success worldwide, beginning with the Vickers 6-ton or Vickers Mk.E light tank, and the Vickers Mk.C and D medium tanks. In 1933, Vickers offered a new model of a cheaper, machine gun-armed vehicle, known …
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During the late 1920s, Vickers developed a series of export tanks which found success worldwide, beginning with the Vickers 6-ton or Vickers Mk.E light tank, and the Vickers Mk.C and D medium tanks. In 1933, Vickers offered a new model of a cheaper, machine gun-armed vehicle, known as Vickers 4-ton, Vickers-Carden Loyd, or Vickers “Commercial” light tank, which saw use with Argentina, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, Belgium, Switzerland, China, and the Dutch East Indies.
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Vickers Development
Various variants of the original tank were developed. The first model was the Vickers-Carden Loyd mod. 1933, which was similar to the A4E4 Light Tank Mk.I prototype. It featured a cylindrical machine gun-armed turret, a leaf spring suspension with two bogies, and unlike its earlier counterpart, a sloped, relatively well armored glacis.
The Vickers-Carden Loyd mod. 1934 tank was a modification of the earlier 1933 model, with the main difference being the change in suspension type from leaf springs to coil springs, also known as Horstmann suspension. Argentina was one of two users of this type of model, the other being Switzerland, which also obtained a small batch of five mod. 1934 and one mod. 1933 tanks.
Colorized photo of a soldier next to a Vickers mod. 1938. Source: zona-militar.com. Colorization by Smaragd123.
Later, two other models were developed, the mod. 1936, which replaced the cylindrical turret with a hexagonal design, and the mod. 1937, which featured the same hexagonal turret with an export Vickers 40 mm gun. Belgium had a different variant of the mod. 1934, the T.15, which featured a conical turret armed with a heavy Hotchkiss M1929 machine gun.
Vickers Goes to Argentina
In 1935, the Ejército Argentino [Eng. Argentine Army] planned a series of military drills for October, which involved a motorized battalion, 30 trucks, 18 motorcycles, and an artillery battery. Due to good performances during the drills, on April 8th 1937, during the presidency of Agustín P. Justo, 12 Vickers-Carden Loyd mod. 1934 tanks were purchased from Vickers.
With 6 Vickers-Crossley and 12 indigenous HAFDASA Criollo armored cars, and possibly a single Fiat 3000, Argentina had some experience with AFVs during the interwar era. However the Vickers light tanks were a new type of fast, tracked armored vehicle, which Argentina had never used before.
The first six tanks arrived on May 25th 1938, while the remaining vehicles arrived June 7th on board the merchant ship Avelona Star, along with Schneider mod. 1928 105 mm, Bofors mod. 1936 75 mm, Oerlikon 20 mm, Skoda 76.2 mm cannons, and Chevrolet and Volvo trucks. The tanks’ serial numbers ranged from ‘V.A.E. 1991’ to ‘V.A.E. 2002’.
The twelve ordered Vickers light tanks together. Source: zona-militar.com
Name
The light tanks, like most Argentine equipment, have been known by various names throughout their service life. According to the official military technical manual, they were called Tanque Liviano Vickers Carden Loyd [Eng. Vickers Carden Loyd Light Tank]. They were also named Tanque Liviano Vickers Modelo Argentino 1938 [Eng. Vickers Light Tank Argentine Model 1938] in the Revista del Suboficial [Eng. NCO’s Magazine], after the year they entered service. For simplicity’s sake, the designation “Vickers mod. 1938” will be used in the article, which is a common pattern for Argentine AFV designations.
Design
Exterior and Interior
The Vickers mod. 1938 was a small light tank with two crewmembers, a driver and a gunner. From the front, it had a very sloped, thin glacis, interrupted by a square hatch for the driver’s position. It had two front headlights on either side of the tank, and the exhaust mounted on the right fender. The driver sat offset to the right, had a single vision device at the front, and two vision ports on each of his sides. To his left, a grill allowed air to enter the tank. It weighed 3.81 tonnes.
Full page front picture of the Vickers mod. 1938 N°2. Source: zona-militar.com. Colorization by Smaragd123.
The tank had a cylindrical, 86 cm tall turret with a machine gun mounted in a round external mantlet, with a semi-circular hatch for the commander at the rear of the roof. The commander had two vision slits at the rear, and one at the front. Ammunition for his machine gun was stowed to his left, behind the driver.
The tank was painted in the same standard dark olive green color as all Interwar British light tanks. Initially, an Argentine cockade was painted on both of the turret’s sides, but it was later reduced in size, with Ejército Argentino written above, and below Agrupación de Arsenales [Eng. Arsenal Group], in a circumference around the cockade. A yellow circle with a black number located on the lower right upper glacis and the rear of the turret identified each vehicle.
The interior of the Vickers with the driver’s hatch and front grill open. The ammunition bins and the engine can be seen. Source: “Reglamento de Descripción, Conservación, y Dotación del Tanque Liviano Vickers Carden Loyd”
Both Switzerland and Argentina purchased mod. 1934 light tanks. However, these variants were not the same. At first, the Swiss vehicles were only different by the machine gun’s mounting. While Argentine tanks mounted it offset to the right of the center of the turret, Swiss tanks mounted it offset to the left. However, the Swiss vehicles were gradually modified with a ball mounting for the machine gun, side skirts, a new machine gun, and a hemispherical cupola, while Argentine vehicles remained unchanged. Interestingly, even though the Argentine vehicles were in service slightly longer than the Swiss, they never received any upgrades.
Schematic of the Argentine Vickers mod. 1938. Source: “Reglamento de Descripción, Conservación, y Dotación del Tanque Liviano Vickers Carden Loyd”The Swiss Vickers mod. 1934, also known in service as the Panzerwagen 35. Note the difference in the mounting of the machine gun, as well as the side skirts. Source: Jakob Näf.
Armament and Ammunition
The Vickers mod. 1938 used the Vickers Class C/T medium machine gun, manufactured by Vickers Armstrongs Ltd. The model was common to most Vickers export tanks, however, the Argentine version was chambered in 7.65×53 mm, the round used in most Argentine rifles and machine guns of the time. It weighed 20.8 kg fully loaded, had a cyclic rate of fire of 550 to 600 rounds per minute, was fed by 250 round belts, and likely fired at a muzzle velocity close to the regular .303 model, which was around 750 m/s. Rounds were produced by the Fábrica Argentina Militar de Municiones de Armas Portátiles (FAMMAP) [Eng. Argentine Military Munitions Factory for Handheld Weapons] , and contracted to other countries, such as Belgium, for military use.
The Vickers C/T was water cooled and housed in an armored sleeve. Ejection was towards the front of the turret, and out of the vehicle. The cylindrical mantlet gave it 10° of elevation and 37.5° of depression. Its barrel was shorter compared to regular Vickers machine guns, and could be changed from within the tank. It included a conventional pistol grip, leather pads on the receiver for the gunner to rest his head on, and a large leather stock to control the weapon.
The Vickers Class C/T. Source: cowanauctions.comInternal view of the gun. Source: “Reglamento de Descripción, Conservación, y Dotación del Tanque Liviano Vickers Carden Loyd”
Vickers Class C/T (7.65×53 mm)
Projectile and Type
Velocity
Weight
Filler
Fuze
Penetration (100 m at 30°)
Normal (Ball)
~745 m/s
Unknown
None
None
Unknown
Cartucho perforante (AP)
~745 m/s
Unknown
None
None
Unknown
Luminosa perforante (AP-T)
~745 m/s
Unknown
Unknown
None
Unknown
Trazante luminosa (Tracer)
~745 m/s
Unknown
Unknown
None
Unknown
Trazante humosa (IT)
~745 m/s
Unknown
Unknown
None
Unknown
Reglaje-observación explosivo (HE)
~745 m/s
Unknown
Unknown
None
Unknown
From top to bottom: ball, armor piercing, armor piercing tracer, tracer, incendiary, incendiary tracer, and high explosive, respectively. Some of these cartridges were not made in Argentina. Source: old.municion.org
The gun was traversed manually, and it was linked to the optics. According to the Argentine manual, the optics had variable zoom with two magnifications of unknown power and a field of view of 17°. They also had padding, allowing the gunner to rest his head against the receiver, while leaning close to the optics for a good sight picture. The crew carried a device to reload the ammunition belts.
Internal view of the turret. The optics and traverse mechanism are visible. Source: “Reglamento de Descripción, Conservación, y Dotación del Tanque Liviano Vickers Carden Loyd”
Protection
The tank used riveted armor, classified by the British as C.T.A. bulletproof plates. It had a front glacis with a thickness of 9 mm at an angle of 70° from the vertical, giving it a line of sight thickness of around 25 mm of armor. The driver’s hatch had equal protection, with 9 mm of armor, while the lower glacis had 6 mm. The sides were 7 mm thick and the rear was 6 mm thick. The top and bottom of the hull had 4 mm of armor.
The turret had an all-around thickness of 9 mm. The roof and hatches were 4 mm thick. The driver’s vision port and the commander’s port were protected by bulletproof glass. Despite the weak armor, South America’s lack of heavy weaponry would have made the tank somewhat capable of withstanding fire from light machine guns, tankettes, and most other light tanks of Argentina’s neighboring countries. In its technical manual, the Argentine Army rated the armor as resistant to machine gun fire up to 300 m.
Mobility
The gasoline engine was a Meadows Type E.P.T., which officially, according to the technical manual, delivered 50 hp at 2,800 rpm, and was mounted offset to the right of the driver. It gave the light tank a top speed of 48 km/h, and an average of 30 km/h. At an average speed of 20 km/h, the operational range was 140 km. It had a power to weight ratio of 13.12 hp/tonne. It consumed 0.74 l/km of fuel.
The actual specifications of the engine are not clear. While Argentine sources provide a figure of 50 hp, British sources give anywhere from 55 to 88 hp. Swiss sources say that the engine had 80 hp. It is not clear whether these are different versions of the same engine, if the other engines were uprated, the Argentine tank had a weaker export version, the Argentine version was derated, or they were not the same engine at all. As the Vickers mod. 1938 manual states, it had an output of 50 hp, which will be the value used in the rest of the article.
The driver’s position. Source: “Reglamento de Descripción, Conservación, y Dotación del Tanque Liviano Vickers Carden Loyd”
The mechanical transmission was mounted at the front, with five forward and one reverse gears. The top speed for the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth gears were of 5 km/h, 12 km/h, 22 km/h, 35 km/h, and 48 km/h, respectively. Cooling was provided by a tube type radiator, which was behind the engine, and along with the rest of the refrigeration system, had a capacity of 16 l of water. Fuel capacity was 104 l, with the cap on the tank’s rear glacis.
It used a Horstmann suspension, with two bogies, two return rollers, a 40-tooth sprocket, and an idler for each side. Tracks were 24.13 cm wide, and 2 m long, with good ground pressure on soft terrain and a turning radius of 3.60 m. The Vickers could climb inclines of up to 25°, wade creeks 0.65 m deep, and cross trenches 1.5 m wide.
Service
Upon their arrival in 1938, the 12 Vickers tanks were sent to Arsenales Esteban de Luca [Eng. Esteban de Luca Arsenal], located in the Constitución neighborhood of Buenos Aires, under the Batallón Motorizado [Eng. Motorized Battalion], which was comprised of personnel from the Escuela de Infantería [Eng. Infantry School]. They formed part of the Comando de Arsenales.
To standardize the maintenance of the tanks, President Roberto Marcelino Ortiz signed a decree to create a regulatory technical manual for the Vickers mod. 1938 on October 6th 1939. In 1940, 1,500 copies of the Reglamento de Descripción, Conservación, y Dotación del Tanque Liviano Vickers Carden Loyd were made, and at least one has survived to this day.
Vickers mod. 1938 tanks during the July 9th parade. Source: militariarg.com
The tanks were involved in various parades and tests, the most notable of which was their first, the July 9th 1938 parade, where all of them were showcased at the end in four lines of three tanks each. The Vickers were shown off as part of the Compañia de Tanques [Eng. Tank Company] under Captain José Segundo M. Salinas, along with some HAFDASA armored cars. Then, they were trialed at Entre Ríos, testing their performance in rough terrain. The tanks could wade small creeks up to 1.2 m in depth and did not sink in soft terrain. It was noted however, that despite their good mobility, their armor and armament were lacking, and cooling was insufficient. At 5:30 AM, the tanks had a minimum temperature of 25°, and at 13:30, a maximum of 32° was registered. Captain Salinas recognized their value as reconnaissance vehicles for the Cavalry.
Their service after the trials is a bit more confusing. At first, in 1943, the tanks were organized in the Compañía de Tanques Livianos [Eng. Light Tank Company] and were under the Destacamento de Exploración de la 6ᵃ División [Eng. 6th Division Reconnaissance Detachment]. Some sources claim that the Vickers were distributed among the regimientos de infantería [Eng. infantry regiments] 1, 2, and 3. Other sources, however, say that six Vickers, the Crossley armored cars, and the HAFDASA armored cars were assigned to a company in the Dirección General de Materiales del Ejército (DGME) [Eng. General Directory of Army Materiel], while the other Vickers vehicles were in the Sección de Exploración de la Escuela de Infantería [Eng. Infantry School’s Reconnaissance Section].
Light tank N°3 with its crew. Source: militariarg.com
The light tanks saw service in the Compañía de Tanques Livianos until 1948, when they, along with the Sección de Autos Blindados [Eng. Armored Car Section], which was armed with Vickers Crossley armored cars, and the Compañía de Tanques Medianos [Eng. Medium Tank Company], were absorbed into the Batallón de Tanques [Eng. Tank Battalion]. In 1948, large amounts of European equipment arrived, including 120 Crusader tractors, 360 M4A4 tanks including several Fireflies, 379 half-tracks of various types, and 290 T-16 carriers. These would replace the previous equipment and modernize the Argentine Army. The Vickers were replaced by the various modified Crusader SPGs in Argentine service, in a new reconnaissance unit, the Grupo de Exploración Liviano [Eng. Light Reconnaissance Group].
The Crossley and Vickers vehicles were stored under the Agrupación de Talleres Fábrica General Paz [Eng. General Paz Workshop Group]. In 1950, an army inventory still listed the Vickers tanks, but not the Crossleys. By 1952, neither were mentioned anymore. The Vickers disappeared from Argentine records, presumably sold as scrap, although one was allegedly turned into a playground attraction. The tanks were in service for 14 years, far past their prime.
Conclusion
The tank was a much needed first step towards the serious mechanization in the geographical context of Argentina, as before it, the only vehicles available were old armored cars and possibly a Fiat 3000. Sadly, the tank was obsolescent on arrival. Its armor, speed, and armament were, in a wider context, inadequate, and it was soon relegated to reconnaissance duties. Despite this, it had a relatively long service life, only being phased out once more modern equipment arrived in Argentina.
Despite being a decent vehicle for late 1930s South America, where most AFVs were machine gun armed tankettes, many tanks from neighboring countries would have given the Vickers a hard time. Peru’s Tanque Ligero 38/39M easily outmatched the Vickers mod. 1938, with a decently powerful cannon, more than bulletproof armor, and double the amount of tanks. Bolivia’s Vickers 6-ton tanks, despite being thinly armored, would have been resistant against the Vickers C/T, and were equipped with a cannon which, despite being rather weak, was better than a machine gun for tank on tank combat. Chile and Brazil had obtained M3 light tanks throughout the Second World War, and Chile even had a conversion of a Carden Loyd tankette into a tank destroyer, using a 57 mm M18 recoilless gun.
A group of Vickers mod. 1938 tanks. Source: militariarg.comPeruvian Tanque Ligero 38/39M (LTP) tanks in 1938. Sadly, even on arrival, the Vickers tanks were outdated and outnumbered. Source: Jaroslav Špitálský via Rotanazdar.cz
While all of these tanks would have been a serious threat to the Vickers, the tank was merely a stopgap. Its largest achievement was giving a much needed push for the mechanization of the Argentine Army. Soon after, the Vickers would be joined by the indigenous Nahuel and Yacaré, and imported M4, Crusader Tractor, and T16 tracked vehicles. These AFVs replaced the various armored car models the Army had in service, and soon, the Vickers mod. 1938 themselves.
All that remains of the Vickers today are at least two of the Argentine Class C/T Vickers machine guns, “E.317” which can be seen in a video on the machine gun made by Ian McCollum’s Forgotten Weapons channel, and possibly “E.321” which was sold on Cowan’s auction house. Interestingly, it appears both were outfitted with a Boys anti-tank rifle’s bipod. It is possible that this was a modification done to them after the tanks’ scrapping, as the Vickers machine guns were still useful.
Tanque Liviano Vickers. Illustrated by David Bocquelet
Tanque Liviano Vickers Specifications
Dimensions (L-W-H)
3.62 x 1.89 x 1.88 m (11.88 x 6.20 x 6.17 ft)
Total weight, battle-ready
3.81 tonnes
Crew
2 (driver, commander)
Propulsion
Meadows E.P.T ,6 cylinders, 50 hp at 2,800 rpm. (36.77 kW)
Speed
Max speed. 48 km/h (29.82 mph)
Average speed: 30 km/h (18.64 mph)
Range
140 km (87 mi)
Power to weight ratio
13.12 hp/tonne
Suspension
Horstmann
Transmission gearing
5 forward
1 reverse
Fuel capacity
104 L (27.47 gal)
Ground clearance
0.327 m
Trench crossing capability
1.5 m
Armament
Vickers Class C/T 7.65 mm MG
Elevation and traverse
360° manual traverse, -37.5-10° elevation
Optics
Two sights of unknown magnification, 17° FOV
Ammunition capacity
Unknown
Armor
Hull: 9 – 4 mm
Turret: 9 – 4 mm
Communication
None
Production
12
Sources
Ricardo Jorge S. Fogliani, Blindados Argentinos, de Uruguay y Paraguay.
Ricardo Jorge S. Fogliani, Nahuel DL 43.
R.R.M. 62. Reglamento de Descripción, Conservación, y Dotación del Tanque Liviano Vickers Carden Loyd.
Due to long standing rivalries with the Republic of Brazil and, in particular, the Republic of Chile, over the control of the Patagonia region, during most of the Interwar period, the Argentine military was continually upgrading and rearming itself in case of war. However, Argentina was falling behind in the development of its mechanized forces. As a solution, Argentina developed its first tracked medium tank, the Tanque Mediano Nahuel Modelo Baisi 1943 [Eng. Nahuel Medium Tank Model 1943 Baisi], inspired by the M4 Sherman Medium Tank.
The Argentine “Big Cat”
In order to catch up to the rest of the world, in 1937, Argentina purchased 12 Vickers-Carden Loyd mod. 1934 light tanks which arrived in 1938, in preparation for future rearmament plans. These included the purchase of 160 Škoda tanks based on the TNH design. Due to Germany’s annexation of Czechoslovakia, however, these plans were halted.
During the following years, Argentina was sidelined by the start of WW2, isolated because of its policy of neutrality and the ailing health of its president. Between 1943 and 1944, Brazil began receiving military aid from the United States, procuring 3 M3 Half-Tracks, 81 M3A1 Scout Cars, 54 T17 Armored Cars, 437 M3A1 Light Tanks, 104 M3 Medium Tanks, and 53 M4 Medium Tanks. In total, Brazil received around 732 AFVs from the United States, vastly outnumbering Argentina’s armored fleet.
Alfredo Aquiles Baisi on top of the Nahuel. Source: infocampo.com.ar. Colorization by Smaragd123
As with the Vinchuca and its contemporary, the Yacaré, the Nahuel was named after an animal endemic to Argentina. “Nahuel” is Mapundugun for “jaguar”, or as it is known in Argentina, “yaguareté”, the only extant member of the Panthera genus in South America. It tends to hunt larger prey, utilizing the neck biting method utilized by other members of the Panthera genus, and also uniquely biting through the temporal bone of its prey, piercing the brain. They are also strong enough to kill smaller prey by clawing them.
While jaguars do attack humans, usually when they are old or injured, these attacks are very uncommon. Many sources call the Nahuel tank a “tiger”, but while they are related, it should be noted that the tiger and the jaguar are not the same animal.
The nahuel/jaguar. Source: animales.website
History and Development
In 1937, the Argentine Army bought 12 Vickers Carden-Loyd mod. 1934 tanks from Vickers to prepare for the arrival of Czechoslovak TNH-based tanks. Because the Czechoslovak vehicles never arrived due to the annexation of the country by Germany, these vehicles had to form the backbone of Argentina’s armored forces until 1944. They were assigned a new name, Tanque Liviano Vickers Modelo Argentino 1938 [Eng. Vickers Light Tank Argentine Model 1938” (these tanks were Vickers mod. 1934 tanks, however they arrived in Argentina in April 1938, hence the designation), and saw use along 6 obsolete Crossley mod. 1926 armored cars.
All of the Vickers light tanks in Argentine service. Source: zona-militar.com
The Army was in trouble, as it could not secure equipment from the Allied powers due to the Argentine military’s ideological proximity to the Axis powers, and especially Germany, and because Czechoslovakia was under German occupation and could not spare any production for Argentina. To strengthen the military, on October 9th 1941, with Ramón Castillo as acting President whilst Roberto Marcelino Ortiz was ill, Ley 12.709 [Eng. Law 12.709] was passed, which would replace existing vehicles with indigenously manufactured ones.
The law arranged the creation of an indigenous military industry under the Dirección General de Fabricaciones Militares [Eng. General Directorate of Military Manufacture], commonly abbreviated as DGFM. It was given control of military ordnance planning, mines to extract resources from, and the capacity to produce AFVs, small arms, and munitions. It would be responsible for the creation of the Nahuel tank, the Vinchuca troop transport, the Yacaré artillery tractor, the ALAM.1 machine gun, the FMK-3 submachine gun, the FARA-83 assault rifle, and the 75 mm and 105 mm Czekalski series of recoilless rifles.
Lieutenant Colonel Alfredo Baisi had been involved in the conversion of TD-35 tractors into Yacaré and Vinchuca armored vehicles in 1944, which made him, in the eyes of the Army, the strongest candidate to create designs for the nascent industry. In 1943, Baisi, along with Major Francisco A. Villamil and his team, received the task of designing a 35 tonnes medium tank, which was completed in 45 days. They built a wooden mock-up based on a TD-35 agricultural tractor, and a 1:1 mock-up, designated “251”, of the future Nahuel tank.
Two months later, the first Nahuel prototype was manufactured, “c.252”, turretless and missing its front glacis, and shown off to non-elected President Brigadier General Edelmiro Farrell, Navy Minister Counter Admiral Alberto Tesaire, and War Minister Juan Domingo Perón, future President of Argentina. It was driven by an artillery non-commissioned officer (NCO) with the surname Mutto, who had previous experience driving a Renault FT in France.
“c.252” being presented to the military. Source: zona-militar.com From left to right: Colonel Juan Domingo Perón, General Edelmiro Farrell, Lieutenant Colonel Alfredo Aquiles Baisi, and Counter Admiral Alberto Tesaire, on top of “c.252”. Source: Nahuel DL 43 A wooden mock-up of the Nahuel tank, based on the TD-35 agricultural tractor. Source: reportedebatalla.wordpress.com The 1:1 mockup, “251”. Source: Nahuel DL 43 Close-up of the jaguar painted on the side of the Nahuel. Source: zona-militar.com
It is impossible to ignore the influence the Sherman and the M3 Lee had on the Nahuel. At some point, Baisi and his team must have come in contact with the design of the early Sherman from other sources, given that it still had the original design of hull machine guns, a similar arrangement, and even a similar VVSS type suspension. Like the Yacaré and Ñandú, the Nahuel had an animal painted on the right side of its hull. The tank was designed for ease of manufacture, with the hull having mostly straight, simple shapes, while the turret and tracks were easily the most difficult parts to manufacture.
The effort to build the tanks employed around 80 different factories and establishments, with all three elements of the Fuerzas Armadas de la República Argentina [Eng. Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic] being involved in the development. The Air Force supplied the engines, which were licensed and modified Lorraine-Dietrich 12EB’s manufactured by Fabrica Militar de Aviones [Eng. Plane Military Factory] between 1931 and 1932 and the Navy offered its ship armor laboratory and the communication system, which Oscar Baisi, Alfredo Baisi’s brother, worked on.
Steel was provided by the Fabrica de Aceros Especiales [Eng. Factory of Special Steel], part of DGFM, in Valentín Alsina. Talleres Metalúrgicos San Martín (TAMET) [Eng. San Martín Metallurgic Workshop] manufactured the turrets in large dome-shaped ovens. The workshops in Ferrocarriles del Estado [Eng. State Railroads] were used to manufacture the turret rings, which were then sent to the Instituto Aerotécnico Nacional (I.Ae.) [Eng. National Aerotechnical Institute] in Córdoba for machining.
A cast Nahuel turret being lifted out of the ovens in TAMET. Source: zona-militar.com Nahuel tanks being assembled in Esteban de Luca. Source: Nahuel DL 43
Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales (YPF) [Eng. Fiscal Oilfields] produced the fuel necessary for the operation of the Nahuel tank. The chassis was built in the shipyards of the Ministerio de Obras Públicas [Eng. Ministry of Public Works] in Isla Maciel. The guns and ammunition were obtained from depots of the Dirección General de Material del Ejército (DGME) [Eng. General Directorate of Army Materiel]. Pedro Merlini provided the transmission. The assembly of the tank was done in Arsenal Esteban de Luca [Eng. Esteban de Luca Arsenal].
Company
Component(s)/Task
TAMET
Turret
DGME
Armament
FMA
Engine
Pedro Merlini
Transmission
Fábrica de Aceros Especiales
Steel
Ferrocarriles del Estado
Turret ring
I.Ae.
Machining
YPF
Fuel
Ministerio de Obras Públicas
Chassis
HAFDASA
Crew Armament
Arsenal Esteban de Luca
Final assembly
During tests on the Nahuel tank, it was tasked with wading a deep creek, and military authorities, concerned with possible issues during the demonstration, reinforced the river bed with gravel. As the wading was being performed, midway through the crossing, the Nahuel’s engine began to roar as it made its way through the river, before making it out of the other side. They were surprised as the Nahuel bulldozed its way through the gravel, bringing it to shore, but the vehicle’s capabilities were confirmed.
In 1944, the Nahuel was placed into production and was first shown off to the public in an exhibition on June 4th 1944 to commemorate the first anniversary of the 1943 coup d’état. Two of them were exhibited, although they did not have their engines since their transmissions were still being tested and finished at Arsenal Esteban de Luca. They opened the show in a spectacular fashion by firing their main guns and promptly scaring the spectators, who likely had never seen a tank before.
Almost a month later, on July 9th 1944, 10 of the finished Nahuel tanks were shown off to the public in a parade celebrating Argentina’s Independence Day. In charge of the parade were Major Salinas, First Lieutenants Warnholtz and Fernandez, and Lieutenant Campos. The lead tank was commanded by Baisi himself.
According to the newspaper “La Nación”, the tanks were escorted by motorcycles and left clouds of smoke and dust as they advanced. This is the likely source for the claims that the Nahuel’s engines were faulty or otherwise could not combust properly. While there are various pictures which seem to corroborate this fact, there are pictures of the tanks in movement without any smoke present. Explanations vary from some engines being in poor condition, the engines creating excessive smoke when accelerating, the street being covered in dust, on purpose or not, to the drivers showing off their tanks by performing burnouts.
A video of a Nahuel parading in Buenos Aires, kicking up a large cloud of dust. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7rOwlyZqgMThe June 4th 1944 Army Exposition. Notice the sign commemorating the coup d’état and the newly built vehicles. This is more akin to an exposition than the parade pictures which allegedly happened the same day. Source: zona-militar.com Higher resolution version of the poster. Source: reportedebatalla.wordpress.com Nahuel mod. 1943 number “c.121” leading the July 9th 1944 parade, being commanded by its designer, Alfredo Aquiles Baisi. Source: infocampo.com.ar A Nahuel mod. 1943, most likely taken during the July 9th parade. Interestingly, the parade has a Prussian style, however, the bird in the pedestal is not an eagle, it is a condor, a type of vulture that inhabits the Andes mountains. Source: reportedebatalla.wordpress.com
The parade was a success, and for his work, Baisi was congratulated in the Boletín Militar Público N°210 [Eng. Public Military Bulletin] on June 24th 1944, where his achievement of designing and producing a tank with no dedicated heavy industry and no documentation or blueprints to base himself off of was proudly celebrated. However, due to army regulations, he could not be promoted, and stayed a lieutenant general. The tank was also given its official designation, “Nahuel Modelo Baisi 1943” [Eng. Nahuel Model Baisi 1943]. This was to be read in front of troops, civilians, and workers, and it was going to be made public, added to Baisi’s file, and archived in the Dirección General del Personal [Eng. General Direction of Personnel].
In this bulletin, an alternative name for the tank is referenced, “Nahuel marca D.L. 43” [Eng. Nahuel mark/model D.L. 43], which implies that “D.L. 43” is an industrial designation for the vehicle. The song “Nahuel”, with lyrics by Carlos M. Smith and instrumentation by Alberto Cifolelli, was also published in it.
The name of the vehicle comes from the Mapudungun for “tiger”, a language used by the indigenous Mapuche people of Chile and parts of Argentina. According to legend, it was inspired by a comment of the Brazilian military. When an American attaché sought assessment in the possibility of Brazil invading Argentina, he was told “do not worry, the tiger is toothless”, and this information was allegedly intercepted by German intelligence in Brazil and relayed to the Argentine government. What is certain, however, is that during the June 4th exposition, military planes dropped flyers over the City of Buenos Aires, declaring that “we will have teeth, and they will be sharp”.
As for the “D.L.”, its origin is far more uncertain. There are two versions for its origin. In the first one, when President Farrell was presented the Nahuel project, he reputedly enthusiastically exclaimed “déle, déle nomás!”, an expression, seemingly usual from him, which is used as a very positive approval of something, with the implication of full support. The alternative is that it comes from the June 4th march, a musical composition, of the Revolution of 1943, which was composed by Colonel Blas Alfredo Lomuto, and repeatedly utilizes the phrase “vamos compañero, dele dele, a trabajar…”, translated as an order or plea to work. However, as the Arsenal Esteban de Luca is often referred with the initials D.L. in military records, it likely just indicates their origin.
The tank’s design would go through a series of modifications in 1947 to convert the vehicle into a more effective combat machine. The modernized Nahuel tanks have become known by various designations, such as “Nahuel mod. De Luca” (in contrast to the earlier “Baisi” version), “Nahuel Reciclado” [Eng. Recycled Nahuel], or “Nahuel mod. Sosa Molina”. In this article, it will be referred to as “Nahuel mod. 1947”, following Argentina’s AFV designation system at the time, but this name is unofficial and only for convenience, as even after modification, they kept the D.L. 43 designation marking on the side of the hull.
Baisi on top of “c.121” in movement. Source: zona-militar.com. Colorization by Smaragd123.
Alfredo Aquiles Baisi
Lieutenant Colonel Alfredo Aquiles Baisi was a second generation Italian immigrant born in 1902, son of Captain Adolfo Vincenzo Baisi, an officer in the Royal Italian Army, and his wife, Carlota Allende. His brother was Oscar Baisi, who entered the Argentine Navy.
Lieutenant Colonel Adolfo Vincenzo Baisi, father of Alfredo Aquiles Baisi, creator of the Nahuel. Source: Blindados de Argentina, Uruguay y Paraguay, Ricardo Sigal Fogliani. The epigraph describes Major Adolfo Baisi as the inventor of the artillery slide ruler (in Argentine service). Source: foro.aacvm.com.ar
Adolfo Baisi was born in the latter half of the 19th Century in Alvito, Italy. He graduated from the Accademia Militare di Modena [Eng. Modena Military Academy] and enlisted in the Royal Italian Army, being promoted to the rank of captain. Attracted by America, he emigrated to Uruguay, where he would work as a Professor of Mathematics, Greek, and Latin. When he arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Adolfo Baisi joined the Argentine Army and revalidated his rank as captain, working as an Artillery and Ballistics Officer, introducing mathematics and statistics into his discipline. In Cordoba, he met Carlota Allende, marrying her and having two children. He remained in the Army for years before retiring and ending his career as a professor in the Colegio Militar de la Nación [Eng. National Military College], with the rank of lieutenant colonel.
Lieutenant Colonel Alfredo Baisi. Source: militariarg.com. Colorization by Smaragd123.
Alfredo Baisi followed in his father’s footsteps, with the first recorded event of his career being his role as a military attaché for the Argentine Embassy in the USA. He introduced indirect fire into the artillery units, and designed the outfits for Argentine Army tankers and infantry in 1935. German influence permeated the Argentine Army since the early 20th century, determining political affiliations, weapons, uniforms, and parades, which reflected in his own choices for the newly-made uniform, which sported Stahlhelm-style helmets and tunics inspired by the summer Wehrmacht outfit.
Baisi’s power grew and he represented his country in the Inter-American Defense Board, created on March 30th 1942, with Argentina as a founding member. He held the position of director of Arsenal Esteban de Luca and Subsecretario de Industria y Comercio [Eng. Industry and Commerce Subsecretary]. He also became Interventor de la Dirección Nacional de Vialidad [Eng. National Traffic Direction Interventor], which gave him the task of examining documents, accounting books, and inventories to inform the Tribunal de Cuentas [Eng. Court of Accounts], which had the task of approving the DNV’s budgets.
The crew of a Vickers mod. 1934 wearing Baisi’s tanker uniform. Some tankers also utilized the regular mod. 1935 infantry helmet. There is a notable German influence in the uniforms. Source: foro.aacvm.com.ar The outfit designed by Baisi for tanker use. Source: militariarg.com
Baisi was one of the original founders of the Grupo de Oficiales Unidos (GOU) [Eng. United Officers’ Group] alongside Juan Domingo Perón, which overthrew Ramón Castillo’s presidency in the country’s second coup d’êtat.
By 1944, he held the rank of lieutenant colonel and had shown opposition to Perón, who was not president yet, in the decision to sever diplomatic ties with the Axis powers. This disagreement led to Baisi’s support of Colonel Luis César Perlinger, along with a few officers, in a power struggle with Perón for political leadership in anticipation of the next democratic period of Argentina. The incident led to the Peronist government to order his retirement from the Army in 1950, before he could be promoted to general.
During the next years, he was involved in scientific magazines as a publisher and researcher, developing a calculator for indirect fire for the Argentine artillery. He passed away aged 73 in 1975. He had one son, also named Adolfo Baisi, who worked as an engineer.
Production
One discrepancy between different sources is the amount of Nahuel tanks built. Nahuel DL 43 by Ricardo Jorge Sigal Fogliani, the main source used in the article, states that according to army inventories and Lt. José Javier de la Cuesta Ávila there were a maximum of 12 Nahuel and the wooden mock-up. Other authors claim there were 16 and Georg Von Rauch claims 23 tanks were produced. This discrepancy is likely due to the Nahuel’s later modifications making it seem that there were two series of tanks produced.
Design
Exterior and Interior
The Nahuel mod. 1943 closely resembled the Sherman, with some notable differences, mostly the simple design, with angled armor plates and a conical turret. It was painted in a shade of green with a reflective finish, and had numerous markings. Most notable is the jaguar drawing on the hull’s side, near the driver or co-driver’s position, depending on the side. Other markings included “Ejercito Argentino, Agrupación Patagonia” [Eng. Argentine Army, Patagonia Group] around the Argentine roundel, “Nahuel D.L. 43” below the jaguar, and the tank’s number at the rear.
The Nahuel had two headlights without frontal covers, and a second headlight on top of the turret above the loader’s position. There were three hatches, two for the driver and co-driver, and one for the commander. The driver/co-driver hatches had one periscope each and opened vertically, blocking the crew’s view while opened, while the commander’s hatch had a split design, but no periscopes. The hull had attachment points for tools on the sides, which included a shovel, an ax, and a pickaxe. The start-up crank was stowed on the rear of the hull, along with other equipment.
The interior was fully lit, well ventilated, and had heating available. The configuration for the crew was the driver to the left with a co-driver, who also operated the Madsen machine guns, to his right, and the three remaining crew, the loader/radio operator, the gunner, and the commander, in the turret.
“c.252”’s open hull. Source: zona-militar.com
The turret was capable of traversing 360°, engaged manually through a crank. Ammunition was spread around the base of the turret, and additional ammunition was likely stored in the hull. Externally, it had 4 towing hooks and attachment points for additional tracks in the rear. Measurements for the tank vary from source to source. For example, “Nahuel DL 43” gives a figure of 2.33 m for the width, although according to other measurements it seems to be closer to 2.63 or 2.65 m. Considering that the source’s drawing of the Nahuel is stretched vertically using the 2.33 m figure, 2.63 m seems to be the most reasonable width, similar to the Sherman’s. Likewise, the turret ring’s diameter has been estimated to be between 170 to 175 cm (67 to 79 inches) in size, which is close to a Sherman’s turret ring size.
The commander and the gunner were located on the right side of the turret. The commander had the only hatch in the turret, with a rotating periscope in front of him, the radio to his left, and a pistol port to the right. The gunner sat in front of the commander, and had his own fixed periscopic sight, which would be used to aim the cannon. The loader sat to the left, behind him was the radio, and to the right was another pistol port.
Close-up of the Nahuel’s turret. The text around the roundel reads “Ejercito Argentino -, Agrupación Patagonia” [Eng. Argentine Army – Patagonia Group]. Source: zona-militar.com Another view of the Nahuel’s turret.. Source: zona-militar.com
Main Armament and Ammunition
The Nahuel’s primary armament was the Krupp mod. 1909 L/30 75 mm cannon. These cannons were acquired in 1909 and 1910 as the Krupp mod. 1909 and modernized in 1923 as the Krupp mod. 1909/23. With this upgrade, the Krupp cannons received a modest modernization, with a new carriage and aiming systems. Around 516 cannons were obtained by DGME, with a lot of them still in their factory boxes and covered in their original cosmoline. Ten cannons were initially made available to Baisi for the Nahuel.
An Argentine Krupp mod. 1909/23 cannon in the Museo del Colegio Militar de la Nación [Eng. National Military College Museum]. Source: Recorridos zona-militar.com A Krupp 75 mm labeled as an 1909/23 model. Source: zona-militar.com
Due to the Krupp mod. 1909’s high recoil, it was mounted into the tank using 2 hydraulic recoil cylinders above and below the barrel, covered by the mantlet. It used a periscopic optical sight which was mounted in the gunner’s position in the turret, which the commander also had available. These optics were made by Carl Zeiss and were based on Goerz artillery sights, and were standard to all Krupp field guns. These sights had a 4x magnification and a 10° field of view. Their usage for both crewmembers makes sense, since they were not only used for aiming field guns, but also for spotting. According to the crews that operated the Nahuel, the optics had a tendency to lose zero due to being loosely fitted.
A Goerz sight used on an Argentine Bofors mod. 1935 cannon. Source: militariarg.com Soldiers spotting using the Goerz sight. Source: militariarg.com An example of the type of the Goertz sights used by Argentine artillery. Source: mercadolibre.com.ar The exposed recoil cylinders of the Krupp mod. 1909. Source: zona-militar.com
Information about the Krupp mod. 1909 is relatively scarce. It had a firing range of 7,700 m, a rate of fire of 20 rpm, a muzzle velocity of 510 m/s, and a shell weight of 6 kg for both Shrapnel and High Explosive variants. The shrapnel shell contained 295 steel balls, weighing 9 g each.
It was chambered to 75×278 mmR, for which there were High Explosive and Shrapnel shells already available. It is claimed that the Nahuel did not carry Armor Piercing shells, but since the Nahuel was intended to fight enemy armor, solid AP shells were developed. It is far-fetched to think that the project’s attempt to create a modern medium tank would not have considered such an important detail.
Krupp mod. 1909 L/30 (75×278 mmR)
Projectile and Type
Velocity
Weight
Filler
Fuze
Penetration (100 m at 30°)
AP
~510 m/s
Unknown
None
None
Unknown
HE
510 m/s
6 kg
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Shrapnel
~510 m/s
6 kg
295 x 9 g steel balls
Unknown
Unknown
However, Bofors mod. 1935 projectiles were interchangeable with Krupp mod. 1909 projectiles, due to Bofors being partly owned by Krupp and reutilizing elements from their designs. It is possible these AP shells were reused from the Bofors cannons. The Bofors L/40 mod. 1935 had the following projectiles available.
Bofors mod. 1935 L/40 (75×278 mmR)
Projectile and Type
Velocity
Weight
Filler
Fuze
Penetration (100 m at 30°)
GO (AP)
625 m/s
5 kg
None
None
Unknown
AEAT (Version 1) (HE)
~510 m/s
5.7 kg
547 g
Unknown
Unknown
AEAT (Version 2) (HE)
~510 m/s
6.35 kg
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
AEAT (Version 3) (HE)
510 m/s
6 kg
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
AES (Shrapnel)
Unknown
5.3 kg
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
It is worth noting that the Bofors was considered as an upgrade for the Nahuel. In 1951, the Czekalski recoilless rifle finished development, and due to cross-compatibility (the Czekalski used modified 75 mm Bofors shells), the ECH, a HEAT projectile, would be in theory usable by the Bofors as well.
Whether these were actually used in the Krupp cannons is unknown, although performance would have been different due to the shorter barrel. Similarly, the Matorras mod. 1945 75 mm L/13, a Krupp cannon modified into an infantry gun, was capable of firing 75 mm Bofors projectiles. The amount of shells carried by the Nahuel is unknown.
A 75 mm shrapnel shell for the Krupp L/30 cannon. Source: old.municion.org The bottom of a 75 mm Krupp shell. Notice the markings indicating that the round was nationally produced. Source: COLDOWN Left: A Bofors mod. 1935 shell casing. Right: A Krupp mod. 1909 shell, with an AP projectile. Source: COLDOWN
Secondary Armament
A Madsen 11.35 mm heavy machine gun was mounted coaxial to the gun. An unusual choice for a coaxial heavy machine gun, it was already used by the predecessors of the modern Argentine Air Force in their Curtiss H-75O Hawk fighters and Ae.MB Bombi light bombers. It was an enlarged version of the regular 7.65 mm Madsen machine gun, likely a belt fed and pistol grip version, but there were ground variants fitted with regular box magazines and spade grips. It had a cyclic rate of fire of 900 rpm, a barrel length of 750 mm, and a weight of 15.9 kg when fully loaded with 100 rounds of 11.35 mm ammunition. The Nahuel carried an unknown amount of ammunition for this machine gun.
A Madsen light machine gun in Argentine service. Source: zona-militar.com A spade grip Madsen heavy machine gun. The mounting appears to point to its usage in aeronautic duties. Source: zona-militar.com
Kynoch was the main manufacturer of 11.35×62 mm ammunition through most of the Madsen’s service history with the Argentine Army, but from 1940 to 1946, it was manufactured by the Fabrica Argentina Militar de Municiones y Armas Portátiles [Eng. Argentine Military Factory of Munitions and Firearms], which would later be integrated into DGFM. Two million rounds of ammunition were produced by FAMMAP, of which there were Ball, Armor Piercing, and Incendiary Tracer variants. The shells weighed 19.83 g, and they were fired at a muzzle velocity of 850 m/s. Using AP rounds, it had a penetration of approximately 20 mm of RHA at 10 m.
From top to bottom: Ball, Armor Piercing, and Incendiary Tracer varieties of 11.35×62 mm ammunition. Both Kynoch and FAMMAP produced these variants. Source: old.municion.org
Also fitted in the mod. 1943 variants were three glacis-mounted Madsen mod. 1926 machine guns, tank mounted variants with a belt feed and a pistol grip. The Madsen was a 7.65×53 mm Argentine light machine gun, with a rate of fire of 450 rpm, fed by 32 round box magazines at an unknown muzzle velocity, although the 6.5 mm version had a velocity of 870 m/s. Rounds were produced by FAMMAP, and contracted to other countries, such as Belgium, for military use. The ammunition types available were Ball, Armor Piercing, Armor Piercing Tracer, Tracer, Incendiary, Incendiary Tracer, and High Explosive.
From top to bottom: Ball, Armor Piercing, Armor Piercing Tracer, Tracer, Incendiary, Incendiary Tracer, and High Explosive, respectively. Some of these cartridges were not made in Argentina. Source: old.municion.org
In addition, the crew was provided with a number of .45 ACP small arms as self-defense weapons. These included Colt mod. 1927 pistols, Ballester-Molina pistols, and most interestingly, Halcon mod. 1943 submachine guns. These submachine guns were of good quality and comparable to the M1 utilized by the US Army. They were fed by either 20 or 40 round magazines and had a rate of fire of 600 rpm. The pistols were slightly modified copies of the Colt M1911.
The Nahuel’s most favorable asset was its strong armor. It was made from a strong, heat resistant, nickel and steel alloy, which due to the short production run was not a considerable drain on resources. The hull was mostly welded, but it had riveted areas as well, most notably the rear of the hull, while the turret was cast. This armor was falsely reported by US authorities to be salvaged ship armor or even scrap metal, but they were corrected by Argentine authorities.
The tank’s frontal protection surpassed its inspiration and rival’s, the Sherman. Sloped at 55°, the Nahuel had a very strong 80 mm thick upper glacis, giving it a line of sight thickness of around 139 mm. This thick front glacis was possibly inspired by the German Panther’s, which had the same arrangement. It was also an equally large downside, as the Nahuel’s suspension was considerably strained from the weight of the glacis, with the front bogies being close to full ballast.
The other exact armor thickness value known is the belly armor at 25 mm. The remaining values are speculative, since no measurements have survived. Based on analysis of photographs of the hulls during manufacturing and a side profile of the tank, the side armor seems to have been around 50-65 mm thick, sloped at 10°, while the lower glacis seems to have had a similar thickness, sloped at 40°. The roof was quite thin, most likely around 10 mm thick. The rear values are unknown, but the engine deck was sloped at 10°.
The turret’s front was 80 mm thick, sloped at 30°, and rounded due to its cast shape, which due to the overlapping mantlet, offered very good protection around the gun. The thickness of the turret’s sides, rear, and roof, as with the hull, are unknown, however, they were likely similar to the hull’s. The rear and sides of the turret were sloped at 15°. The tank’s vision ports were also outfitted with ballistic glass.
A Nahuel mod. 1943, showing off its strong upper glacis. Source: reportedebatalla.wordpress.com
Mobility
The automotive components were the hardest to manufacture of all of the tank’s components. The Nahuel had been tested with two different engines. The first, chosen for its production run, was the Lorraine-Dietrich 12 Eb W-12 radial aircraft engine, manufactured in 1930-1932 for use in Argentine built Dewoitine D.21 fighters, uprated to output 500 CV (493 hp) at 2,500 rpm, similar to the Continental R-975 used by the M4A1 medium tank.
The second was another Dewoitine D.21 engine, this time taken off non-Argentine manufactured D.21s, the Hispano-Suiza 12 Gb W-12 with an output of 500 hp. This option was rejected because it almost caught fire during trials.
A third engine was also considered, the I.Ae. 16 El Gaucho engine, which was a copy of the Wright R-975 Whirlwind 9 with an output of 450 CV (444 hp), however, it seems it was never tested.
The Eb 12 was water cooled and mounted at the rear of the vehicle. The radiator was adapted for the Nahuel by Colonel Bidone, with two exhausts wrapped in asbestos rope for safety, similar to the Sherman’s design. Also like radial engine Shermans, oil needed to be distributed to the engine through a hand crank to operate properly, requiring 70 revolutions, and it could be turned on with an electric starter after it was ready. The Nahuel had a respectable 14.28 hp/tonne ratio, which compensated for some of the drawbacks with the tank’s considerable weight and made it rather agile for its class, armor, and size. It had a range of 250 km or 155 miles, and could climb 30° inclines.
The frontal, hydraulic transmission was built by the Pedro Merlini company in Caballito, Buenos Aires, and had four forward and one reverse gears. The gear ratios are unknown, but it is possible they were also modeled after the Sherman’s, minus the fifth overdrive gear. The driver operated the tank using tillers.
The suspension was of the Vertical Volute Spring Suspension or VVSS type, with the front bogies noticeably stressed from the weight of the 80 mm front glacis. Per side, it had 3 bogies with 2 wheels each, a 12-teeth sprocket, 5 return rollers (3 of them attached to the bogies), and an idler.
One of the bogies of the VVSS suspension, along with a close-up of the tracks. Source: zona-militar.com
The tank had 76 links per track, designed by technician Juan Carlos Moreno, and they were the last part of the tank to be finished, due to the difficulty of their development. They visually resembled the Sherman’s T51 treads.
Due to its rushed development and the Nahuel’s heavy weight, the track end connectors had a chance to pop off, throwing the track, although this was only a problem at higher speeds and in sharp turns. However, this issue affected the tanks inconsistently. Sometimes, while cruising, it could immobilize nearly all of them, while at other times, the tanks functioned without any problems. This possibly points towards crew mistakes with the track tensioning, and it is worth noting that the Nahuel had two sets of connectors, one external and another internal. Another alternative was that the track’s teeth were too short and wide to engage properly with the sprocket.
TheLeft: the Nahuel’s treads. Right: T51 treads. The Nahuel’s treads seem to be reinforced to bear with the tank’s higher mass, compared to the Sherman. Source: reportedebatalla.wordpress.com and strijdbewijs.nlRear of the Nahuel, the idlers and engine deck can be seen. Source: zona-militar.com
Communication
The Nahuel mod. 1944 was outfitted with Telefunken-designed radios, manufactured by the Fábrica Militar de Material de Comunicaciones [Eng. Military Factory of Communications Materiel]. The communications system was developed by the Argentine Navy, assisted by Baisi’s brother, Oscar. The exact Telefunken model is not known, but one source claims that it might have been a “TRD” or a 5 Watt Sender with a Type A receiver.
The only radio models bought from Germany in 1938, the last major arms purchase by Argentina before the Nahuel’s development, which the FMMC could have copied, were not specialized armored vehicle radio equipment, as they bought Lw.E.a and Kw.E.a station receivers and Torn. E.b infantry radios.
What the source most likely meant is that it was either a Torn. E.b or a 5 Watt Sender with a Lw.E.a. receiver. The most likely combination used in the Nahuel would likely have been a Torn. E.b with a 5 Watt Sender, which was a common pairing in the Wehrmacht, as the Lw.E.a was used with a 1500 Watt Sender. When used in armored vehicles, the Torn. E.b was known as the Fu.G. 1.
“c.252” with controls and transmission exposed. The holes in the hull’s sides can be seen in the center of the photograph. Source: zona-militar.com A Lw.E.a set, the dimensions are visibly different from the Nahuel’s radio compartment, its length being at least double its height. Source: kriegsfunker.com A Torn. E.b set along with a 5W.S., the most likely combination utilized in the Nahuel. Source: la6nca.net
The Tornister Empfänger B was a radio receiver introduced in 1935, designed for foot soldiers of the Wehrmacht. It was a 4 valve radio (RV2P800 pentodes), used a 2 V and a 90 V battery, could tune to frequencies between 97 and 7095 kHz, and weighed 11.5 kg. It measured (L-W-H) 264 x 220 x 244 mm, and could receive continuous wave, tone, and voice signals.
The 5 Watt Sender was a radio transmitter introduced in 1934 and used along with Torn. E.b receivers. It was capable of operating in the frequencies between 0.95 and 3.15 MHz, utilized the vehicle’s battery, had a range of 36 miles for continuous wave and 10 miles for voice communication, and utilized 2 RS241 triodes. It was comparable to the SCR-284A set. Also present was an infantry telephone and an intercom for the crew utilizing photoelectric circuits.
An Argentine Torn. E.b set. Source: foro.aacvm.com.ar
Later Nahuel models featured the more widely known and tested Wireless Set No. 19. The WS No. 19 was a 15 valve transmitter-receiver radio designed in 1943 as a specialized AFV set. It utilized 12 or 24 V batteries, measured (L-W-H) 445 x 300 x 210 mm, weighed 18.2 kg, could operate between 2 and 241 MHz, and had a range of 16 km for voice and 24 km for continuous wave. This would be reflected by a second antenna mounting added to the turret.
A WS No. 19 Mk. III used by the Argentine Army. Source: militariarg.com
Service
Sources on the Nahuel’s history before 1947 are patchy, and as far as is known, the only service they saw was the 1944 parade, another parade on July 9th 1946, and a few small scale trials. It also seems that the Nahuel vehicles were assigned directly to the Escuela de Tropas Mecanizadas [Eng. School of Mechanized Infantry]. Due to the end of the Second World War, the Nahuel tank lost most of its purpose until 1946, when Colonel José María Epifanio Sosa Molina became the new Director de la Escuela de Tropas Mecanizadas [Eng. Director of the School of Mechanized Infantry].
The July 9th 1946 parade. The Nahuel tanks can be seen in the second picture, second row. Source: Recuerdo de mi vida militar
Col. Epifanio Sosa Molina proposed to upgrade the Nahuel tanks, which needed refurbishment and had some design issues to fix, for example, regarding visibility and ergonomics. This project would have taken economic resources and effort which the Argentine authorities were not willing to easily hand over to the military. Luckily for Molina, he was held in high regard, and his brother, General José Humberto Sosa Molina, who held the position of Minister of War, managed to get his project approved.
At Sosa Molina’s behest, the Compañía de Tanques Medianos [Eng. Medium Tank Company] was created in 1947, equipped with the Nahuel tanks and supported by the Compañía de Tanques Livianos [Eng. Light Tank Company], equipped with Vickers tanks, both under the Escuela de Tropas Mecanizadas. In Arsenal Esteban de Luca, under Coronel Emilio Bidone, the Nahuel began its modernization, including a variety of quality of life upgrades.
Col. Sosa Molina was in charge of the Compañía de Tanques Medianos, and under him was the jefe de compañía [Eng. company commander]. Below that, two jefes de sección [Eng. platoon leaders] each controlled a platoon of five Nahuel tanks, supported by a oficial de mantenimiento [Eng. maintenance officer], and an encargado de compañía [Eng. platoon sergeant]. Per tank, there were two NCOs, the driver and the commander, along with the gunner, loader, and hull gunner/radio operator. In addition, there were three or four mechanic NCOs assigned to each platoon, in charge of both communication and automotive maintenance.
In order to avoid bickering within the military, the officers chosen to fill positions within the Compañía de Tanques Medianos were chosen from the infantry, artillery, and cavalry wings of the Army. Infantry Captain Julio Alberto Cáceres was assigned as company commander, who had previous experience as a mechanic NCO. The platoon leaders selected were Infantry First Lieutenant Héctor Pedro Nan and Artillery Lieutenant José Javier de la Cuesta Ávila, who were joined by Cavalry Sub-lieutenant José Humberto Sosa Molina as maintenance officer.
Interestingly, the reason the platoons were only equipped with five tanks and not six is due to only ten Nahuel being in service. The remaining two were kept in reserve or for spare parts. The officers were given Studebaker trucks but soon switched them for five Willys MB trucks with numbers EA 001-005.
While the Compañía de Tanques Medianos was being created, Lt. de la Cuesta Ávila, who unlike the other officers was not taking vacations or in need of reassignment, met Director Sosa Molina, and assisted with the refurbishing of the Nahuel tanks.
The remaining officers and NCOs were chosen among the best from the School of Mechanized Infantry, with their first introduction to the modernized Nahuel tanks in February 1947, when three of them entered the School. They were fascinated by the tank and, keeping in mind that at best the only tank they had seen before were the Vickers tanks, immediately and curiously began to inspect and interact with the tank, before Cpt. Cáceres gave them orders to stop. Even this was not enough, as some of the crews snuck out during the night to continue admiring them.
Soon, the company adopted guidelines to regulate all of its activities and even used the “Nahuel” song as its march. However, there were no manuals for the Nahuel, and thus, the officers had to use their own ingenuity and material from Esteban de Luca and the Sección Reglamentos [Eng. Guidelines Section] of the School. The Section let SLt. Sosa Molina, Lt. de la Cuesta Ávila, and 1st Lt. Nan take documents, but, as the officers soon found out, they were written in English, which led Lt. Nan to take up classes in order to translate the material for the rest of the officers. Between the three, they divided their roles as instructors, each being in charge of different subjects.
1st Lt. Nan’s research, along with his knowledge of the Infantry’s tactics, led him to implement the leapfrogging tactic into the platoons, including the command vehicles into the developing doctrine. Lt. de la Cuesta Ávila was in charge of finding out the best way to communicate, mount, and dismount from the tanks, along with teaching how to fire the tank’s gun. It was then that another of the Nahuel’s weaknesses surfaced. The optic mounts had a tendency of loosening up and drifting off-target, so he also took up aiming the guns using their bore, which seemingly worked well.
Lastly, SLt. Sosa Molina was in charge of teaching the tank crews to drive. He had by far the most complicated task, as he soon discovered the Nahuel’s track-throwing issues along with the subpar visibility for the driver and commander. Two accidents followed. During the first, one of the Nahuel tanks, while in its testing track, drifted in one of the final curves of the track, destroying a truck that had been hastily parked close by. After that, under Cpt. Cáceres, one of the tanks, while trying to mount on its carriage for transport, accidentally hit one of the brake tillers, crossing the tank across the truck’s rear and almost destroying it, only saved by the truck driver quickly disengaging the clutch.
Since the Compañía de Tanques Livianos was meant to work alongside the Compañía de Tanques Medianos, various officers were friends with the officers equipped with the Nahuel tanks and they shared quarters. The Vickers tankers likely unofficially knew how to drive the Nahuel as well. Baisi’s uniform was adopted, along with a new insignia, which would sadly last only for a year, being seen as too gaudy by General Benjamín Rattembach. They utilized garrison caps, brown jackets, and eventually, adopted the use of helmets that resembled cycling helmets.
Colorized drawing of the tank pins utilized by the Compañía de Tanques Medianos. Source: Fogliani, Nahuel DL 43.
With most of the training finished, the Nahuel tanks were shown off to the public again in a parade on July 9th 1947, three years after the Nahuel’s last parade. First, however, they had to be taken to their positions the day before the event. The route was rather straightforward. The tanks would start off from the crew’s quarters in Villa Martelli, go through Avenida General Paz, a large avenue, and then make their way to Avenida Figueroa Alcorta before stopping in front of the General San Martin Water Treatment Plant. The path was for the most part without any curves, but there were fears that the tracks’ end connectors would fall off, so it was planned to stop the tanks to hammer the end connectors back into place every 15 minutes. This was not needed however, as the trip was completed flawlessly.
On July 9th, the tanks made their way through Av. Figueroa Alcorta and then parked in a street parallel to Avenida del Libertador. There were fears that the engines would not start up in time for the parade, so any tanks that could not move were ordered to stay in place. The parade began, led by “c.121”, commanded by Sosa Molina, followed by the ten remaining tanks, and escorted by three Jeeps. The parade was a success, with no mechanical malfunctions reported, and the tanks safely made their way through Av. General Paz back to Villa Martelli.
Two Nahuel mod. 1947 tanks on parade. Notice the modified hull and attachment points. Source: militariarg.com.
Up to this point, as far as is currently known, the Nahuel had been involved in two public parades and several smaller scale military trials, including driving and firing range training. This all led up to the Nahuel’s biggest challenge, the final trials of 1947. These included a long drive, a combat trial, and a firing trial.
For its first task, the Nahuel tanks had to leave Villa Martelli through Avenida Zufriategui, taking the National Route 9, and make their way to a plot of land on the outskirts of San Miguel, part of a Jesuit seminary. They commenced their journey the day before the trials were to take place and had one stop before arriving at the location, the Liceo Militar General San Martín [Eng. General San Martín Military Lyceum].
Sadly for the Nahuels, this first test was a failure. Only one tank arrived at the Liceo Militar in the first 30 minutes of the trip, while the other 9 took 6 hours, with the first half of the trip finished by 3 PM. After letting the cadets appreciate the tanks, the tracks were inspected and presumably fixed. The tanks arrived at their final destination in the afternoon. The Jesuits came to help the tankers with cleaning the tanks, and one of them, José Sponda, assisted the mechanics and even managed to drive the vehicle back and forth briefly. After that, they ate with the Jesuits and were sent to the Escuela de Artillería [Eng. Artillery School] to shower, an uncommon luxury for the crews.
The next day, the combat and firing trials took place. The combat trial was first, in charge of Lt. Nan and planned by Cpt. Cáceres, assisted by Major Enrique Oyharzabal Castro, who explained the exercises to the crews. The Nahuel’s biggest issue was visibility, since the tanks had to do the trials fully “buttoned up”. Nan and de la Cuesta Ávila, unbeknownst to Cáceres, came up with a cunning plan to fix this issue. Well camouflaged soldiers would lead the tanks, with other soldiers throwing smoke grenades to cover the battlefield. Once the tanks started moving, most of the officers watching the trials did not see the trick being played, except for Lieutenant Colonel Lorenzo Toselli, who decided not to report it. The tanks fired blank shots from their machine guns and gun, covering the battlefield with enough smoke that some drivers could also peek through the hatches unnoticed.
Next, under de la Cuesta Ávila, it was the turn of the firing trials, which were also to be done in front of a crowd. The Nahuel tanks had a simple task: enter the firing range, stop, shoot at targets, and then continue moving. However, due to the Nahuel’s unreliable optics that went off zero constantly, de la Cuesta Ávila gave each tank commander a mirror to let them use the tank’s bore as a sight. Toselli, again, thought that this was set up in advance, and the tanks were firing blanks, with the targets exploding on their own, but save for the improvisation with the aiming system, the exercise was carried as intended, and the crowd applauded the tanks after they successfully destroyed the targets.
A column of modified Nahuel tanks. Source: Nahuel DL 43.
The Nahuel tanks then returned to the Escuela de Tropas Mecanizadas, having “passed” the trials through some trickery and improvisation, but to the military authorities and to the commanders, it was an absolute success. However, even in its most glorious moment, the Nahuel’s days were numbered, as Sherman tanks first arrived in Argentina the same day, and soon would replace Argentina’s indigenous medium tank.
After the end of the Second World War, Brazil obtained a large amount of surplus equipment from the United States and Argentina found itself even more outnumbered in terms of armored vehicles. To remedy this, AFVs were purchased from Europe. On December 14th 1946, war material from the British Army was purchased for US$36.5 million from Belgium as “junk” to avoid the ongoing arms embargo placed on Argentina. This deal included 154 M4A4s, 205 Sherman Fireflies, 280 T-16 carriers, 379 half-tracks of various American designs, and 120 Crusader tractors, for a total of 1,138 AFVs, along with various other trucks. They arrived in 1947, and despite their classification as junk, some of the material arrived in perfect condition, with the T-16 carriers still in their original shipping crates.
The next day, the Nahuel tanks were stored in their sheds, and the crews tested the Sherman, with its handling familiar to the Nahuel’s crews due to their prior experience. According to its crews, the difference between the Shermans and Nahuels was the same as the difference between driving an old tractor and a modern car, as the Shermans were far easier to handle and had less design issues. The Shermans that arrived were either Fireflies or M4A4s, with some later purchases of the M4A3 type, which widened the quality gap between the tanks.
In 1948, the Nahuel tanks were transferred to DGME for storage along with some of the new AFVs imported for Argentina. Some made the trip under their own power. In 1959, General Manuel Ángel Ceretti overlooked the scrapping of the remaining 10 Nahuel tanks, and again, some Nahuel tanks were still in driving condition. Some pictures of their sad fate have survived.
A scrapped Nahuel with a tree trunk “barrel”. Notice the new attachment points, with added spare track storage and the improved use of space for tools and pioneering equipment. Source: zona-militar.com Another scrapyard Nahuel alongside Shermans. Source: militariarg.com
Georg von Rauch claims that President Juan Domingo Perón donated 2 Nahuel tanks to Paraguay in 1953 , but it was later proven that these were T-16 Carriers and not medium tanks. One Nahuel, “c.122”, was converted into a monument, with the front glacis removed. It was attached to the Grupo de Artillería Blindado 1 [Eng. Armored Artillery Group 1] in Campo de Mayo. The Grupo de Artillería was relocated to Curuzú Cuatiá in Corrientes, however it is unknown what happened to the statue afterwards.
The Nahuel monument in Campo de Mayo. Source: zona-militar.com
Modernizations and Variants
Nahuel Reciclado/Nahuel I mod. 1947/Nahuel Sosa Molina
By 1947, the aging Nahuels needed some quality of life improvements. They were in dire need of a refurbishment after continuous use, and by the suggestion of Director Sosa Molina, the tanks were sent back to Arsenal Esteban de Luca to get an upgrade to increase their battle-worthiness, with lessons learned from the late-war Shermans. This modification would be termed “Nahuel Reciclado” [Eng. Recycled Nahuel].
The hull underwent large modifications. Two of the hull machine guns were removed, the holes being either filled in or welded shut. A new vision block for the driver was added, which could be slid to the side to increase visibility. The open headlights, originally vulnerable to damage, were armored, with a slit for the light to come out from.
New hatches were added, articulated horizontally and vertically. This was due to an incident in which, during testing, an officer intended to ram a wall with a Nahuel tank and traversed the turret backwards to avoid damaging the barrel. However, the turret had a short bustle which blocked the hatch from opening normally. The upgrade allowed for increased awareness when the tank was not “buttoned up”, and made access far easier.
The turret was also modified, with the 11.35 mm Madsen coaxial machine gun replaced with another 7.62 mm Madsen, possibly for logistical purposes. The turret’s sides were provided with more attachment points for the tracks. Furthermore, the hull’s stowage was revamped, with most of the tools being stored at the rear of the tank’s sides, improving the use of space, and the middle section was converted to hold tracks. The characteristic jaguar drawing on the side of the hull was also removed.
Finally, the Telefunken radios were replaced with the purpose-built British Wireless Set No. 19 Mk. III, bringing communications equipment to a modern level, and this could be seen from the outside with the addition of another antenna mount in front of the old mount.
A Nahuel tank in 1947, with its new modifications. Source: militariarg.com
Nahuel with Bofors mod. 1935/Nahuel II
At some point during the Nahuel’s development, an idea was brought up to rearm the Nahuel with the Bofors 75 mm L/40 mod. 1935 cannon. This would have given the Nahuel a capable gun, equal in characteristics to the 75 mm Shermans in service, which along with the 1947 modernization would have made it even more front heavy than originally designed.
A small number of military personnel said in interviews that one Nahuel had been tested with the Bofors mod. 1935 cannon. However, it is thought that these are just barracks rumors, and no pictures or reports have surfaced of this up-gunned Nahuel.
Conclusion
The Nahuel’s misfortunes did not stop with the scrapping of the few tanks manufactured, as it has gone through a sad legacy, being largely forgotten by the Argentines and seen as an inferior Sherman knock-off by the international community. A lot of it comes from conflicting sources, misinformation, and the burning of the Nahuel’s archives, which led to it being relegated to obscurity and dismissal.
This is hardly a revisionist idea, as even at the time it had been the victim of the same mistrust and misinformation which led to its tarnished legacy. During the July 9th, 1944 parade, one civilian addressed the public and alleged the tank was made out of cardboard, to which one NCO had to prove it was made out of metal by banging the civilian’s hand on it. The United States thought it was made out of salvaged plates. Even the people in charge during its service seemed to underestimate its capabilities, which led to the Nahuel performing beyond what was expected of it.
Its combat capabilities were on paper adequate for the time, given that during much of the 1940s, its only real opponents were Peru’s LTPs and Brazil’s M3 Light Tanks, M3 Medium Tanks, and M4 Medium Tanks, which would have been either inferior or comparable in characteristics. The tank was not without its faults, however.
The Nahuel’s automotive reliability issues in the design of its tracks meant that it would have been better suited for use in the Pampas or Argentine plains and of questionable utility for an offense against Argentina’s neighbors. The limited visibility for the crew, especially the driver, was an issue during trials, although it was overshadowed by the far bigger problem of optics which could not keep zero, and its obsolete main gun.
The biggest issue with the Nahuel was not any of its intrinsic design choices, it was its production capabilities. The Nahuel project took a huge effort from Argentina to complete, it was not a tank meant for mass production, and it would have been costly to manufacture more tanks. The small amount produced could not match Brazil’s larger number of available combat vehicles.
On the other hand, its design was far from short sighted or antiquated, with the welded, simple, heavily armored hull and accessible transmission being advantages of its design. The crew had a large workspace, and the upgrades managed to ameliorate some of its biggest issues. It was also maneuverable and could keep up the pace with the Sherman tanks. The resulting vehicle was, on paper, a decent tank with a lot of potential for 1940s South America, and had it not suffered from political instability and unfortunate timing, it could have been upgraded to higher standards, as the platform had room for improvement.
The Argentines’ naivety, creativity, and ability to improvise was evident through its design, development, trials, and service. In the Armor School in Fort Knox, the Americans praised Argentine soldiers for their ability to improvise with the resources they had, receiving high scores among students from other nations, including Brazil, France, the United Kingdom, and others. Baisi, his design team, and later Sosa Molina, had built a medium tank comparable to the Sherman, in a country with no true tank building experience, and laid the foundations for Argentina’s future incursions into tank design.
There have been efforts to find an intact Nahuel tank that may have survived scrapping. The closest to a Nahuel in existence is a statue in Tecnópolis, seemingly modeled after it.
The Nahuel statue, currently located in Tecnópolis, Villa Martelli. Source: zona-militar.com
Special thanks to Ricardo Jorge Sigal Fogliani for providing bibliography, material, and information necessary to make this article, it would have been impossible without his help and research. And special thanks to Iván Dubaniewicz (COLDOWN) for assisting in the research of the tank’s components.
Nahuel I mod. 1943. Illustration by David Bocquelet with modification by Pavel “Carpaticus” Alexe. Nahuel I mod. 1947. Illustration by David Bocquelet with modification by Pavel “Carpaticus” Alexe. Hypothetical Nahuel II, armed with the Bofors 75 mm L/40 cannon. Illustration by David Bocquelet with modification by Pavel “Carpaticus” Alexe.
Lorraine-Dietrich 12 Eb W-12, 12 cylinders, 493 hp at 2,500 rpm (367.75 kW)
Speed
Roads: 40 km/h (24.8 mph)
Range
250 km (155 mi)
Power to weight ratio
14.28 hp/tonne
Suspension
VVSS
Transmission gearing
4 forward (1-2-3-4): 7.56, 3.11, 1.78, 1.11
1 reverse: 5.65
(Gear ratios from M4A1 Sherman minus fifth gear)
Armament
Primary: Krupp mod. 1909 L/30 75 mm cannon
Coaxial: 1 x Madsen 11.35 mm HMG (mod. 1943)
1 x Madsen 7.65 mm LMG (mod. 1947)
Hull: 3 x Madsen 7.65 mm LMG (mod. 1943)
1 x Madsen 7.65 mm LMG (mod. 1947)
Elevation and traverse
(Krupp 75 mm cannon): 360° traverse, unknown elevation
The Yacaré artillery tractor, the animal motif at the side is speculative, based on the few low quality images available. An illustration by AMX-13.
Argentina (1944-Late 1940s)
Artillery Tractor – 18 Built
Argentina’s Artillery Mover
The Ejercito Argentino sought to speed up the mechanization of its force during the later part of the Second World War. Acquisition of new foreign equipment had been impeded by the necessities of the countries at war, so the Argentine Army decided to take matters in its own hands, and devised a small family of armored vehicles, including an artillery tractor. It had modest success, but much like other armored fighting vehicles developed by Argentina during the period, it was relegated to being a parade vehicle, and would soon be phased out in favor of more modern equipment available once the war had finished.
Argentina found itself stuck in the middle of an arms embargo during the later years of the Infamous Decade of the 1930s. President Roberto Marcelino Ortiz sought to establish ties with the Allies, but his political isolation due to the fascist tendencies of the military led to the adoption of neutrality. As a result, in this period, there was an inclination towards diplomacy with the Axis powers and neutral states, such as Switzerland. Germany had long held influence on Argentina, especially in military terms, supplying its cannons since the 1890s, which helped strengthen the country against its regional rivals.
However, the Army lacked armored vehicles, being stuck with 12 obsolete Vickers mod. 1934 light tanks armed only with machine guns, along with 6 Criollo and 6 Crossley mod. 1926 armored cars. This led to the construction of a series of vehicles which included the Tanque Mediano Nahuel [Eng. Medium Tank Nahuel], the Vehículo de Asalto de Infantería Vinchuca [Eng. Infantry Assault Vehicle Vinchuca], and the Tractor de Artillería a Orugas Yacaré [Eng. Yacaré Tracked Artillery Tractor] in the 1940s. They were an attempt to modernize the mechanized forces of the Army, but also subjects of national pride and independence, experimentation in armored vehicle design, and attempts to industrialize Argentina further, which sought expansion from its old economic model, mostly focused on exporting agricultural products.
Yacaré artillery tractor “R 81”, June 4th 1944. Source: zona-militar.com
Unlike the Nahuel, another of Lieutenant Colonel Alfredo Aquiles Baisi’s designs during the 1940s, the development of the Yacaré is obscure, mostly due to the low numbers produced, without much information available. Instead, most knowledge of the Yacaré has been obtained through surviving pictures that shed some light on the design choices utilized by Baisi and the Army.
Like its indigenously-designed contemporaries in the Argentine Army, the Yacaré was named after an animal endemic to Argentina. In this case, the yacaré is a species of caiman, and while it is generally non-aggressive, it is also more than capable of harming rodents and other small prey, much like the artillery tractor that takes its name.
A yacaré. Like the rest of the animals in Baisi’s AFV family, the vinchuca (kissing bug) and the nahuel (jaguar), it can be quite dangerous. Source: infocampo.com.ar
History and Development
On February 20th 1938, Roberto Marcelino Ortiz was elected President of Argentina after presidential elections that were tainted by fraud, part of the Infamous Decade which had begun with the 1930 coup d’état. The conservative-supported president sought to reverse the political turmoil through the use of reformist policies, opting for neutrality during the Second World War and engaging in protectionism to strengthen the Argentine industry. His presidency was hampered by health issues caused by type 2 diabetes and distrust of his liberal tendencies from his conservative colleagues. In 1940, Ortiz left the presidency in the hands of his vice president, Ramón Antonio Castillo, who, while seeking a return to conservative policies, continued the industrialization supported by his predecessor. Ortiz resigned on June 27th, 1942 due to blindness caused by his condition, followed by his death less than three weeks later, on July 15th, 1942.
On October 9th, 1941, with Ramón Castillo acting as president, Ley 12.709 [Eng. Law 12.709] was passed, arranging the creation of an indigenous military industry under the Dirección General de Fabricaciones Militares (DGFM) [Eng. General Directorate of Military Fabrications]. It was given control of military ordnance planning, mines to extract resources from, and the capacity to produce AFVs, small arms, and munitions. It would be responsible for the creation of the Nahuel tank, the Vinchuca troop transport, the Yacaré artillery tractor, the ALAM.1 machine gun, the FMK-3 submachine gun, the FARA-83 assault rifle, and the 75 mm and 105 mm Czekalski series of recoilless rifles.
Baisi had already been involved in the conversion of a few unspecified agricultural tractors into Vinchuca armored vehicles, which made him, in the eyes of the Army, the best candidate to create designs for the nascent industry. In 1943, along with Major Francisco A. Villamil and his team, Baisi received the task of designing a 35 tonnes medium tank. Forty-five days later, the team built a 1:1 wooden mock-up, designated “251”, of the future Nahuel tank.
Wooden mock-up of the Nahuel tank, which is not “251”. Note the tractor’s suspension, which appears to be the same as the TD-35 the Yacaré is based on. Source: reportedebatalla.wordpress.com
The Yacaré appears to have been conceived around the same time as the Nahuel. Both the mock-up of the Nahuel and the Yacaré utilized the same model of tractor as a base, being the chassis chosen for experimentation by the Argentine Army, of which 30 models were imported. Taking into account the Vinchuca’s use of agricultural tractors for conversion into AFVs, it is also possible that the Yacaré was based on the design of the Vinchuca.
The modification of the tractor was carried out in the Esteban De Luca Arsenal in San Cristóbal, Buenos Aires, and according to archives 18 were produced, with known serial numbers “R 81”, “R 82”, and “R 83”. The Yacaré was revealed to the public in an Army Exposition on June 4th, 1944, along with the Nahuel. There are pictures available of the same Army Exposition where the Nahuel and Yacaré were displayed to the public.
However, there are sourcing issues with the date of the exposition, given that there are some misdated pictures of a parade that would have taken place on the same day. The Nahuel models shown in the parade are of a later type that lacked two of the glacis-mounted machine guns and featured a new vision block for the driver, introduced around 1947, during the first presidency of Juan Domingo Perón.
The June 4th, 1944 Army Exposition. Notice the sign commemorating the coup d’état and the newly built vehicles. This is more akin to an exposition than the parade pictures which allegedly happened the same day. Source: zona-militar.comHigher resolution version of the poster. Written in Spanish, the poster says “Exposition in the Plaza de la República”, “One year of the government work of the revolution”, and “Ministry of the Interior”. Source: reportedebatalla.wordpress.com
The reason for this mistake is the scarcity of images on both vehicles, as Nahuel pictures are rare, and those of the Yacaré even more so. The parade happened during or after 1947 and the modernization of the Nahuel tank. The Yacarés also participated, towing 20 mm Oerlikon autocannons. Interestingly, during these events, no Vinchucas were apparently present, which had most likely already been scrapped or modified into Yacarés before they were shown off to the public. These are the last known whereabouts of the Yacaré, as after this parade, they faded into obscurity.
Three Yacarés on parade, the date is often labeled as June 4th, 1944, but the correct date is around or after 1947. It was shown alongside the Nahuel and various Crusader SPGs in the same event. Source: zona-militar.com
Alfredo Aquiles Baisi
Lieutenant Colonel Alfredo Aquiles Baisi was a second-generation Italian immigrant born in 1902, the son of Captain Adolfo Vincenzo Baisi, an officer in the Royal Italian Army, and his wife, Carlota Allende. His brother was Oscar Baisi, who entered the Argentine Navy.
Lieutenant Colonel Adolfo Vincenzo Baisi, father of the creator of the Nahuel, Alfredo Aquiles Baisi. Source: Blindados de Argentina, Uruguay y Paraguay, Ricardo Sigal Fogliani.Major Adolfo Baisi, the epigraph describes him as the inventor of the artillery slide ruler (in Argentine service). Source: foro.aacvm.com.ar
Adolfo Baisi was born in the latter half of the 19th Century in Alvito, Italy. He graduated from the Accademia Militare di Modena [Eng. Military Academy of Modena], and enlisted in the Royal Italian Army, being promoted to the rank of Captain. Attracted by America, he emigrated to Uruguay, where he would work as a Professor of Mathematics, Greek, and Latin. When he arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Adolfo Baisi joined the Argentine Army and revalidated his rank as Captain, working as an Artillery and Ballistics Officer, introducing mathematics and statistics into his discipline. In Cordoba he met Carlota Allende, marrying her and having two children. He remained in the Army for years before retiring and ending his career as a professor in the Colegio Militar de la Nación [Eng. National Military College], with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
Lieutenant Colonel Alfredo Baisi. Source: militariarg.com. Colorization by Smaragd123.
Alfredo Baisi followed in his father’s footsteps, with the first recorded event of his career being his role as a military attaché for the Argentine Embassy in the USA. He introduced indirect fire into the artillery units, and designed the outfits for Argentine Army tankers and infantry in 1935. German influence permeated the Argentine Army since the early 20th century, determining political affiliations, weapons, uniforms, and parades, which reflected in his own choices for the newly-made uniform, which sported Stahlhelm-style helmets and tunics inspired by the summer Wehrmacht outfit.
Baisi’s power began to grow, and he represented his country in the Inter-American Defense Board, created on March 30th 1942, with Argentina as a founding member. He held the position of director of Arsenal Esteban de Luca and Subsecretario de Industria y Comercio [Eng. Under Secretary of Industry and Commerce]. He also became Interventor de la Dirección Nacional de Vialidad [Eng. Interventor of the National Traffic Direction], which gave him the task of examining documents, accounting books, and inventories to inform the Tribunal de Cuentas [Eng. Court of Accounts], which had the task of approving the DNV’s budgets.
The crew of a Vickers mod. 1934 wearing Baisi’s tanker uniform. Some tankers also utilized the regular mod. 1935 infantry helmet. There is a notable German influence in the uniforms. Source: foro.aacvm.com.arThe outfit designed by Baisi for tanker use. Source: militariarg.com
Baisi was one of the original founders of the GOU or Grupo de Oficiales Unidos [Eng. United Officers’ Group] alongside Juan Domingo Perón, which overthrew Ramón Castillo’s presidency in the country’s second coup d’état in 1943.
By 1944, Baisi held the rank of lieutenant colonel and had opposed Perón, who was not yet president, when he decided to cut diplomatic ties with the Axis powers. This disagreement led to Baisi’s support of Colonel Luis César Perlinger, along with a few officers, in a power struggle with Perón for political leadership in anticipation of the next democratic period in Argentina. The incident led the Peronist government ordering his retirement from the Army in 1950 before he could be promoted to general.
During the next years, he was involved in scientific magazines as a publisher and researcher, developing a calculator for indirect fire for the Argentine artillery. He passed away aged 73 in 1975. He had one son, also named Adolfo Baisi, who worked as an engineer.
Design
The vehicle was fully tracked, based on the TD-35 tractor produced by the International Harvester Company from 1937 to 1939, of which the Argentine Army acquired 30 units.
Two TD-35 tractors in front and behind a Nahuel hull in the Esteban De Luca Arsenal. Source: zona-militar.comAn International Harvester Company TD-35. Source: cfgphoto.com
The TD-35 weighed 4.785 tonnes, and the Yacaré was significantly heavier, at 8 tonnes. Unlike contemporary tractor-tank designs, the design was not crude, and it was composed of welded armor plates, indicating that it was not an improvised vehicle, and of superior quality to comparable designs, such as the Sutton Skunk. The only exceptions were the armor plates, which included the front grill, which were riveted to the side plates.
The suspension was also armored with a side skirt, the sides had ventilation grills for engine cooling, while the roof was open-topped. The absence of an exhaust on top of the tractor is noticeable, which indicates that it was either cut off or repositioned elsewhere. It was equipped with a trench-crossing roller in front of its tracks and two headlights placed in front of the machine guns, the same model the Nahuel used. Similar to the Nahuel, which had a jaguar design on its hull’s side, the Yacaré had a yacaré caiman painted in a similar position.
A colorized Yacaré. The drawing of the yacaré caiman can be clearly appreciated. Source: militariarg.com
For the crew, there was a seat for the driver in the center and two seats to the sides for machine gunners. It could tow an Oerlikon 20 mm L/70 on a two-wheeled trailer. It is possible it would have been able to carry heavier armament, for example, the Bofors 40 mm L/60, which had been available since 1938 and was shown off in the June 4th Exposition.
A Yacaré tractor with its towed anti-aircraft gun in the 1944 Army Exposition. The drawing of a caiman, a yacaré, with an open mouth can be seen at the side, near the engine grills. The trench crossing roller is visible in front of the tracks. The number is not clear, but it appears to be “R 81”. Source: Fogliani, Blindados Argentinos
Armor
The TD-35 was initially produced with a metal shell that would have provided inadequate protection for an artillery tractor, instead, the Army chose to upgrade it with a new armored hull, which gave extra protection to the crew and the engine. Unlike the earlier Vickers mod. 1934 tank, it was almost fully welded, and changes were done to enlarge the body of the tractor and widen it, with the tracks sitting below the hull. The front had a flat, exposed grill riveted to the side armor, with the driver’s cabin and the machine gunners being protected by a sloped sheet of armor, angled at 45°. This is where armor would have been the thickest, at 12.7 mm. This meant that at best, it had 18 mm of line-of-sight armor thickness, which would have protected the crew from small arms fire.
The sides were flat, with grills covering the engine area, and the side skirts were close to the same thickness. The crew was exposed, but considering the tractor’s role as an artillery mover, this was not much of a problem. The back was where armor was thinnest, at 5 mm or even thinner.
The entire up-armoring of the Yacaré, minus the machine guns, which weighed 10.5 kg, added 3.194 tonnes, which seems to confirm that the armor was no thicker than 10 mm. This did not protect the open front grill though, which would have been very vulnerable to enemy fire. Even so, the rest was merely shrapnel and small arms fire resistant.
Mobility
As the Yacaré was a modified tractor, it kept the same transmission as the TD-35, an International Harvester Torque Amplifier. The sliding gear transmission had 6 gear shifts, 5 forward and 1 reverse, with the five-speed ratios, in order, being 1.8, 2.3, 2.8, 3.3, 4, and for the reverse, 2.3. The tracks were relatively wide for a tractor of its size, 16 inches or 40.64 cm in width, decreasing ground pressure and allowing it to withstand the extra weight of the armor, weaponry, and crew.
The suspension and tracks of a TD-35. Source: pinterest.com
The engine was an International Harvester diesel engine, with 4 cylinders, 6.8 l of displacement, liquid cooling, 49.2 l of coolant capacity, and an overhead valve design. Its output was 42.2 horsepower at 1,100 rpm, with 37.09 drawbar horsepower, and it allowed the TD-35 to tow a load of 3739 kg, easily enabling it to tow the larger Bofors 40 mm L/60, weighing 522 kg, and the Bofors 75 mm L/40, weighing 1,435 kg. Even with the added weight of the Yacaré armor, it was an effective artillery mover for the Argentine Army’s needs, only struggling with the largest artillery pieces at their disposal, such as the Schneider 155 mm L/30 mod. 1928.
While the TD-35 was outfitted with return rollers, it appears to have had an unsprung suspension, which did not do much to help its off-road capabilities, and while the Yacaré’s could have been improved from the TD-35, it is rather unlikely that it was worth the effort. The power to weight ratio for a TD-35 was 8.82 hp/tonne, and the top speed would have been low, around 20 km/h. The Yacaré was heavier and the power to weight ratio would have been a rather poor 5.28 hp/tonne, lowering the top speed even further.
Armament
The gunners to each side of the driver were provided with one Madsen 11.35×62 mm machine gun each for anti-infantry use. The Madsens were already used by the predecessors of the Argentine Air Force in their Curtiss H-75O Hawk fighters and Ae.MB Bombi light bombers. It was an enlarged version of the regular 7.65 mm Madsen machine gun, fitted with spade grips and belt fed, as used in the Yacaré, but there were variants fitted with regular box magazines.
A spade grip Madsen heavy machine gun. The mounting appears to point to its usage in aeronautic duties. Source: zona-militar.com
The 11.35 mm Madsen machine guns gave the Yacaré a limited anti-tank capability. Nonetheless, they were helpful against the limited armored forces of Argentina’s neighboring countries, of which the only tank that offered enough protection from the Madsen at all ranges at the time was the LTP in use in Peru. It had a cyclic rate of fire of 900 rpm, a barrel length of 750 mm, and a weight of 15.9 kg when fully loaded with 100 rounds of 11.35 mm ammunition.
Kynoch was the main manufacturer of 11.35×62 mm ammunition through most of the Madsen’s service history with the Argentine Army, but from 1940 to 1946, it was manufactured by the Fabrica Argentina Militar de Municiones y Armas Portátiles [Eng. Argentine Military Factory of Munitions and Firearms], which would later be integrated into DGFM. Two million rounds of ammunition were produced by FAMMAP, of which there were Ball, Armor Piercing, and Incendiary Tracer variants. The shells weighed 19.83 g, and they were fired at a muzzle velocity of 850 m/s. Using AP rounds, it had a penetration of approximately 20 mm of RHA at 10 m.
From top to bottom: Ball, Armor Piercing, and Incendiary Tracer varieties of 11.35×62 mm ammunition. Both Kynoch and FAMMAP produced these variants. Source: old.municion.org
Madsen HMG (11.35×62 mm)
Projectile and Type
Velocity
Weight
Filler
Fuze
Penetration (10 m at 0°)
Ball
~850 m/s
19.76 g
None
None
Unknown
AP
850 m/s
19.83 g
None
None
20 mm
I-T
~850 m/s
19.76 g
5.76 g
None
Unknown
The Oerlikon 20 mm L/70 mod. 1938, the only artillery piece seen towed by the Yacaré in pictures, can easily be confused with the Bofors 40 mm L/60 mod. 38 also obtained around the same time, but the 20 mm cannon was much smaller and manned by one crew member instead of two. Switzerland donated 175 cannons to Argentina, which were of the earlier Oerlikon SS variety. Strangely, the only images in this time period of the Oerlikon that have survived were the ones in which it was towed by the Yacaré.
The most detailed picture currently available of the 20 mm Oerlikon in Argentine service. Source: zona-militar.com
Chambered in 20×110 mm RB Oerlikon, the gun had a cyclic rate of fire of 450 rpm, weighed 68.04 kg, and had a muzzle velocity of 820 m/s. While ammunition was produced by Argentina for the cannon, it was only produced from 1972 onwards, so all rounds utilized in the 1940s were foreign-made. Due to the Allied embargo put in effect against Argentina, the sources of ammunition were either Swiss or German. It is possible armor-piercing rounds were provided, and the projectiles weighed between 232 and 250 g.
Representation of a Swiss HE 20×110 mm RB round. Source: deviantart.com/claveworksGerman 20×110 mm shells. The round in the bottom seems very similar to the Swiss round. Source: ordnanceandmilitaria.com
Vinchuca
Before the Nahuel and the Yacaré were completed, a predecessor was designed, also built by Baisi, the Vehículo de Asalto de Infantería Vinchuca [Eng. Infantry Assault Vehicle Vinchuca]. It followed the same idea as the Yacaré, designed as an infantry carrier based on an agricultural tractor. Sources vary on the model of tractor utilized, with candidates being “English tractors”, the TD-35, or impossibly, the Nahuel chassis, which at the very least would not be manufactured until two years later. Due to the TD-35’s use as a Nahuel mock-up, it was likely the tractor model used as a base. Other rumors suggest that it was equipped with the same Madsen machine guns, or even mounted the Oerlikon 20 mm.
No images seem to have remained of the Vinchuca, but there is an outlier to the 18 Yacarés manufactured. Unlike the rest of the Yacarés, “R 83” does not appear to have headlights, Madsen machine guns, or the yacaré painted on its side. Whether it was still ongoing construction or not is unknown, but as its serial number and the Argentine roundel were already painted on, the lack of any animal appears to point towards being an earlier version, possibly even a prototype Yacaré or a Vinchuca awaiting conversion into a Yacaré.
Yacaré number “R 83” in construction. The Madsen machine guns, headlights, roller, and the Yacaré painted on the side are missing. Note the number was moved to the upper part of the front plate. Source: militariarg.com
Conclusion
The Yacaré did not survive for long, as it was discarded in favor of newer, more powerful M4 High Speed Tractors purchased extremely cheaply by Argentina after the Second World War. It was a step in the right direction for a nation that did not have an industry strong enough to manufacture more modern equipment, and for all its faults, it was a worthy effort, although overshadowed by the more successful and recognized Nahuel.
Unfortunately, the brief period of stability in the country could not last, and with Baisi stepping away from his role in AFV design, the following years, further affected by Juan Domingo Perón’s lack of experience with industrialization and protectionism, led to an early death for the Argentine tank industry. It would be decades later, in the 1960s, when Argentina picked up the idea of building indigenous AFVs again, and even more time would have to pass until Argentina began the construction of vehicles capable of moving artillery, with the TAM VCA built in 1990.
The M4 High Speed Tractor in Argentine service. It was large, it could carry the anti-air M1A1 90 mm cannon, and it replaced the Yacaré in the artillery tractor role. Source: militariarg.com
There are no records of the Yacaré’s performance or its use apart from the publicly shown parades and expositions, but from what information is available, it most likely fulfilled its role well, being able to move the artillery pieces and anti-tank guns the Argentine Army had at its disposal at the time effectively. However, the mobility issues from the up-armoring and the underpowered engine would have made its use complicated for the Army. In addition, it might not have been able to carry its own ammunition, and might have been unable to carry additional crew if it had to tow any cannon other than the Oerlikon. The Oerlikon 20 mm cannons saw use far after being taken out of Swiss service, with Argentine 20×110 mm RB ammunition being manufactured as late as 1981.
The Yacaré artillery tractor, the animal motif at the side is speculative, based on the few low-quality images available. An illustration by AMX-13.
Argentine AMX-13s with 105 mm cannons. Source: zona-militar.com
However, before Plan Europa, another fully indigenous tank project sprang into existence, the Alvarez Condarco tank. Although brief, possibly less than five years, throughout its short development, the Argentine Army had shown insight into contemporary AFV development which had not, and still is not, well known to the public. Sadly, no blueprints of the vehicle have surfaced, leaving its appearance and most of its specifications a complete mystery.
History and Development
The Alvarez Condarco project was initiated around 1966 by the Jefatura de Investigación y Planeamiento del Estado Mayor General del Ejército (JEMCFFAA) [Eng. Investigation and Planning Headquarters of the Army General Staff], the Argentine Army’s military research institute. Brigade General Alcides López Aufranc was initially in charge of the project, but it is not known when it commenced. At a later date, General Uriburu became involved with the project, but once more, it is unclear what progress had been made up to that point.
Of these two men, there is very little known about General Uriburu, but he is most likely completely unrelated to either José Felix Uriburu or José Evaristo Uriburu, and his middle name might be Juan. There are a few online sites that list Eduardo Juan Uriburu, born in 1918 and deceased in 1978, so there is a possibility that this General Uriburi might be the same who authored Plan Europa.
However, Aufranc is better known. Born in Santa Fe in 1921, he was loyal to Perón and Peronism, being a major part of the Azules [Eng. Blues] or loyalist faction of the Argentine Army in the military power struggles of 1962 to 1963. Whilst based in Paris in 1958, he studied French counterinsurgency methods employed during the Algerian War, which might have had some influence in his AFV design choices. He was most likely aware of the AMX-13 light tank used during the conflict. His initial intention with the Alvarez Condarco was to create a lighter than average tank for the Army of a similar purpose.
The Alvarez Condarco project called for an “armored vehicle of reduced weight, tracked, and with a 40 mm cannon.” According to Aufranc, the specifications could change or progress beyond this, but the funding costs could not be met, and the project moved slowly. Without government support, the industrial base in Argentina was not willing to undergo production.
For Uriburu, the concept was flawed from the start. In his opinion, to make a prototype, the industry first had to learn how to build tanks according to the Japanese development of the Type 61 MBT: copying a foreign tank model and obtaining the experience throughout the process of building and understanding the design choices. However, he knew the Argentine Army could not afford the costs, especially without the cooperation of the national industry, which was quite reluctant to contribute.
Name
Drawing of José Antonio Alvarez Condarco. Source: todo-argentina.net
This vehicle was named after José Antonio Álvarez Condarco, a 19th-century Argentinian soldier who was the first director of the gunpowder factory in Córdoba and also instrumental in the planning of the campaign that would liberate Chile from the Spanish.
Design
Whatever original blueprints or information existed regarding the vehicle have sadly been lost to history. Most of the tank’s specifications can only be inferred based on what equipment and materials were available in Argentina at the time and what they could have imported. Thanks to Uriburu’s understanding of how to manage the military economy and the necessity of importing components for its design, there is a wider variety of possibilities for how this design might have appeared. However, any designs or models of the Alvarez Condarco tank are currently purely based on conjecture, with no hard sources available yet.
The Alvarez Condarco’s common representation is a 3D design of a tank with a rear-mounted turret, six road wheels, and an elongated, heavily sloped front hull, much like the vehicles that Argentina produced after its inception, the AMX-13 and the TAM. Judging by the plans to keep the vehicle low in weight and the interest in procurement of the AMX-13, it is most likely that the tank weighed less than 20 tonnes, and probably far less given the choice of armament, however, its armor layout and thickness are unknown.
The 3D render most commonly used to represent the Alvarez Condarco. Note the rear-mounted turret and similarities to the TAM hull, although the vehicle is probably a bit too large for a 40 mm gun. It is not based on any authentic blueprints. Note that this hull shape is incompatible with an aircraft-derived radial engine. Source: reportedebatalla.wordpress.com
Engine
While the engine the Alvarez Condarco would have used is never stated, there were a few options available to Argentina at the time. The most likely option would have been to reuse an aircraft engine, like they had done with the Nahuel in the past, which opens many options. The Lorraine 12E Courlis engine, modified for greater output, was not out of the question, but there was a better option, made by Argentina, at the time.
Argentina had a modified version of the Wright R-975 Whirlwind 9 engine at its disposal, the 450 hp I.Ae. 16 ‘El Gaucho’ engine, already used in aircraft like the I.Ae. 38 ‘Naranjero’. With production figures around a few hundred, it could have been procured for the prototype vehicle. For the Alvarez Condarco’s lower weight, it would have been more than enough, at a power to weight ratio of around 22 hp/tonne if the weight is correctly estimated.
A more powerful yet highly unlikely option was the obscure I.Ae. 19 ‘El Indio’ engine with 620 hp. This was a hard-to-produce engine for the Argentine industry. It was reserved for airplane use and would have likely not been available for testing in the Alvarez Condarco project. Additionally, the remaining options would simply have been to reuse the engines available on the available Shermans and Fireflies, such as the Chrysler A57 Multibank. However, these were due for replacement just a few years later, as was seen in the Sherman Repotenciado.
Armament
The armament intended for the Alvarez Condarco was a 40 mm gun used as an anti-air weapon and field gun. It can be concluded that it was one of the six Bofors L/60 cannons that Argentina had in service at the time. The reason for the odd choice for its armament was a desire to keep the stability and weight of the chassis at levels deemed acceptable by the JEMCFFAA.
Bofors 40 mm L/60 cannon in Argentine service. Source: zona-militar.com
Uriburu notes that he was not fully convinced by the 40 mm Bofors due to his knowledge of “an English [sic] armored car mounting a 75 mm cannon [Alvis Saladin], a French and a Belgian armored car with a 90 mm [AML-90 and FN 4RM], and a Swiss armored car with a 75 mm cannon [possibly the Radfahrzeug MOWAG (7,5 cm)].”
His suggestion was to equip a different, more potent armament due to the obsolescence of the 40 mm cannon in most roles. In Argentina, at the time, options were limited for a 75 mm cannon. The Krupp cannons used in the Nahuel were out of the question, but there were a few additional options, such as the 17-pounder mounted in the Fireflies Argentina had, or the 75 mm M3 mounted in the regular M4s. However, what Uriburu most likely had in mind, given how he entertained the idea of the 90 mm cannons that the French used and his appreciation for its capabilities in infantry support and anti-tank roles, were the F1 or the F3 90 mm cannons that were in service at the time.
Other Design Features
Unfortunately, due to the lack of reliable sources about this vehicle, there is little that can be said about the rest of the design.
The suspension on the Alvarez Condarco is unknown. It is possible that the Argentinians would have stuck to the Sherman-based Vertical Volute Spring Suspension (VVSS) already present on the Nahuel. There is also a possibility the Argentinians might have wanted to use a torsion bar suspension.
There is similarly little information available about the crew layout. While it is clear a driver had to be present, the rest is not as clear. While at least two crew members, a gunner and a commander, would have been located in the turret, it is unclear if a loader would have been present in the turret to handle the ammunition boxes for the 40 mm gun.
As for the armor, it was probably quite light. While the Argentinians were well capable of building 80 mm thick plates, as seen on the Nahuel, this would have been too light to offer protection from most guns in service at the time and would come with significant penalties in cost and weight. As the requirements stipulated for a lightweight vehicle, regardless, armor would have been at a minimum.
A Nahuel being driven along Avenida del Liberador in Buenos Aires on July 9th 1944. Source: www.militariarg.com. Colorization by Smaragd123.
Conclusion
In the end, the forerunner to the TAM was never produced. While being inadequate and outdated in its original design, it could have been acceptable for South America in the 1960s and early 1970s when considering the armor capabilities of Argentina’s neighbors. By the mid-1970s, the TAM, the M-60, the Sherman Repotenciado, and the birth of the Brazilian tank industry, meant that it would only have had a short service life.
The lessons learned from its development were refined further with the production of the nationally-built AMX-13s, and the future TAMs, which might have benefitted from the experience gained of the Alvarez Condarco project.
However, there is a footnote to this story. While most likely talking about the AMX-13s produced in Argentina, due to a redaction error, Plan Europa states that at least two prototypes of an AFV were produced utilizing nationally-built components. It is very unlikely that this was the Alvarez Condarco. No pictures or even blueprints of the Alvarez Condarco have surfaced so far.
The TAM A PROTOTIPO, the first prototype of the TAM and successor to the Alvarez Condarco project. Source: Cicalesi & Rivas, p. 8
Alvarez Condarco specifications
Dimensions (L-W-H)
Unknown
Total Weight, Battle Ready
Around 20 tonnes
Crew
Unknown
Propulsion
Most likely: 450 hp I.Ae. 16 El Gaucho
Other possibilities: 370 hp Chrysler A57 Multibank
620 hp I.Ae. 19 El Indio
500 hp Lorraine 12E Courlis
Suspension
Unknown
Speed
Unknown
Range
Unknown
Armament
Primary: 40 mm Bofors L/60
Other Possibilities: 90 mm F3
75 mm Bofors mod. 1935
75 mm M3
76.2 mm 17-pounder
Armor
Lightly armored, specific arrangement or thicknesses unknown
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Argentina (1938-1952)
