Nahuel (tank)

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Medium Tank "Nahuel"
Type	Medium tank
Place of origin	Argentina
Specifications
Weight	35 tonnes
Length	6.22 m
Width	2.33 m
Height	2.952 m
Crew	5 (Commander, gunner, loader, driver, co-driver)

Armour	not available
Primary armament	Krupp Model 1909 75/30 mm gun, with ?? rounds
Secondary armament	1x .50 cal machine gun 3×8mm machine guns ?? rounds
Engine	FMA-Lorraine Dietrich 12 EB, 12 cylinders in W, water cooled 500 hp @ ? rpm
Power/weight	? hp / tonne
Suspension	not available
Operational range	250km (on road)
Speed	40km/h (? mi/h) (on road)

The "Nahuel" D.L. 43 tank was a medium tank developed in Argentina during World War II.

1 Background
2 Users
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Background

The designer was Lt. Colonel Alfredo Baisi. It was armed with a 75mm gun (taken from the Krupp Model 1909 Field Gun used by the Argentine Army) in a rotating armored turret.

Its design is similar to that of the United States Army M4 Sherman, with bogies akin those of the early versions of the M3 and M4 medium tanks but with sloped armor.

Only 16 were produced by the "Arsenal Esteban de Luca" in Buenos Aires and supplied to the Argentine Army, because of the availability of cheap surplus "Sherman" tanks, several of which were provided by the United Kingdom in the late 1940s.

The meaning of the name "Nahuel" is "Tiger" in Mapudungun (an aboriginal language from the Patagonia region).

[edit] Users

Argentine Army

[edit] References

(Spanish) Sigal Fogliani, Ricardo Jorge, Nahuel DL 43 - Tanques Argentinos (desde sus origenes hasta 1950), Editorial Dunken, Buenos Aires, 2004, ISBN 987-020788X.
(Spanish) Sigal Fogliani, Ricardo Jorge, Blindados Argentinos, de Uruguay y Paraguay, Ayer y Hoy Ediciones, Buenos Aires, ISBN unknown
(English) Ness, Leland Jane's World War II Tanks and Fighting Vehicles - The complete guide, Harpers Collins Publishers, London 2002, ISBN 0-00-711228-9