Quote:
Originally Posted by StainlessSteelCynic
While they probably tried to dispose of them in the normal manner they didn't succeed and they were still in Argentina as of 2002. These tanks are Shermans, they had about 450 initially and then upgraded 250 of them with more modern engines and other systems but also with... a 105mm main gun.
They remained in service until 1994, probably too late for a version 1 timeline but kinda about the right time for v2.
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Good find! I was unaware that Argentina had any number of modernized Shermans. I really like this idea, and I think it would work just as well for the v1.0 timeline.
So, as I envision it, by the time of the invasion, Mexico's pre-existing army AFV fleet would have been bolstered by:
Ex-Argentinian Up-gunned Shermans*
Ex-Brazilian X1A & X1A-2 light tanks
Newer make Brazilian EE-9 Cascavel and EE-11 Urutu wheeled AFVs
They could probably acquire these on the cheap, prior to, or even
after the Soviets go to war with the PRC.
This would improve the MA's firepower, helping to explain their impressive initial gains, without making them unstoppable or un-ejectable.
Now, if we could just come to a consensus on how the Mexican Army gets its hands on some Soviet armor...
*Turboswede's MASB already had the MA using up-gunned Shermans but I can't recall the provenance- I think they may have been acquired from the Israelis.