Quote:
Originally Posted by RN7
Italy had no M44 or M55 SP howitzers by 1990, although they do have 23x 203mm M115 and 423x 155mm M114.
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I am going to go with the M44 and M55's being in storage there as per the NATO OOB - its in every version of the OOB and considering how many they bought having them in storage makes sense at least for V1.
For V2.2 they would have been long gone considering how fast Italy reduced its forces after the reduction in force treaty - that point is very clear that Italy was one of the quickest states to reduce their militaries after that treaty was signed.
Interestingly Italy may also be a place for Mexico to get tanks as well - ie. M-47's - found an article from 1988 discussing the italian Army and at that time they still had 500 of them that were still operational. That would also be a good tank for another reason - i.e. they were very similar in appearance to M-48's and M-60's - at least enough to possibly make someone hesitate and not fire on what might be a friendly tank - and give them a chance to get in the first shot
Keep in mind that Mexico wasnt looking to go to war with the US pre-Twilight War - they would be looking to have tanks that could take on possible Central American foes - i.e. T-54/55 that the Nicaraguans had being the most likely foe - the M47 would be a good potential choice
I see the same with their choices of anti-tank missiles - the MILAN would be a great T-54/55 tank killer - they may get a few HOT but the MILAN would have been the better choice as to cost and availability for them as to pre-war - and by the time it got hot with the US it would have been too late to get much in the way of new missiles or equipment