WesWorld

Repository for Information relating to the subject

General

During the early 1930s the Ejército del Perú acquired a considerable number of armored fighting vehicles of European origin, few of which were well adapted to Peruvian conditions, and which proved of little combat value in the Andean War and the border clashes with Colombia and Chile later in the decade.

From Britain a substantial quantity of Carden Loyd Mk.VI tankettes – records indicate some 80 vehicles – were obtained. These were designated Tanqueta Modelo 1932 by the Ejército and were the first armored vehicles to be taken into service. They proved underpowered in the best of conditions and were practically useless in the high altitudes of the mountains or the Altiplano. Their single-machinegun armament and two-man crew severely limited their tactical employment and they were rapidly relegated to driver training.

The Italian Carro Veloce CV-33 – 60 of which were acquired as the Tanqueta Modelo 1933 – proved no better in service, demonstrating low levels of mechanical reliability and vulnerability to even machinegun fire. Following the Andean War the surviving vehicles were stripped of much of their armor and employed as gun tractors until the last units were withdrawn in 1941 due to lack of spares.

The British-built Vickers Six-Ton Tank proved the best of the Ejército’s early vehicle acquisitions. Designated Tanque ligero Modelo 1934 their total numbers acquired exceed one hundred, including some equipped as gun carriers for antiaircraft and antitank weapons. Combat losses in the Andean War – including vehicles lost due to mechanical failure – were substantial; the survivors were employed as training vehicles until their withdrawal in 1942.

To replace this mixed bag of vehicles, in 1936 the Ejército del Perú turned to Germany, ordering 200 hundred examples of the Panzerkampfwagen III, at the time the principal combat tank of the German Heer. In Peruvian service these vehicles are designated Tanque medio Modelo 1937. Due to the arms embargo resulting from the confrontation with Colombia not all these vehicles were delivered prior to the type passing out of production. Deliveries exceeded 100 vehicles; with spare support available from Germany these remain in service, presently equipping units of the Caballería Blindado.

Details

Tanqueta Modelo 1932: No longer in service
Tanqueta Modelo 1933: No longer in service
Tanque ligero Modelo 1934: No longer in service

Tanque medio Modelo 1937

Weight: 23,000 kg
Length: 5.56 meters
Width: 2.90 meters
Height: 2.50 meters
Crew: 5 (commander, gunner, loader, driver, radio operator/bow machine-gunner)
Armor: 50mm (maximum)

Armament: One 50mm KwK L/42 (main), one 7.65mm Ametralladora media Modelo 1919 (coaxial), one 7.65mm Ametralladora media Modelo 1919 (bow position)

Engine: 12-cylinder Maybach HL 120 TRM rated at 300 PS
Suspension: Torsion-bar
Operational range: 165 km
Speed: 40 kph (road), 20 kph (off-road)

General

Upon coming into office the Galvez government sought to resume a rapid re-equipment of the Ejército del Perú, with indifferent success. Attempts were made to acquire additional examples of the Tanque medio Modelo 1937 but these were unsuccessful. Instead, Germany offered to supply a quantity of its Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausführung F, an offer that was readily accepted. Eventually the Ejército would acquire 180 examples of the vehicle, designated Tanque medio Modelo 1944. The first lot of 25 vehicles arrived in July 1944, with subsequent shipments in October 1944, January 1945, April 1945, July 1945, and October 1945. Their arrival permitted the formation of three tank battalions.

Details

Weight: 25,000 kg
Length: 7.02 meters
Width: 3.18 meters
Height: 2.68 meters
Crew: 5 (commander, gunner, loader, driver, radio operator/bow machine-gunner)
Armor: 80mm (maximum)

Armament: One 75mm KwK L/48 (main), one 7.65mm Ametralladora media Modelo 1919 (coaxial), one 7.65mm Ametralladora media Modelo 1919 (bow position)

Engine: 12-cylinder Maybach HL 120 TRM rated at 330 PS
Suspension: Semi-elliptical leaf springs acting on twin bogie wheels, eight bogie wheels per side
Operational range: 210 km
Speed: 38 kph (road), 24 kph (off-road)

General

Concomitant with the procurement of the Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausführung F the Galvez government sought the acquisition of a quantity of self-propelled guns, accepting a German offer of 50 examples of the Sturmgeschütz III assault gun. The first group of 25 vehicles was delivered in October 1944 and the remainder in January 1945. They are incorporated into the tank battalions of the Cuerpo de Caballería y Blindados to provide additional fire support.

Details

Weight: 22,000 kg
Length: 5.49 meters
Width: 2.95 meters
Height: 1.96 meters
Crew: 4 (commander, gunner, loader, driver/radio operator)
Armor: 50mm (maximum)

Armament: One 75mm KwK L/24 (main), one 7.65mm Ametralladora media Modelo 1919 (external pintle)

Engine: 12-cylinder Maybach HL 120 TRM rated at 300 PS
Suspension: Torsion-bar
Operational range: 130 km
Speed: 42 kph (road), 24 kph (off-road)

General

Prior to 1945 the Ejército del Perú made little use of wheeled armored fighting vehicles, despite the potential for their employment in the southern regions of the country. However, in 1946 negotiations were opened with the British Government to obtain significant quantities of light armored vehicles to re-equip units of the Caballería Blindado. The agreement covered the supply of two hundred examples of the Daimler Armored Car and a similar quantity of Daimler Scout Cars. The Daimler armored cars, then being replaced in service by the more modern Coventry armored car, were to be obtained second-hand from British Army stocks; however, supply difficulties forced the Ejército to place orders with the Daimler firm for new vehicles.

In the Ejército’s service the Daimler Armored Car was designated the Vehículo blindado ligero Modelo 46, and the first batch of surplus vehicles arrived in mid-1946. The smaller Daimler Scout Car, designated Automóvil blindado de reconocimiento Modelo 47, entered service early in 1947, deliveries being somewhat delayed due to the need to restart the production line.


Details

Automóvil blindado de reconocimiento Modelo 47

Weight: 3,000 kg
Length: 3.18 meters
Width: 1.71 meters
Height: 1.50 meters
Crew: 2
Armor: 30mm front, 12mm sides
Armament: one 7.65mm Ametralladora media Modelo 1919 (external pintle)
Engine: Daimler 6-cylinder, 2,500cc, rated at 55 hp
Power/weight ratio: 18.3 hp/tonne
Transmission: Pre-selector gearbox, five gears forward and five gears reverse
Suspension: Independent coil spring
Operational range: 320 km (road)
Speed: 89 kph (road)


Vehículo blindado ligero Modelo 46

Weight: 7,600 kg
Length: 4 meters
Width: 2.46 meters
Height: 2.26 meters
13 feet 1 inch (4 m)
Crew: 3
Armor: 7 – 16mm
Armament: One 40mm (2pdr) OF gun with 52 rounds, coaxial 7.65mm Ametralladora media Modelo 1919 with 2,000 rounds
Engine: Daimler 6-cylinder, 4,100cc, rated at 95 hp
Power/weight ratio: 12.5 hp/tonne
Transmission: Five speed (both directions) with fluid flywheel
Suspension: Independent coil spring
Operational range: 320 km (road)
Speed: 80 kph (road)