Paraguay Brings Back Sherman Tanks
Paraguay Brings Back Sherman Tanks
Ancient armor reactivated for training purposes
Dave Majumdar
Paraguay is putting World War II-era M3 Stuarts and M4 Sherman tanks back into service. The country is thought to have three Sherman medium tanks and up to 14 Stuart light tanks in its inventory.
The venerable tanks — which are now over 75 years old — were originally designed to fight the German Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS in Europe. Neither tank proved to be a match for the Nazi Panzers on a one-for-one basis. But the combined Allied effort prevailed, and the Sherman would nonetheless continue to serve around the world for decades to come.
Paraguay decided to re-activate its M3 fleet in 2014, sources told IHS Jane’s, mostly for operational training purposes.
Ten of the vehicles were overhauled with refurbished engines and received M2 .50-caliber machine-guns in place of the original Browning .30-caliber. Four tanks remain in storage, with one other machine being used as a gate guard. There are no further details about the status of the Shermans — which are still serving with Paraguay’s Presidential Escort Regiment.
The Shermans — which were delivered in 1980 from Argentina — and the Stuarts — which were donated by Brazil in the 1970s — have been hopelessly obsolete for decades.
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