The Cashuat is an armored personnel carrier produced in
El Salvador, and based on the
Dodge M37B1 ¾ ton (4×4) truck.
History
The first military vehicle ever produced in
El Salvador, the Cashuat was designed by
Salvadoran Army
The Salvadoran Army (Spanish: ''Ejército Salvadoreño'') is the land branch and largest of the Armed Forces of El Salvador.
Conflicts The Football War
The Football War (also called The Soccer War or 100-hours War) was a term coined by Po ...
Colonel
Oswaldo Marenco Carballo (1955 - ) in 1984, with a prototype being built and trialed in-country in February 1985. During the trials, it was found that this particular prototype lacked sufficient ballistic protection, so the Salvadoran government sought assistance from the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. Seeing that El Salvador didn't have manufacturing facilities capable of building the number of vehicles required, the US Army Tank Automotive Command's RDE Center's Design and Manufacturing Technology Directorate proposed a three-step plan to produce the vehicles:
1. A second, improved prototype would be built in Detroit, and sent to El Salvador to serve as a reference model.
2. The armor would be cut and welded in the United States, pre-assembled with the windshields and side-rails, and shipped as kits to El Salvador.
3. Train a cadre of welders from El Salvador at facilities in the United States.
66 kits were provided for final assembly in El Salvador, one for each of the M37s in the
Salvadoran Army
The Salvadoran Army (Spanish: ''Ejército Salvadoreño'') is the land branch and largest of the Armed Forces of El Salvador.
Conflicts The Football War
The Football War (also called The Soccer War or 100-hours War) was a term coined by Po ...
's inventory.
See also
*
Astroboy armoured personnel carrier
*
Salvadoran Civil War
The Salvadoran Civil War ( es, guerra civil de El Salvador) was a twelve year period of civil war in El Salvador that was fought between the government of El Salvador and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front
The Farabundo Ma ...
*
Thyssen Henschel UR-416
The Thyssen Henschel UR-416 is a German armoured personnel carrier, first introduced in 1969 and based on the body of the Mercedes-Benz Unimog light truck.
Development
In 1965 an armoured car version was designed based on a Unimog 4×4 truck cha ...
*
Weapons of the Salvadoran Civil War
References
*Carlos Caballero Jurado and Nigel Thomas, ''Central American Wars 1959–89'', Men-at-Arms series 221,
Osprey Publishing Ltd, London 1990.
*Christopher F. Foss, ''Jane's Tank & Combat Vehicle recognition guide'', HarperCollins Publishers, London 2002.
*David Spencer, ''Armoured Fighting Vehicles of El Salvador'', Museum Ordnance Special Number 7 – English Edition, Darlington Productions, Inc., Mass Market Paperback, 1995. ASIN: B000LGYCHA
*Julio Montes, ''Mexican and Central American Armor'', Darlington Productions, Inc., 2001.
External links
VAL (light assault vehicle) Cashuat (El Salvador)
''globalsecurity.org''
Cashuat
''Tanks-Encyclopedia.com''
{{Modern IFV and APC
Wheeled armoured personnel carriers
Armoured personnel carriers of the Cold War
Military of El Salvador
Dodge vehicles
Military vehicles introduced in the 1980s