M-51 Repotenciado - Now with a new motor and laser rangefinder

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M-51 Repotenciado

History:

By the end of the 70s, Chile was in a precarious situation in terms of armored material, this was really worrying since in those years Peru had acquired the Soviet T-55s and Argentina had the repowered Shermans and by then Chile had the old M4A1E9 that despite being slightly improved versions of the Shermans were insufficient to face the Peruvian and Argentine tanks. The acquisition of new armored material was a priority since border tensions with its neighbors were getting worse and a war could soon loom, so in 1981 Chile acquired 150 M-51 tanks from Israel since both countries had good relations. With the passage of time the tank was gaining the affection of the Chilean crews since they were a reliable medium and these tanks were distributed throughout the country, so they can be seen with different types of camouflage, for forest, desert and snow. The M-51s were kept in reserve until 2006 and were decommissioned in 2008. Some survive in museums or as guards in military bases in Chile.

M-51 tanks recently arrived in Chile, Israeli instructors traveled to train Chilean crews

The Israeli M-51s had a CN 105 high pressure gun in a new mantlet fitted to the T23 turret, were repowered with Continental diesel engines, fitted with new HVSS suspensions, with wider tracks. this conversion occurred essentially on late cast hulls of the M4A1 type with large hatches or on late welded hulls with 47° glacis (M4 and/or M4A3), Chile received both versions although the version with 47° glacis was more scarce so they were less. As for the armament they had the 105 mm gun L.51 D.1508. Before being sent to Chile, a .50 machine gun was installed in the upper part of the barrel, which was a rather peculiar modification, and a .30 machine gun was kept in the commander’s cupola. There are several photos of this special modification for Chile. The .50 machine gun did not last long in this way during its service in Chile, so in later photos it is no longer seen this way.

Chilean M-51 with additional .50 machine gun on top of tank gun

As the years went by, the old engines that these M-51s had began to reach the end of their useful life and have poor performance, for this reason Chile carried out the so-called “Proyecto-T” which consisted of the modernization of the tank, mainly the change of the old engine for a new one. In 1984 a contract was signed with Nimda of Israel to repower the M-50, M-51 and M41 of the Chilean army in addition to adding new fire control systems, work began in 1990. A new Detroit diesel 8V-71T engine of 475 hp at 2300 rpm was installed, the original Cletrac manual gearbox was preserved due to its excellent quality, the ability to climb slopes was improved which It was demonstrated in various field tests. In this way the maximum speed of the tanks increased from 38 km/h to 41 km/h due to the more powerful engine. The upgrade involved a modified engine platform. The exhaust system was mounted on the left side with the tailpipe facing down and covered with a curved perforated grille, all of these engine deck modification jobs were jobs done by local Chilean companies.

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New Detroit diesel engine 8V-71T

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New modified engine deck and new exhaust outlet to the left of the tank

Chilean M-51 Repotenciado (Repowered), behind on the hill you can see the insignia of the armored cavalry regiment No. 9 Vencedores in Arica

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M-51 Repotenciado climbing a very steep hill demonstrating the improvement of the new engine

The most important part of the new fire control system was made up of its vision and aiming systems, the gunner’s optics were replaced with new ones and laser rangefinders were added. This new system was called EL-OP MSZ-2 and was installed on both the M-51 and M-50 in Chile. When these new devices were used in the field, they were later cleaned and stored since they could be disassembled.

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MSZ-2 Simplified FCS

Technical characteristics of the new FCS, it is mentioned that it can be installed on M-51 and M-50 Sherman

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You can see the gunner’s optics in the lower right area, quite different from that of a standard M-51

To get acquainted with the new tank and train the crew the Simfire Tank Gunnery Simulator (TGS) was purchased from the Swiss company Solartron Analytical. This simulation system was made up of a laser beam projector mounted on the barrel connected to the gunner’s trigger and on top of the tank smoke launchers of different colors that simulated battle situations, the yellow smoke simulated that the tank had been hit by an enemy shot and the red smoke meant that the tank had been destroyed, these smoke launchers were activated when the laser beam hit the system’s detector unit. This realistic system was very useful for the Chilean crew as it gave them more experience in a real combat environment.

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An M-51 (in an M4A3 helmet) with the Simfire system

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An M-51 on M4A1 hull with a Simfire having been hit during an exercise

In the context of a possible war with Peru in northern Chile, the border had been mined, for this reason at least 8 RKM Nochri anti-mine roller systems were acquired from Israel that had been captured from the Syrian and Egyptian armies. The plate that was attached to the Chilean M-51s was specially designed for them through a joint effort between IMI and FAMAE of Chile (Fabricas y Maestranzas del Ejercito), these supports were installed on the hulls of the M4A1 and M4A3 although it was in the latter where it was preferred to install them since they fited better. On some occasions this special support was kept attached even if the minesweeper system was not installed, since this support was thick and could provide additional armor to the lower part of the hull of the tanks, mainly protecting the tank transmission and giving the Chilean tanks a distinctive look.

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A square-hulled M-51 with the minesweeper mount acting as additional armor

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Minesweeper mount thickness

Disassembled minesweeper, you can see that it is quite thick

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Photo of a HESH ammunition used by the M-51 in Chile

Specifications:

  • Crew:
    • 5 (Commander, gunner, loader, driver, bow-gunner)
  • Armament:
    • Primary: 105 mm gun L.51 D.1508 with 47 rounds
    • Secondary: Coaxial Browning M1919 7.62 mm machine gun with 4750 rounds, Browning M1919 7.62 mm machine gun or Browning M2HB 12.7 mm machine with 600 rounds gun on top, Browning M2HB 12.7 mm machine on top of the tank barrel, Four 76mm smoke grenade launcher.
  • Dimensions:
    • Length: 6.15 m
    • Width: 2.42 m
    • Height: 2.24 m
    • Weight: 40 tons battle ready
  • Maneuverability:
    • Engine: Detroit diesel 8V-71T, 475 hp at 2300 rpm
    • Maximum speed: 41 km/h
    • Suspensions: Horizontal Volute Springs Suspensions (HVSS)
  • Armour:
    • 63 mm frontal hull, 38 mm sides and rear, 19 mm top and bottom. 89 mm mantlet, 73 mm front, sides and rear of the turret.
  • Accessories:
    • Laser rangefinder
    • RKM mineroller
    • Additional front armor plate

Photos:






Sources:

5 Likes

Some photos taken a few days ago of an M-51 Repotenciado

1 Like

According to Tank Encyclopedia, the 8V-71T used by Chilean Shermans had 535 hp.

Also, the Israelis put .50 Cals over their Shermans’ gun barrels as well: https://i.imgur.com/RzKzmfD.jpg

Still crazy to think the Sherman Tank was in service till 2018 with Paraguay being the last nation to service it. Within an Official sense, since there are probably still Shermans out there still being used/serviced just not in a large number.

1 Like

I think there are still many doubts about what engine the Chilean M-51 had after its re-engine in Chile, I have not been able to find a reliable source regarding that, regarding the machine gun in the cannon it is true, there are photos of the M-51 in Chile where you can see the .50 machine gun in the cannon, in fact in this suggestion there are some photos of that

Update:

  • I discovered from official sources that the engine power was greater, going from only 360 hp to 475 hp, so now it is justified that the performance of the tank has been superior, especially in the ability to climb steep slopes.

  • Through extensive research and directly asking former Chilean M-51 crews, I managed to discover the model of the laser rangefinder installed in these tanks, which corresponds to the MSZ-2 model of EL-OP.

  • Through a photo I found, I discovered that HESH type ammunition was also used in Chile, which is not available in the Israeli M-51 in the game.

  • I added many new quality photos and went deeper into the complete modernization of the tank.

3 Likes

We need LRF sherman.

1 Like

In the end the engines were more powerful but not 535 hp. Through my research I managed to get the hp of the M-51 modified on the Tank Encyclopedia page so 475 hp would be correct for both the M-51 and M-50. which is the same engine for both, they mention that the maximum speed is 46 km/h but I am more conservative and left it at 41 km/h which is what is mentioned in Jane’s book A&A Upgrades 2006-07 (page 273)

I also found this fragment that mentions the new engines for Chile as well as new FCS (the one I name in this suggestion)

1 Like

great for sub chilean tree in Israel

1 Like

Good to know. It’s a shame it isn’t 535 hp and the top speed sadly isn’t increased all that much, but 475 hp and 41 km/h isn’t all that bad.

1 Like

Interesting but I’d wonder what BR. 7.3? 7.7? LRF and a really punchy gun but it is still a Sherman…

Also isn’t this talking about the M-60? Did I miss something here?

2 Likes

I was thinking about BR 7.3, which is the minimum BR that the vehicles in the game have with laser rangefinders. You have to keep in mind that the chassis is from Sherman, but the important thing is the cannon and ammunition, which are the same as those found in the AMX-30 (1972) of BR 8.0 so the Chilean M-51 in BR 7.3 would be very good, it could make shots from a long distance with a penetration of up to 400 mm, in fact he would face the T-54/T-55A (with the latter you would have to be in the maximum uptier to see them) which were the tanks he faced in real life and he could still penetrate them frontally.

Through my investigation I discovered that Nimda from Israel re-engined 3 Chilean tanks with the same engine, the Detroit Diesel 8V-71T of 475 HP, these tanks were the M-50, the M-51 and the M41, these 3 tanks were also fitted with new FCS with laser rangefinders, the M41 for example had the Lan-Sadot FCS installed (which you can see in my suggestion about that tank) being a different model and not a sherman, instead the M-51 and the M-50 HVMS were installed simplified FCS with laser rangefinder (which you find in this suggestion), additionally that cutout that I found mentions that it was the same Nimda that also installed the 60 mm HVMS cannons on the Chilean M-50s. Unfortunately my suggestion of the M-50 HVMS has already passed to the developers and I did not add the laser rangefinder in that suggestion since I recently discovered all this, so if they add the M-50 HVMS to the game I will have to send a bug report so that add this modification.


This image is from Nimda’s own page where they offer the re-engines

1 Like