page_title: Tanks of Cuba
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Tanks of Cuba / History
caption_attribution_description: Description: Former Angolan T-34-85 at the South African National Museum of Military History, Johannesburg.
context_page_description: Tanks have been utilized on the island of Cuba both within the military and within several conflicts, with their usage and origin after World War II; the Cold War; and the modern era. This includes imported Soviet tanks in the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces today as well as American and British designs imported prior to the Cuban Revolution.
context_section_description: Cuba in 1942 received a military aid through the Lend-Lease program, and got eight Marmon-Herrington tanks from the U.S.  which became known in the Cuban army as the ‘3 Man Dutch’  as they had been the model of tank sent to the Dutch East Indies campaign against the Japanese invasion in World War II.
  Cuba also got M3 Stuart tanks from the United States, as 24 of these light tanks arrived at Cuba under Lend Leased in 1942-1943 after the declaration of war to Germany. Later in 1957, 7 M4 Sherman tanks were received from the United States. They participated in the fights against the guerrilla of Fidel Castro, fighting in Oriente (offensive of May 1958, Battle of Guise) and in the Santa Clara battle, in support of the Regiment "Leoncio Vidal" against the Che Guevara. Some of these tanks were captured by the rebels as the Shermans were displayed by the rebels riding the tanks when they triumphantly entered Havana, with Fidel on one of them.  Here, on January 1, 1959 was taken the famous photo of the Che next to a Sherman which also saw action in the Battle of Santa Clara, as Batista sent 10 tanks, 12 armored cars along with an armored train and air support.
  Just before the revolution, Great Britain had sent 15 A34 Comet tanks which were delivered to Cuba under Batista on 17 December 1958, and there are reports that some were used in the Battle of Santa Clara at the end of December 1959 by Batista's troops. Castro got these after he took over Cuba, and requested additional stocks of 77mm ammunition for the Comets as well as spare parts.
  When Fidel Castro seized power in January 1959, five of the eight Marmon-Herrington tanks were still operational. The new communist army, FAR (Revolutionary Armed Forces), retained them and shortly thereafter these five tanks were modified the original 37mm cannon replaced by a Bofors QF 20mm gun. 
  The development of a strong armored force that could react quickly to any threat, whether internal or otherwise was a concern even at that stage.
  In October 1960, Castro needed tanks for which he could get ammunition not subject to US sanctions and turned to the Soviet Union for military aid from them and was supplied with T-34/85 tanks which allowed them to build up their armored forces. So by the time of Bay of Pigs in April 1961, there were in Cuba 125 T-34-85 and also 41 IS-2M tanks  that Castro received. Some of the Sherman tanks also saw combat action against the anti-communist Cuban exiles at the Bay of Pigs (Playa Girón) along with the militia, but the majority of the tanks and armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs) the Cuban Army used at the battle were Soviet, such as the T-34/85 and the SU-100. The IS-2M tanks were in two regiments sent to the battle and were used as a reserve firing artillery support, while there were at least a force of 20 of the T-34-85 tanks fighting in the Bay of Pigs conflict and aided in the Cuban victory over the Brigade 2506 M41 Walker Bulldog tanks, although five T-34-85 tanks were destroyed and others severely damaged. Castro asked for more T-34-85 tanks after this to defend the island, and in September 1961 the request was up to 412 tanks, which began arriving just before the Missile Crisis.
  Soon after their own revolution, many Cubans identified with the fledgling groups fighting for their independence. In Algeria, when France gave their independence, Castro decided to support them in their struggle with Morocco in the Sand War. Castro was determined to prevent American domination and formed the Grupo Especial de Instrucción whose forces included twenty-two T-34-85 tanks, eighteen 120-mm mortars, a battery of 57-mm recoilless rifles, anti-aircraft artillery with eighteen guns, and eighteen 122mm field guns with the crews to operate them. They were described as an advisory contingent to train the Algerian army, but Castro allow deployment in combat actions. Castro tried keep Cuba's intervention covert, but word of their presence soon leaked out.
  In 1961 the Cuban Military began to provide support for the left wing MPLA movement in a civil war.  The Angolan War of In
caption: T-34-85 tank captured in Angola conflict.
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