Nahuel D.L43

The Nahuel was designed in 1942 by Lt. Colonel Alfredo Baisi as a way to provide Argentina with a tank, as a work around an arms embargo placed on the country because of its neutral position in the war. Although the tank visually resembles and was heavily influenced by the M4 Sherman, this was a wholly local design. In 1943, the actual project was accepted. 

The hull of the Nahuel was welded from armor plates, with a maximum of 80 mm of thickness at the front. The turret meanwhile was cast. The gun chosen was a standard Krupp M1909 75 mm L/30 field gun, although some sources suggest a Bofors M1935 75 mm L/34 and L/40 were also considered. The engine was a Lorraine-Dietrich 12 EB which could output 500 hp, giving the tank an estimated 14.3 hp/ton.

However, the Nahuel didn't get too far into its production. In 1944, Argentina officially joined the war on the side of the Allies, effectively lifting the arms embargo. Suddenly, Argentina had access to readily-available and relatively cheap M4 Shermans, so there was no longer a need for the Nahuel. Between 12 and 16 tanks were built before the end of the war, and they would serve in the Argentine army until the last was decommissioned in 1962.

Information on this tank is surprisingly difficult to find. In World Of Tanks, there's three easily available gun choices. However, I'm not convinced about the possibility of engine or turret upgrades. I haven't included any additions as I haven't found any proper sources, but if they exist, then they should obviously be added in.

The Nauhel can be thought of as a better-armored M4 Sherman with worse firepower. The guns specifically are howitzers, which are ill-suited for the anti-tank role. As such, it's a bit of a derp of a tank. It would be slinging low-damage and low-pen HE shells, but it would do it consistently, and the armor would be strong enough to contend with equal-tiered opponents.

The Nahuel marks the start of a Pan-America branch of the US Tech Tree, which will include tanks from countries such as Argentina, Canada, and Brazil. These are all countries who are unable to make their own individual branches, let alone whole tech trees, yet still have a couple indigenous designs worth representation (and not just as premium tanks).

Guns: 75 mm Krupp Mod. 1909 L/30; 75 mm Bofors Mod. 1935 L/34; 75 mm Bofors Mod. 1935 L/40

Engines: Lorraine-Dietrich 12 EB (500 hp)

Turrets (Turret Armor (mm)): Nahuel (??/??/??)

Suspensions/Alternate Hulls, Total Weight (metric tons): Nahuel VVSS Early (??); Nahuel VVSS Production (??)

Hull Armor (mm): 80/??/??

Top Speed: 40 km/h

Crew: 5 (Driver; Gunner; Loader; Commander; Radio)




Parent: M7 Medium
Children: Ram II, Grizzly

Sources:

http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/Argentina/Nahuel_DL43.php 

http://ftr-wot.blogspot.com/2013/04/dl43-nahuel-possible-american-tier-5.html