Cashuat
| Cashuat | |
|---|---|
| Type | Armoured personnel carrier |
| Place of origin |  El Salvador/ United States |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1985-present |
| Used by | Salvadoran Army |
| Wars | Salvadoran Civil War |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1984 |
| Produced | 1985 |
| No. built | 44 |
| Variants | M37 |
| Specifications | |
| Crew | 3(+7 passengers) |
Main armament | .50 (12.7 mm) M2 HB |
| Engine | diesel |
| Suspension | 4x4 |
| Maximum speed | 90 km/h |
The Cashuat is an armored personnel carrier produced in El Salvador, and based on the Dodge M37B1 (4 × 4)¾ ton truck. The first Cashuat prototype was built and trialed in El Salvador in February 1985. The prototype lacked sufficient ballistic protection, so the Salvadoran government sought assistance from the United States. 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's inventory.
It was the first vehicle produced in El Salvador, and his designer was the Colonel Oswaldo Marenco Carballo [1955 - ].