The Tortuga (Spanish for ''Turtle'') was an
armored vehicle designed and built in Venezuela in 1934, during the rule of
Juan Vicente Gómez. It was assembled at the
Puerto Cabello
Puerto Cabello () is a city on the north coast of Venezuela. It is located in Carabobo State, about 210 km west of Caracas. As of 2011, the city had a population of around 182,400. The city is home to the largest and busiest port in the coun ...
shipyard by Engineer Tomás Pacanins. First displayed at a military parade in the city of
Maracay, the vehicle's existence was meant to send a clear message to neighboring
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
- which had created several border and political incidents since its victory over
Perú
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy fo ...
in the
Leticia Incident
Leticia (derived from the Latin greeting ''laetitia'' meaning ''joy'', ''gladness'', ''delight'') may refer to:
People
;Given name
* Saint Leticia, a venerated virgin martyr, saint
* Queen Letizia of Spain (born 1972), queen consort of Spain
* ...
- as was the whole parade. On December 23, 1934, the ''Tortuga'' was first revealed to the public, in conjunction with two Italian
Ansaldo
Ansaldo Energia S.p.A. is an Italian power engineering company. It is based in Genoa, Italy. The absorbed parent company, Gio. Ansaldo & C., started in 1853. It was taken over by Leonardo S.p.A. In 2011, Leonardo S.p.A. sold 45% stake in An ...
CV 33 infantry
tanks.
Characteristics
In his "''Historia de la Artillería''" (History of Artillery), Lieutenant Pedro Arturo Omaña describes the Tortuga:
"''It was a very flashy armored car - whose external shell gave it a shape similar to a London policeman's hat - but it was hard to manoeuver, with a nearly null ventilation system and nearly null visibility''"
Its shell was mounted on a 6x4
Ford 1934 truck.
Its rear wheels were linked by treads, making it a
half-tracked vehicle, its designation within the Army being "Semi-treaded Armored Recon Vehicle". It was armed with a Mark 4B 7 mm machine gun (.303 cal) installed in a dome-shaped rotating turret located on the upper part of the shell.
References
;Bibliography
*
External links
Unofficial Venezuelan Air Force and Armed Forces web site(In Spanish)
Armoured cars
Military vehicles of Venezuela
Half-tracks
{{Venezuela-stub