The
Leopard (or
Leopard 1) is a
tankA Panzer is a German tank. Attributively, the term also refers to armoured military forces, as in panzer divisions or panzer battles.- Etymology :Panzer is a loanword from the German , meaning "armour"...
designed and produced in
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
that first entered service in 1965. It was used as the main battle tank by over a dozen countries worldwide.
It is a fairly conventional tank, armed with a German-built version of the
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
L7The Royal Ordnance L7 is the basic model of Britain's most successful tank gun. The L7 was a 105 mm L/52 rifled design intended for use in armoured fighting vehicles...
105-mm gun. The Leopard is known for its good cross-country speed.
The design started as a collaborative project between Germany and
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
in the 1950s, but the partnership ended and the final design was ordered by the
BundeswehrThe Bundeswehr comprises the unified armed forces of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities...
, production starting in 1965. In total 6,485 Leopard tanks have been built, of which 4,744 were battle tanks and 1741 were utility and anti-aircraft variants, not including eighty prototypes and pre-series vehicles.
Since 1990, the Leopard 1 has gradually been relegated to secondary roles in most armies. In the
German ArmyThe German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Traditionally the German military forces have been composed of Army, the Navy, and an Air Force after World War I. It was reinstalled in 1955 as the West German Army and as a part of the newly formed...
, the Leopard 1 MBTs have been phased out in 2003 while Leopard 1 derived vehicles are still widely used. The
Leopard 2The Leopard 2 is a German main battle tank developed by Krauss-Maffei in the early 1970s and first entering service in 1979. The Leopard 2 replaced the earlier Leopard 1 as the main battle tank of the German Army. Various versions have served in the armed forces of Germany and twelve other European...
MBTs have taken over the MBT role.
Leopard 1
The Leopard project started in November 1956 in order to develop a modern tank, the
Standard-Panzer, to replace the Bundeswehr's United States-built
M47The M47 Patton I was the second tank of the Patton series, and one of the U.S Army's principal medium gun tanks of the Cold war with models in service from the early 1950s to the late 1980s. The tank belongs to the Patton family of tanks, named after General George S. Patton, commander of the U.S...
and
M48 PattonThe M48 Patton II was the third and final US medium gun tank of the Patton series, named after General George S. Patton, commander of the U.S. Third Army during World War II and one of the earliest American advocates for the use of tanks in battle. It was a further development of the M47 Patton tank...
tanks, which, though just delivered to West Germany's recently reconstituted army, were rapidly growing outdated. On 25 July 1957 the detailed specifications were released; the new design needed to weigh no more than thirty metric tons, have a power-to-weight ratio of thirty horsepower per ton, be able to withstand hits by 20 mm rapid-fire guns on every side as well as operate in a battlefield contaminated with chemical weapons or radioactive
falloutFallout is the residual radiation hazard from a nuclear explosion, aptly named because it "falls out" of the atmosphere into which it is spread during the explosion. It commonly refers to the radioactive dust created when a nuclear weapon explodes. This radioactive dust, consisting of hot...
, the then-standard baseline for combat with the
Warsaw PactThe Warsaw Pact is the informal name for the mutual defense Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance subscribed by eight Communist states in Eastern Europe, that was established at the USSR’s initiative and realised on 14 May 1955, in Warsaw, Poland...
. In addition the main armament had to consist of a 105 mm caliber weapon (the new British L7A3 105 mm gun was selected), carrying at least as many rounds as current US tank designs. Mobility was the priority while firepower came second; armour was seen as less essential, as it was believed no real protection against hollow charge weapons was possible anyway.
France was very interested in the design as its own
AMX 50The AMX 50 was a French tankdesigned in the immediate post Second World War period. It was proposed as, in succession, the French medium, heavy and main battle tank and incorporated many advanced features...
project had just failed. In June 1957,
West GermanyWest Germany is a common English name for the period of the Federal Republic of Germany between its' formation in May 1949 to German reunification in October 1990, when the German Democratic Republic was dissolved and the five states on its territory joined the Federal Republic of Germany,...
and the
French Fourth RepublicThe Fourth Republic was the republican government of France between 1946 and 1958, governed by the fourth republican constitution. It was in many ways a revival of the Third Republic, which was in place before World War II, and suffered many of the same problems...
signed an agreement to develop a common tank, designated in German
Europa-Panzer. Three German (
Arbeitsgruppe A, B and C) and one French design team would be included in a competition, with each team producing two prototypes each. In September, 1958
ItalyThe Italian Army is the ground defence force of the Italian Republic. It has recently become a professional all-volunteer force of active-duty personnel, numbering 109,703 in 2008...
joined the development program. Several prototypes were entered for testing in 1960. Among the prototypes were
PorschePorsche SE is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury high performance automobiles, which is majority-owned by the Piëch and Porsche families. Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG , often shortened to Porsche AG, is responsible and manufacturer of the Porsche automobile line...
's
Model 734 from team A, sporting a cast turret and that of team B (
RheinmetallRheinmetall AG is a German automotive and defense company with factories in Düsseldorf, Kassel and Unterlüß.-History:It was founded on 13 April 1889 by Heinrich Ehrhardt, with help from a consortium of banks, as Rheinische Metallwaren- und Maschinenfabrik Aktiengesellschaft.It has a long tradition...
) whose cast turret was somewhat higher. Team C from
Borgward, designing a very futuristic tank, failed to have a prototype ready in time.
Even before these first prototypes were finished, it had (in 1959) been decided that a second phase with improved designs would be started: Team A had to build 26 phase II Prototypes for testing, team B six. Only two tanks of the required six would actually be constructed by team B.
The Porsche Prototype II was eventually selected as the winner of the contest in 1963; this didn't come as a surprise: it had already been decided in 1961 to build a preseries of fifty vehicles based on this design; production of these was started that very year. This "0-series" was modified with a new cast turret and several hull changes to raise the rear deck to provide more room in the engine compartment, and move some of the radiators to the upper sides of the hull. Before mass production of the standard version started it was also decided to add an optical range-finding system for better long-range gunnery, which required the turret to be somewhat taller, and added "bumps" on either side of the turret to mount the optics for
triangulationIn trigonometry and geometry, triangulation is the process of determining the location of a point by measuring angles to it from known points at either end of a fixed baseline, rather than measuring distances to the point directly...
. In 1963 France and Germany had decided to each build their own tank; Germany continued with the Leopard, while France built the similar AMX-30.
Production was set up at Krauss-Maffei of
MunichMunich is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. It is located on the River Isar north of the Bavarian Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg...
from early 1964 onward, with deliveries of the first batch between September, 1965 and July, 1966. The Leopard was soon being purchased from Germany by a number of
NATOThe North Atlantic Treaty Organization ); ), also called "the Atlantic Alliance", is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on April 4, 1949...
members and other allies including in chronological order
BelgiumThe Kingdom of Belgium is a country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major international organizations, including NATO...
(1968), The Netherlands (1969),
NorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
(1970), Italy (1971),
DenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries; southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and it is bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea...
(1976), Australia (1976), Canada (1978),
TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
(1980) and
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
(1981). Germany has a strict export policy for military equipment; Greece,
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
and Chile, when still dictatorships, purchased the French AMX-30.
Leopard 1A1
After the first batch was delivered the next three batches were the
Leopard 1A1 model, which included a new gun stabilization system from Cadillac-Gage, allowing the tank to fire effectively on the move. The 1A1 also added the now-famous "skirts" along the sides to protect the upper tracks, and a new thermal jacket on the gun barrel to control heating. A less important change was to use rectangular rubber blocks fastened to the treads with a single pin instead of the earlier two-pin "shaped" versions, which could be easily replaced in the winter with metal X-shaped crampons for movement on
iceIce is a solid phase, usually crystalline, of a non-metallic substance that is liquid or gas at room temperature, such as carbon dioxide ice , ammonia ice, or methane ice. However, the predominant use of the term ice is for water ice, technically restricted to one of the 15 known crystalline phases...
and snow.
Between 1974 and 1977 all of the machines in the first four batches were brought to the same
Leopard 1A1A1 standard, and given additional turret armor developed by Blohm & Voss. A further upgrade in the 1980s added leftover image-intensifier night sights which were being handed down from the Leopard 2 as they were themselves upgraded. The PZB 200 image intensification system was mounted in a large box on the upper right of the gun, creating the
Leopard 1A1A2. A further upgrade with SEM80/90 all-digital radios created the
Leopard 1A1A3.
Leopard 1A2
The first 232 tanks of the fifth production batch was delivered as the
Leopard 1A2 between 1972 and 1974. The A2 included a heavier and better armored turret, and therefore did not receive the B&V armor add-ons as did the earlier machines. They did receive the other upgrades however--the
Leopard 1A2A1 received the PZB 200, the
Leopard 1A2A2 the digital radios, and the
Leopard 1A2A3 got both.
Leopard 1A3
The next 110 vehicles in the fifth batch were fitted with a new welded turret incorporating spaced armor and a wedge-shaped gun mantlet, creating the
Leopard 1A3. Although the level of armor area density was equivalent to the A2's new welded version, the internal volume was increased by 1.2 m³ and the effective protection level was increased by half. The improved TRP 2A independent sight was installed for the commander. Upgrades were identical to the 1A2 models, the
Leopard 1A3A1 with the night sights,
Leopard 1A3A2 with the new radios, and the
Leopard 1A3A3 with both.
Leopard 1A4
The
Leopard 1A4 formed the sixth batch of 250 vehicles, delivery starting in 1974. The 1A4 was externally similar to the 1A3, but included a new computerized fire control system and the new EMES 12A1 sighting system to aim it. In addition the commander was provided with his own independent night sighting system, the PERI R12. The new equipment used up space and the ammunition load was reduced to 55 rounds, of which 42 were stored in the magazine to the left of the driver.
Leopard 1A5
In 1980 a research program was undertaken to study further improvements to the Leopard 1, providing it with a completely modern fire control system and fully effective night/bad-weather vision system. This was going to require even more room than the larger turret from the 1A3/1A4 models, so the decision was made to base the upgrades on the earlier models which were no longer competitive.
The resulting
Leopard 1A5 was based on 1339 vehicles of the Leopard 1A1A1 model. The turrets were again modified for the 1A5, with a larger section at the back, both in order to store all of the new equipment, as well as to move more of the ammunition into the rear turret, as opposed to the left side of the driver where it had traditionally been stored. The storage locker extended the turret almost to the rear of the tank when the gun was facing forward. The new turret was also able to mount the newer 120 mm gun from the Leopard 2 if desired, although this option has not been used.
After trials the Krupp-Atlas Elektronik EMES 18 fire control system was selected in December 1983, developed from the
EMES 15EMES 15 is a main sight used in Leopard 2 tanks. It has two vision modes, normal dayvision and a thermal vision mode. Dayvision has a 12x magnification, and the thermal vision has two options: 4x or 12x....
used on the Leopard 2. The EMES 18 included two new sights on to the top of the turret, and no longer required the "bumps" as did the earlier optical systems. A crucial part of the upgrade was the introduction of more effective ammunition, including new
APFSDSA kinetic energy penetrator is a type of ammunition which, like a bullet, does not contain explosives and uses kinetic energy to penetrate the target....
rounds.
The Leopard tank could also be fitted with bolt-on lexan armour panels, which have increased the effectiveness of the armour. These "modified" tanks have proved themselves in the field.
The first modified vehicle was delivered in early 1987. Since then almost all users of the Leopard 1 have also applied similar changes to their own vehicles, and in most ways the 1A5 can be considered the "standard" Leopard 1 today.
Leopard 1A6
A single 1A1A1 was also modified with additional armor on the turret and had the 120 mm gun as the
Leopard 1A6. The project was ended in 1987, as the Leopard 2 was in widespread service at this point and the 1A5 offered a reasonable upgrade path for a fraction of the cost.
Other modifications
Simultaneous to the production of the battle tanks a number of engineering, bridging and recovery vehicles was developed, as well as a number of versions used in the anti-aircraft role.
In the Netherlands, there is an improved version equivalent to the A5 called "Leopard 1 Verbeterd" (improved), the same version is used by the
Chilean ArmyThe Chilean Army is the land arm of the Military of Chile. This 45,000-person army is organized into seven divisions, a special operations brigade and an air brigade....
.
The most well known Leopard variants are the Engineer Vehicle Bergepanzer and the Anti-Aircraft Gun
GepardThe Flakpanzer Gepard is an autonomous, all-weather-capable German self-propelled anti-aircraft gun . It was developed in the 1960s and fielded in the 1970s, and has been upgraded several times with the latest electronics...
. The equivalent of the Gepard is the
ZSU-23-4The ZSU-23-4 "Shilka" is a lightly armored, self-propelled, radar guided anti-aircraft weapon system . ZSU stands for Zenitnaya Samokhodnaya Ustanovka , meaning "anti-aircraft self-propelled mount", 23 stands for the caliber of the armament and 4 stands for the number of gun barrels. It is named...
. There was also a British SPAAG version called Leopard Marksman, which was equipped with the Marksman turret.
The Canadian Land Forces operate the Beaver bridgelayer, Taurus
ARVAn armoured recovery vehicle is a type of armoured fighting vehicle used to repair battle- or mine-damaged as well as broken-down armoured vehicles during combat, or to tow them out of the danger zone for more extensive repairs...
, and Badger AEV, all based on the Leopard 1.
The United Kingdom's
Royal MarinesThe Royal Marines are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service. They are also the United Kingdom's specialists in amphibious warfare, including the operation of landing craft; mountain warfare;...
operate a vehicle known as the Hippo BARV (or Beach Armoured Recovery Vehicle. The Hippo is a conversion by ALVIS Moelv of a Leopard 1A5 chassis. The main alteration has been the replacement of the turret with a raised superstructure which resembling the wheelhouse of a boat. The original 830 hp (634 kW) diesel engine has been retained but the gearing of the transmission had been lowered, reducing the vehicle's road speed to 32 km/h (20 mph), but increasing
tractive effortThe tractive force is the pulling force exerted by a vehicle, or machine or body.Tractive effort is a synonym of tractive force, used in railway engineering terminology when describing the pulling power of a locomotive....
to 250 kN (56,000 lbf). Other modifications include the addition of working platforms, a nosing block, raised air intakes and an
Auxiliary power unitAn auxiliary power unit is a device on a vehicle whose purpose is to provide energy for functions other than propulsion. Different types of APU are found on aircraft, as well as on some large ground vehicles.-Functions of APU:...
; this has raised the weight of the vehicle from 42.5 tonnes to 50 tonnes. The Hippo has a fording depth of 2.95 m (10 ft) and can pull vehicles up to 50 tonnes weight or push off from the beach a 240 tonne
displacementIn fluid mechanics, displacement occurs when an object is immersed in a fluid, pushing it out of the way and taking its place. The volume of the fluid displaced can then be measured, as in the illustration, and from this the volume of the immersed object can be deduced .An object that sinks...
landing craftLanding craft are boats and seagoing vehicles used to convey a landing force from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. Most renowned are those used to storm the beaches of Normandy, the Mediterranean, and many Pacific islands during WWII...
.
Gilded Leopard, Eber and Keiler
Almost as soon as the Leopard was introduced into service in 1965, Porsche was awarded a contract to study further improvements to the existing design, while waiting deliveries of the
MBT-70The MBT-70 was a 1960s joint German -U.S.-project to develop a new main battle tank using a number of advanced design features. It used a kneeling suspension, housed the entire crew in the turret, and the American version incorporated a gun-fired missile....
in the mid-1970s. This original
Gilded Leopard (
vergoldeter Leopard) program expired in 1967 with no production order. In that year it had already become obvious that the MBT-70 would be a failure. The agreement between the USA and the BRD forbade any national development of an MBT apart from technological experimentation, so a new tank project was begun under the designation of
Experimentalentwicklung or "experimental development", two prototypes of which were built.
When the MBT-70 program was ended a further contract was offered under the name
Boar (
Eber), with an emphasis on using as many technologies from the MBT-70 as possible, but without the problematic combined gun - rocket launcher. Two prototype vehicles were constructed using a new chassis from Porsche with the road wheels from the MBT-70 and the original Leopard engine, combined with a new Wegmann turret mounting the MBT-70's Rheinmetall 120 mm smoothbore gun (although some also mounted the original 105 mm). These were considered promising enough that seven more were ordered, this time powered by the MTU engine designed for the MBT-70. When this happened the
Experimentalentwicklung team went public with their alternative design which they called the
Keiler (a synonym of
Eber). In 1971 the minister of defence,
Helmut SchmidtHelmut Heinrich Waldemar Schmidt is a German Social Democratic politician who served as Chancellor of West Germany from 1974 to 1982. Prior to becoming chancellor, he had served as Minister of Defence and Minister of Finance. He had also served briefly as Minister of Economics and as acting...
, decided to abandon the
Eber-project and build seventeen prototypes of a Leopard 2, based on the
Keiler design, which had a turret with spaced
sloped armourSloped armour is armour that is neither in a vertical nor a horizontal position. Such "angled" armour is often mounted on tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles...
. The maximum weight was to be fifty metric tons.
During the 1973
Yom Kippur WarThe Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War or October War , also known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the Fourth Arab-Israeli War, was fought from October 6 to October 26, 1973, between Israel and a coalition of...
, 1950s and '60s generation tanks were badly beaten by
wire-guided missileA wire-guided missile is a missile that is guided by signals sent to it via thin wires connected to both the missile and its guidance mechanism, which is located somewhere near the launch site. As the missile flies, the wires are reeled out behind it...
s, and it was realized that dramatically improved armor protection was needed. The decision was made to allow the tank to increase its weight to the next classification, Military Loading Class 60 (tonnes), and a new design effort was started, with the spaced armour replaced with a much denser perforated armour assemblage. The new design would go on to augment and after the
Cold WarThe Cold War was the continuing state of political conflict, military tension, and economic competition existing after World War II , primarily between the USSR and its satellite states, and the powers of the Western world, including the United States...
sometimes replace the Leopard in many countries' armies.
Operators
Countries that are current or former Leopard 1 operators:
—71; 90 Leopard 1A3s were originally delivered as Leopard AS1, later upgraded, and since replaced by 59 M1A1 Abrams from the US—132 Leopard 1A5s(BE); 334 originally; are being replaced by the Mowag Piranha III. Only bridgelayers are to remain in service—128 Leopard 1A1s and 240 Leopard 1A5s—114 Leopard C2s (updated Leopard 1A5), reduced to 66 in the early 2000s Replaced by Leopard 2's Purchased from the Netherlands and Germany—202 Leopard 1Vs—Only ARVs and Bridgelayers remain in service—30 Leopard 1Vs from Chile—2,437 originally. 724, last shot 2003—about 520 Leopard 1A5s; 95 Leopard 1A3s/A4GRs and 128 Leopard 1Vs/INL are about to be retired—720 (600 A2s, 120 A5s) retired by the end of 2008, the AEVs, ARVs and ABLVs remain in service—43 ex-Belgian Leopard 1A5s(BE) to be delivered—468 originally; 200 Leopard 1A5s in storage—172 originally; only ARVs and Bridgelayers remain in service—337—4 Leopard 1A5 hulls have been adapted through extensive modification to create the
Hippo BARVThe Beach Armoured Recovery Vehicle is a British military support vehicle used for amphibious landings.There have been three different BARVs in British service since their first introduction during World War II...
(armoured amphibious recovery vehicles)
Australia
Leopard tanks first arrived in Australia from Germany in 1976, ending a selection and trial process (against the US
M60The M60 Series was a main battle tank introduced in December 1960. It was widely used by the U.S. and its Cold War allies, especially those in NATO, and remains in service throughout the world today despite being superseded by the M1 Abrams...
series) which started in 1971 when the army decided it needed a replacement for its British
CenturionsThe Centurion was the primary British main battle tank of the post World War II period, and was a successful tank design, with upgrades, for many decades. The chassis was also adapted for several other roles....
which had served since 1952.
In March 2004, the decision was made to replace the Leopard 1 with reconditioned US
M1A1 Abrams AIMThe M1 Abrams is a main battle tank produced in the United States. The M1 is named after General Creighton Abrams, former Army Chief of Staff and Commander of US military forces in Vietnam from 1968 to 1972. It is a well armed, heavily armored, and highly mobile tank designed for modern armored...
. A number of European nations had offered surplus Leopard 2s during the procurement.
The first 18 of 59 M1A1 Abrams arrived in September 2006. The M88A2 Hercules is concurrently replacing the Leopard family of support variants in Australian service.
The Leopard 1 was operated by the 1st Armoured Regiment and was officially withdrawn from service in July 2007. Their guns were never fired in anger.
Australian Leopard external links
Canada
Canada acquired 127 Leopard C1 tanks (equivalent to Leopard 1A3 with laser rangefinder), in 1978–79 for its
Land ForcesLand Force Command , often also called the Canadian Army, is responsible for army operations within the Canadian Forces.The current size of Land Force Command is 19,500 regular soldiers and 16,000 reserve soldiers, for a total of around 35,500 soldiers.LFC maintains regular forces units at bases...
, with 114 being put into service. Most of these tanks were stationed in Germany during the Cold War, with a few retained at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown, New Brunswick for training.
While investigating the possibilities of increasing the Leopards' armour (prior to a refit, turret armour upon close-up inspection was 1.5" + turret wall cast .75" steel, 'belly' armour was approx. 2.25" + cast frame steel 0.75" steel, skirt covering treads (tracks) was 1" rubber - not steel, but additional armour was applied on the forward half of the skirt during the refit - although only a small handful of C1s received a complete refit. The refit also included adding thermal night-vision equipment, five or six Leopard C1 tanks had an extremely thick MEXAS (Modular Expandable Armour System) appliqué armour kit applied, made by German firm IBD Deisenroth Engineering. These tanks, designated Leopard C1A1, served with
Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians)Lord Strathcona's Horse is a regular armoured regiment of the Canadian Forces. Currently based in Edmonton, Alberta, the regiment is part of Land Force Western Area's 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group. When deployed overseas, however, the regiment is placed in ad hoc formations that report...
in the 1999 KFOR mission in
KosovoKosovo is a disputed territory in the Balkans. Its majority is governed by the partially-recognised Republic of Kosovo , a self-declared independent state which has de facto control over the territory; the exceptions are some Serb enclaves...
. They were later upgraded with the same sights and fire-control system as the Leopard C2 (see below).
Starting in 2000, the 114 Leopard C1 tanks in service were upgraded to C2 standard at a cost of
CADThe Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. It is divided into 100 cents...
$139 million. The turrets of 123 surplus Leopard 1A5 tanks purchased from the German Defence Ministry were fitted into the existing hulls (nine turrets were reserved for spare parts and training), and the German tank hulls sold back to the upgrade contractor. The Leopard C2 is also equipped with thermal sights and EMES 18 fire-control system. Eighteen Leopard Crew Gunnery Trainers were purchased at the same time.
Canada also operates the Leopard 1-based Beaver
BridgelayerAn armoured vehicle-launched bridge is a combat support vehicle, sometimes regarded as a subtype of combat engineering vehicle, designed to assist militaries in rapidly deploying tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles across rivers...
and Taurus
Armoured Recovery VehicleAn armoured recovery vehicle is a type of armoured fighting vehicle used to repair battle- or mine-damaged as well as broken-down armoured vehicles during combat, or to tow them out of the danger zone for more extensive repairs...
, bought with the original Leopard C1, and the Badger Armoured Engineer Vehicle with a dozer blade and excavator bucket, which entered service in 1990.
A number of the Canadian Leopard tanks were pulled out of service during the 2000s in anticipation of replacing them with the eight-wheeled Mobile Gun System, but these plans were put on hold. Of the obsolescent tanks, 23 were sold to companies in North America, 4 put in museums or used as monuments (including two at the
Bovington Tank MuseumThe Tank Museum is a collection of armoured vehicles in the United Kingdom. With almost 300 vehicles on exhibition from 26 countries it is the most wide-ranging collection of tanks and armoured vehicles in the world...
), and 21 used as hard targets on ranges. The Canadian Army web site list indicates that 66 Leopard C2 remain in service.
http://www.army.forces.gc.ca/lf/English/2_display.asp?FlashEnabled=1&product=55&more=55
Canada sent a squadron of Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) to Afghanistan in the fall of 2006, equipped with fifteen Leopard C2 tanks with add-on armour, as well as two recovery vehicles and two engineering vehicles.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060915.wafghantroop0915/BNStory/National/homehttp://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/print/CTVNews/20061101/tanks_purchase_061101/20061101/?hub=Canada&subhub=PrintStory The armoured
squadronA squadron is a small unit or formation of cavalry, armour, aircraft , or warships.-Army and Marines:A cavalry squadron , typically consists of four troops.-United States:...
is intended to provide convoy protection, supporting Canada's Provincial Reconstruction Teams and other organizations equipped with lighter vehicles. The first tanks arrived in Kandahar in mid-October 2006.
http://www.strathconas.ca/index2.php On December 2, 2006 the Leopards stationed in Kandahar entered the field, marking the first time since the Korean War that a Canadian armoured squadron had sent tanks into an active war zone, and fired their guns in combat for the first time in as many years on the following day in response to a Taliban rocket attack.
After an initial assessment of the performance of the Leopard C2 in Afghanistan, Canada decided to invest in Leopard 2 tanks. It was determined that the lack of adequate air conditioning (essential in the searing heat of Afghanistan,) was degrading the tank crew's war fighting ability. The Army later downplayed this factor, citing increased armour protection and the main gun armament as reasons for upgrading to the Leopard 2. After some public speculation, Canadian Defence minister Hon.
Gordon O'ConnorGordon James O'Connor, PC, OMM, CD, MP is a retired Brigadier-General, current Canadian Member of Parliament and the Minister of State and Chief Government Whip....
clarified the situation on Thursday, April 12, 2007.
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2007/04/12/leopard-tanks-070412.html
To meet immediate needs in Afghanistan, twenty of the Bundeswehr's stock of Leopard 2A6s were upgraded to 2A6M standard and loaned to Canada at no cost by the German government. Two Leopard 2
Büffel Armoured Recovery Vehicles were acquired at the same time. These vehicles were shipped from Germany to Afghanistan, with the first arriving on August 16, 2007.
For the long term, Canada plans to replace the borrowed Leopard 2 tanks with a purchase of 100 surplus vehicles from the Netherlands, including 40 Leopard 2A6Ms for combat service, 40 Leopard 2A4s for training, and 20 support vehicles, such as Armoured Recovery Vehicles, Bridge-Layers and Armoured Engineer vehicles.
The older Leopard C2 tanks are considered to become completely obsolete by 2015, but specific plans for them have not yet been announced.
Canadian Leopard external links
Turkey
The
Turkish ArmyThe Turkish Land Forces is a branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. It is one of the largest standing armies in the world and the second largest army of NATO....
is upgrading its Leopard 1 tanks to a version called the
Leopard 1T. The modernization program includes the serial production and integration of the Volkan fire control system developed by
AselsanASELSAN was founded by the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation at the end of 1975 to produce tactical military radios and defense electronic systems for the Turkish Army. The first CEO of ASELSAN was Hacim Kamoy...
. The new indigenous system provides the capability of detecting the targets in daylight or at night in all weather conditions and combat environments. It highly increases the first round hit probability on the move.
Lebanon
Lebanon and Belgium finalized the transfer of 43 Leopard 1/A5 tanks to the
Lebanese Armed ForcesThe Lebanese Armed Forces is the military of the Republic of Lebanon. It consists of three army branches, an air force and a navy. The motto of the Lebanese Armed Forces is "Honor, Sacrifice, Loyalty"...
in a deal worth 3.5 million euros, which also includes a number of ex-Belgian APCs.
The purchased ex-Belgian APCs include 16
AIFV-B-C25The AIFV is a tracked light armoured vehicle which serves as an infantry fighting vehicle in the armies of several countries. It is a development of the M113A1 armoured personnel carrier.-History:...
s and 12 M113 armoured ambulances.
Denmark
In 1976
DenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries; southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and it is bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea...
acquired 120 Leopard 1A3 tanks, which were designated Leopard 1 DK. This was completed in 1978. In 1992 Denmark acquired another 110 1A3 tanks (partly through
Conventional Forces EuropeThe original Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe was negotiated and concluded during the last years of the Cold War and established comprehensive limits on key categories of conventional military equipment in Europe and mandated the destruction of excess weaponry...
treaty AFV reduction requirements.) These tanks were upgraded to Leopard 1A5-DK along with the first 120 Leopards which were not identical to the German 1A5 with welded turrets. Denmark had a total of 230 Leopard 1A5-DKs.
These Leopards were involved in one of the most important engagements in modern Danish military history. Denmark was the only Scandinavian country to send a significant tank force to support their peacekeeping operations in Croatia and Bosnia. During
Operation BøllebankDuring the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Operation Bøllebank was the largest combat operation by Danish forces since 1864...
and
Operation AmandaOperation Amanda was an UNPROFOR mission led by Danish peacekeeping troops, with the aim of recovering an observation post near Gradačac, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on October 25, 1994.-The engagement:...
, in 1994, these tanks successfully engaged hostile Serbian forces. This is believed to be the first hostile engagement involving the Leopard 1 tank.
Italy
Italy placed its first order for the Leopard 1 in 1970, with 200 delivered between 1971 and 1972. The vehicles replaced mainly the M47 Patton in the armoured units of the Italian Army. A further 400 Leopard 1s were build in Italy by OTO Melara starting in 1974, with a second batch of 120 build by OTO Melara between 1980 and 1983. All Italian Leopards were the A2 variant. Italy ordered a further 69 Bergeleopards (ARV) in Germany with another batch of 67 built in Italy by OTO Melara. The Pionierleopard (AEV) was ordered only in 1985, with 12 produced in Germany and 28 in Italy. 64 Bibers (AVLB) were assembled by OTO Melara.
At the end of the Cold War the Italian Army began an upgrade and a downsizing of its armoured units, the M60 along with a number of Leopards were retired in 1991. In 1995 Italy bought 120 A5 turrets from the Bundeswehr, which were mounted on the same number of reworked A2 hulls. These tanks took part in the various peacekeeping missions in the Balkans, but they never saw action.
The last A2 was retired in 2003, with the last A5 going in 2008, leaving the
ArieteThe C1 Ariete is the main battle tank of the Italian Army, developed by a consortium formed by IvecoFiat and Oto Melara. The chassis and engine were produced by Iveco, while the turret and fire-control system were produced by Oto Melara. The vehicle carries the latest optical and digital-imaging...
as the sole tank in Italian service. The AEVs, ARVs, and AVLBs have been reduced in number and some have been modified to work with the Ariete, they are stated to serve some more years as no replacement has been selected.
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