Leopard tank
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Leopard1.jpg
The Leopard (or Leopard 1) is a German designed and produced tank that first entered service in 1965 and was used as the main battle tank for Germany, other European countries, Australia and Canada.
The design started as a collaborative project between Germany and France in the 1950s, but they split and the designs was ordered Bundeswehr. It has gradually been relegated to secondary roles in the 21st century. In the Bundeswehr it has been replaced by the Leopard 2.
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Development
The original Leopard was a fairly conventional design armed with a German-built version of the British L7 105-mm gun and known for its good cross-country speed.
Leopard 1
The Leopard project started in November, 1956 in order to develop a modern tank to replace the Bundeswehr's United States-built M-47 & M48 tanks, which were rapidly growing outdated. In 1957 the detailed designs were released; the new design needed to able to withstand hits from 20 mm anti-tank guns, operate in a battlefield contaminated with chemical weapons or radioactive fallout, the then-standard baseline for combat with the Warsaw Pact. In addition the main armament was to be upgraded to the new British L7A3 105 mm gun, carrying at least as much ammunition as current US designs.
In June, 1957 West Germany and the French Fourth Republic signed an agreement to develop a common tank, designated Standard-Panzer. Two German and one French design teams would be included in a competition, with each team producing two prototypes each. In September, 1958 Italy joined the development program. Several prototypes were entered for testing in 1960. Among the prototypes were the Porsche's Model 734 sported an odd looking turret and the Rheinmetall's version was somewhat "flatter" and used a more normal looking welded turret.
The Porsche version was eventually selected as the winner of the contest in 1963, but 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 production 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.
Production was set up at Krauss-Maffei of Munich, with deliveries of the first batch between September, 1965 and July, 1966. The Leopard was soon being purchased by a number of NATO members including Canada, Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and Turkey, as well as by Australia.
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 ice 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 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 armor protection was the same as the A2's new welded version, the internal volume was increased by 1.2 m³. 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, delivered 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.
The 1A4 was initially to have followed an upgrade program similar to the earlier models, but instead this model was phased out of service in favor of more dramatic upgrades to the earlier 1A1A1 models.
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 the Leopard 1A1A1 models, of which there were over a thousand still in service or storage. A complete new turret was created for the 1A5 that was much larger, 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 Electronik EMES 18 fire control system was selected in December 1983, developed from the EMES 15 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 APFSDS rounds.
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 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
As the Leopard 1 was replaced in service by the Leopard 2, many of the otherwise serviceable hulls were used for various second-line duties. Included were a number of engineering, bridging and recovery vehicles, as well as a number of versions used in the anti-aircraft role.
Gilded Leopard, Wild Boar
Almost as soon as the Leopard was introduced into service in 1965, Porsche was awarded a contract to study further upgrades to the existing machines, while waiting deliveries of the MBT-70 in the mid-1970s. This original Gilded Leopard program expired in 1967 with no production order.
As the MBT-70 program started to drag on a further contract was offered under the name Wild Boar, with an emphasis on using as many technologies from the MBT-70 as possible. 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.
During the 1973 Yom Kippur War, 1950s and '60s generation tanks were badly beaten by wire-guided missiles, 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 started.
The new design, to be known as the Leopard 2 was selected from one of seventeen prototypes that were created for program in 1974. The new design would go on to replace the Leopard in many countries' armies.
Production History
The Leopard 1 was first produced in 1963.
Operators
de:Leopard 1
no:Leopard (stridsvogn)
fr:Char Leopard 1
he:ליאופרד (טנק)