Country of origin |
West Germany |
Entered service |
1979 |
Crew |
4 |
Dimensions and weight |
Weight |
55.15 t |
Length (gun forward) |
9.67 m |
Hull length |
7.72 m |
Width |
3.7 m |
Height |
2.48 m |
Armament |
Main gun |
120 mm smoothbore |
Machine guns |
2 x 7.62 mm |
Elevation range |
- 9 to + 20 degrees |
Traverse range |
360 degrees |
Ammunition load |
Main gun |
42 rounds |
Machine guns |
4 750 x 7.62 mm |
Mobility |
Engine |
MTU MB 873 Ka501 diesel |
Engine power |
1 500 hp |
Maximum road speed |
72 km/h |
Range |
550 km |
Maneuverability |
Gradient |
60% |
Side slope |
30% |
Vertical step |
1.15 m |
Trench |
3 m |
Fording |
1 m |
Fording (with preparation) |
4 m |
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Development
of the Leopard 2 Main Battle Tank (MBT) began in 1970. It was just a
couple of years after a previous
Leopard 1
entered service. In those days a
clash between NATO and the Warsaw Pact was possible and the West German
army needed a well protected tank, which would be superior to the models
introduced in the Eastern Block. First prototypes of the Leopard
2 were completed in 1972. In 1977 Bundeswehr initially ordered
1 800 of these main battle tanks to supplement and replace the Leopard 1. First production
batch of 30 tanks was completed in 1979 and the Leopard 2 was
adopted by the West German army during the same year. At the time of its
introduction it was a very advanced and successful
design. By 1993 German army operated a total of 2 155 of these MBTs.
The Leopard 2 was also a commercial success and was exported worldwide. Export operators
were
Netherlands (445 tanks), Switzerland (380 tanks, locally known as the
Pz.87), Sweden (160 Strv 121 and 120 Strv 122), Spain, Turkey (354), and some other countries.
A number of Leopard 2 tanks were sold to other countries from German
and Dutch surplus stocks. By 2019 a total of 16 countries were using
this tank.
A number of
advanced technologies and design solutions of the Leopard 2 were
taken over from the joint German-American MBT-70 program. The MBT-70
was a revolutionary design, however due to cost overruns, technical
problems and different requirements West Germany withdrew from the
program in 1969. However available advanced technologies were reused
on the Leopard 2 and American
M1
Abrams tanks. Fire control
system, armament, ammunition, transmission and tracks of the Leopard
2 are similar to those of the US M1
Abrams main battle tank in order to simplify maintenance.
This MBT has
a welded hull and turret. Composite armor of the
Leopard 2 tank is similar to British Chobham. It offers good
protection against armor-piercing rounds and anti-tank guided
weapons. Ready-to use ammunition is stowed in a separate compartment
in the turret bustle with blow-out panels. This improved
survivability of the crew. The tank is
fitted with NBC protection system and automatic fire suppression
systems.
The Leopard
2 main battle tank is armed with a fully-stabilized Rheinmetall
RH-M-120 120 mm smoothbore gun. Vehicle carries 42 rounds for the
main gun. A total of 15 ready-to-use rounds are stored in the turret bustle, while the
rest are store in front of the hull by the driver.
The Leopard 2 normally uses two main types of ammunition - the APFSDS-T
armor-piercing rounds and HEAT-MP-T multi-purpose rounds. The APFSDS-T round penetrates
around 450 mm of rolled homogenous armor equivalency at 2 000 m range.
Since
its introduction some generations of APFSDS-T rounds were developed
and used by the German army. Germans estimated that their Leopard 2
tank could penetrate frontal armor of the Soviet
T-72 tank
at a range of 2 000 meters and frontal armor of the
T-62 tank
at a range of over 4 000 meters. The HEAT-MP-T round is effective
against both soft and hard targets. The gun of the Leopard 2 tank
proved to be very accurate.
Secondary
armament consists of two 7.62 mm machine guns. One of them is
coaxial, while another is mounted on top of the roof.
The
Leopard-2 has a crew of four, including commander, gunner, loader
and driver. One interesting feature about this main battle tank,
that it has an escape hatch in the floor behind the driver.
This main
battle tank has a crew of four, including commander, gunner, loader
and driver.
The tank is
powered by an MTU MB 873 Ka501 turbocharged diesel engine, developing 1 500
horsepower. The Leopard 2 can be fitted with a deep wading kit.
After preparation it can ford water obstacles up to 4 m deep.
Variants
Leopard 2A1,
has improved armor protection. A number of components were improved
in order to make them more reliable.
Leopard 2A2, fitted
with improved sights.
Leopard 2A3, fitted with improved communications equipment and improved
parking brake.
Leopard 2A4,
fitted with new digital fire control system and improved turret with
more armor. It was the most widespread version of this tank. Its
production commenced in 1985 and ceased in 1992. All the previous
models were upgraded to this standard. It was produced in
Switzerland under license as the Pz 87. It looks like the Leopard
2A4 saw its first combat debut in 2016 during Turkish operation in
Syria. A number of these tanks Turkish were lost to anti-tank guided
missiles. A comparison test was recently made in Poland in order to
compare reliability of their Leopard 2A4 tanks with Polish
PT-91
Twardy tanks (improved variant of the Soviet
T-72). It
appeared that tanks with similar mileage (19 000 km) showed
different results. Distance between failures of the Leopard 2A4 tank
was 174 km and it took on average 1.3 days to repair the tank. On
the other hand distance between failures of the Polish PT-91 was
only 25 km and it took on average 3.2 days to repair the tank. So
despite its age the Leopard 2A4 can be seen as a rather reliable
combat vehicle, that is easy to keep in operational order.
Leopard 2A5
is a radically improved version. It was introduced in 1990. By 1998
a total of 225 German Army Leopard 2 main battle tanks were upgraded
to the 2A5 standard. At that time the Leopard 2A5 was referred as
the best main battle tank in the world.
Leopard 2A6 is another radically improved version with improved
armor protection and a longer 120 mm/L55 gun. It has longer range
and is more accurate than the Leopard 2A5. This tank is in service
with Germany, Canada, Greece, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.
Leopard 2A7
a proposed upgrade package for existing MBTs, which includes
additional armor, additional cameras for long-range surveillance,
advanced command and control equipment and some other improvements.
Bundeswehr plans to upgrade about 50-150 Leopard tanks to the 2A7
standard. Currently it is one of the best main battle tanks in the
world.
Leopard 2
PSO, a version optimized for urban and peacekeeping operations. It was developed as a
private venture. This MBT has increased protection against
improvised explosive devices and anti-tank missiles and rockets.
PzH-2000 self-propelled howitzer.
Buffel
armored recovery vehicle.
Kodiak engineering vehicle.
PBS 2
armored bridgelayer.
crew
training vehicle.
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