Hello everyone, welcome back again with us in another episode of Military TV.
Today we want to discuss about “Germany's Leopard 2” Does it remain one of the World's Best Tank?
Germany’s Leopard 2 main battle tank has a reputation as one of the finest in the world,
competing for that distinction with proven designs such as the American M1 Abrams and
the British Challenger 2. This German MBT designed by Krauss-Maffei throughout the
1970s as a successor to the earlier Leopard 1 MBT. Entering service with the West German army in 1979
the Leopard 2 had received numerous modernization upgrades since then.
With Germany and the Netherlands as the major operators of the vehicle, and with a number
of other NATO nations also receiving orders, a total of approximately 3500 vehicles were built.
Following the cold war, Germany sold most of their Leopard 2s to various allies, including Austria,
Canada, Chile, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Spain,
Sweden, and Turkey. The Leopard 2 is considered to be one of the premier MBTs in operation today.
Once know the tank background, let now talk about the Leopard 2 specification.
The Leopard 2 MBT is a 137,000 pound or (62.3 tons) vehicle that is approximately
33 feet long with the main weapon oriented in a forward direction,
12.25 feet wide, and 10 feet in height to the top of the turret roof.
The vehicle is operated by a crew of 4, consisting of a driver, loader, gunner,
and commander. The crew layout is traditional, with the driver located at the front center toward
the right hand side and the others located within the turret. The main weapon of the Leopard tank
is the 120 mm Rheinmetall L/55 smoothbore gun. Moreover, the vehicle is powered by a 1500 hp
MTU MB 873 liquid-cooled V-12 twin-turbo diesel engine. A HSWL 354 transmission provides four
forward gears and 2 reverse gears and the vehicle is equipped with torsion bar suspension
and advanced friction dampers. Seven dual rubber tire road wheels and four return rollers provide
the vehicle running gear on each side, with a forward idler wheel and a rear-drive sprocket.
The vehicle is able to attain speeds of 45 mph, is able to drive through water 13 feet deep without
alteration through the use of a snorkel, can climb 3 ft high vertical obstacles, and travel
340 miles with the 1200 liters of internally stored fuel. With a design emphasis on mobility,
the Leopard 2 is regarded as without competition in regards to speed and cross-country capability.
Most fielded Leopard 2s have been upgraded from the earlier Leopard 2A1, 2A2 and 2A3 versions
to either the Leopard 2A4 or 2A5 designation, with principle modifications being to the weapon,
firing control system and armor package. The latest fielded version is the Leopard 2A6.
A Leopard 2A7+ configuration has also been developed but this involves only
minor sub-system upgrades compared to the 2A6 version. The 2A7 package can be selected
by customers as a future optional upgrade. Next, we need to know about the Leopard 2
armament as the power of tank. The primary weapon of the Leopard 2
MBT is the 120 mm Rheinmetall smoothbore gun. Developed by the Germans and recognized and one
of the premium guns of its class in the world this weapon is built under license by many other NATO
and allied nations for their own MBTs, including the M1 Abrams. The Leopard 2A1 had the 120 mm L/44
installed while later configurations were provided with the L/55 version.
The ‘L’ designation is for ‘length’ and the numerical value indicates the length of the
barrel in proportion to the weapon caliber of the barrel. So L/44 is a barrel with a length equal to
44 times the diameter of the gun tube. The L/55 is more than 4 feet longer than the L/44 barrel.
As barrel length increases the muzzle velocity of exiting rounds corresponding
increases, improving both accuracy (flatter trajectory) and lethality.
The significant increase in barrel length of the L/55 versus the L/44.
And the primary ammunition for the 120 mm cannon consists of armor-piercing and high
explosive rounds. The latest rounds are of a 5th Generation configuration. The anti-tank round is
the DM63 Armor Piercing Fin Stabilized Discarding Sabot-Tracer (APFSDS-T), specifically designed for
optimized performance in high temperature (i.e., desert) environments. The DM63 replaced the
previous DM53 APFSDS-T, which itself replaces the DM33, DM23, and the original DM13 APFSDS-T round.
Each evolutionary step of the round tended to increase the length to diameter ratio,
thereby improving penetration capability. While the secondary weaponry consists of 7.62
mm MG3A1 machine guns, provided with 4,750 rounds of ammunition. The Leopard 2A7+ vehicle has also
been upgraded to provide a FLW200 Remote Control Weapon Station (RCWS), ensuring that the weapon
operator is not exposed during firing, as is the case with the roof-mounted 7.62 mm MG3 machine
gun. The FLW200 can be configured to fire a 50 caliber, 5.56 mm, or 7.62 mm machine gun,
or a 40 mm grenade launcher, all of which are fully stabilized. The unit is operated
by the vehicle commander and targeting is provided through a Charge Couple Device or (CCD) day camera
and a thermal imager. A laser range finder is also provided to evaluate target distance.
In terms of design, The Leopard 2 MBT is constructed from welded ballistic steel
to which supplemental add-on-armor (AOA) modules are added. The AOA consists of a 3rd generation
composite solution optimized to defeat shaped charge warheads, as used in HEAT rounds, RPGs,
and ATGMs. The vehicle also offered protection of the vehicle and its occupants against both
large-caliber kinetic energy penetrators and shaped charge warheads. The vehicle frontal arc
armor is up to 31 inches thick and has been suggested as able to provide protection against a
standard Soviet 125 mm APFSDS round at 1500 yards. As we know, the Leopard tank has a reputation as
one of the best in the world. However, that reputation for nigh-invincibility has faced
setbacks on Syrian battlefields, and placed Berlin in a uniquely awkward national-level
dispute with Turkey, its fellow NATO member. This was shockingly illustrated in December 2016
when evidence emerged that numerous Leopard 2s had been destroyed in intense fighting
over Islamic State-held Al Bab a fight that Turkish military leaders described as a “trauma,”
according to Der Spiegel. A document published online listed Islamic State as apparently
having destroyed 10 of the supposedly invincible Leopard 2s five reportedly by anti-tank missiles,
two by mines or IEDs, one to rocket or mortar fire, and the others to more ambiguous causes.
These photos analyzed by Bellingcat confirm the destruction of at least eight.
One shows a Leopard 2 apparently knocked out by a suicide VBIED an armored kamikaze truck packed
with explosives. Another had its turret blown clean off. Three Leopard wrecks can be seen
around the same hospital near Al Bab, along with several other Turkish armored vehicles.
Actually, later versions of the Leopard 2 starting with the A5 have greatly improved the all-around
armor protection, as it turned out the ideas of the 1970s didn’t turn out quite as they expected.
But the A4 is really still a cold war tank and is not suited to today’s engagements.
So what is going wrong there? We can see in most of the videos that
the tanks are advancing over open terrain on their own,
without infantry support, and their opponents are able to shoot at the weak side armor. What
that demonstrates is simply that the Turkish army lacks decent training and experience in
combined arms warfare at that time. Thanks for watching, and as always
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