The Leopard 1 is a main battle tank designed and produced in West Germany that first entered service in 1965. Developed in an era when HEAT warheads were thought to make conventional heavy armour of limited value, the Leopard focussed on firepower in the form of the German-built version of the British L7 105-mm gun, and improved cross-country performance that was unmatched by other designs of the era.
The design started as a collaborative project between Germany and France in the 1950s, but the partnership ended and the final design was ordered by the Bundeswehr, 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.
The Leopard quickly became a standard of European forces, and eventually served as the main battle tank in over a dozen countries worldwide. Since 1990, the Leopard 1 has gradually been relegated to secondary roles in most armies. In the German Army, the Leopard 1 MBTs have been phased out in 2003 while Leopard 1 derived vehicles are still widely used. The Leopard 2 MBTs have taken over the MBT role. Leopard hulls have been re-used in a wide variety of roles.
| Leopard 1 | |
|---|---|
| Type | Main battle tank |
| Place of origin |  West Germany |
| Service history | |
| Wars | Bosnian War War in Afghanistan |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 42.2 tonnes (increased on later models from original 40.0 tonnes) |
| Length | 9.54/8.29 m (gun forward/rearward) |
| Width | 3.37 m |
| Height | 2.39/2.70 m (turret roof/absolute) |
| Crew | 4 (commander, driver, gunner, radio operator/loader) |
| | |
| Armor | steel 19-21.7mm and 10-70mm RHA |
| Main armament | 1 x 105mm Royal Ordnance L7A3 L/52 rifled gun (13 rounds in turret 42 rounds in hull) |
| Secondary armament | 2 x 7.62 mm MG 3 or FN MAG (co-axial and commander's hatch) (5500 rounds) |
| Engine | MTU MB 838 CaM 500, 10-cylinder, 37.4 litres, multi-fuel engine 830 PS (819 hp, 610 kW) at 2200 RPM |
| Power/weight | 19.6 PS/tonne |
| Suspension | Torsion-bar |
| Operational range | 600 km (on road), 450 km (cross-country) |
| Speed | 65 km/h |
Leopard 1
The Leopard project started in November 1956 in order to develop a modern tank, the Standard-Panzer, to replace the Bundeswehr's American-built M47 and M48 Patton tanks, which, though just delivered to West Germany's recently reconstituted army, were rapidly growing outdated.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 fallout, the then-standard baseline for combat with the Warsaw Pact. 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 50 project had just failed. In June 1957, West Germany and the French Fourth Republic 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 Italy joined the development program. Several prototypes were entered for testing in 1960. Among the prototypes were Porsche's Model 734 from team A, sporting a cast turret and that of team B (Rheinmetall) 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 did not 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 triangulation. 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 Munich 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 NATO members and other allies including in chronological order Belgium (1968), the Netherlands (1969), Norway (1970), Italy (1971), Denmark (1976), Australia (1976), Canada (1978), Turkey (1980) and Greece (1981). Germany has a strict export policy for military equipment; Greece, Spain and Chile, while 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. The rubber blocks could be easily replaced with metal X-shaped crampons for movement on ice and snow in the winter.
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 received 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, which was equipped with a new armour consisting of two spaced steel plates with a plastic filling between them, 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 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 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.
Modified and derivative vehicles
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 Army.
The most well known Leopard variants are the Engineer Vehicle Bergepanzer and the Anti-Aircraft Gun Gepard. The Warsaw Pact equivalent of the Gepard is the ZSU-23-4. 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 ARV, and Badger AEV, all based on the Leopard 1.
The United Kingdom's Royal Marines 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 effort to 250 kN (56,000 lbf). Other modifications include the addition of working platforms, a nosing block, raised air intakes and an Auxiliary power unit; 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 displacement landing craft.
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-70 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 Schmidt, 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 armour. The maximum weight was to be fifty metric tons.
During the 1973 Yom Kippur War, 1950s and 1960s 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 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 War sometimes replace the Leopard in many countries' armies.
