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Leopard 1

1965 COLD WAR MAIN BATTLE TANK MODERN

History of Leopard 1

After the war, German war power in Europe was dismantled by the victors. The Soviet Union conquered Berlin, and the Allies entered from the west. The German nation eventually split along a dividing line, forming NATO-aligned West Germany and Soviet-controlled East Germany. For most of the Cold War, the situation remained the status quo, with both sides chattering and waiting for the other to make the first deadly move.

For NATO, World War III was supposed to engulf Germany and bring massive formations of Red Army tanks.

West Germany was admitted to NATO in 1955, and then, with the prospect of developing an entirely new tank, was forced to take the role of main battle tank in their roster. The new design became the first self-developed and produced main battle tank since the end of World War II in 1945. The West Germans were initially interested in a joint main battle tank that would not only control development costs but also make logistical sense. The French shared it between the two countries and NATO.

The two countries merged in 1956. For the West Germans, they were looking for suitable replacements for their newly minted American M47 and M48 Patton tanks. While the duo had a great time, they were ultimately limited by technology and the 90mm main gun armament.

The agreed project name became "Standard Armor".

The Leopard A1A6 brand was a brief attempt to arm the Leopard 1's turret with a more powerful 120mm main gun - a large caliber gun most commonly found on competing Soviet/Russian MBTs. The plan involves modifying the existing Leopard 1 A1A production model, with other changes including more armor on the turret fairing.

However, the more modern and greatly improved Leopard 2 series main battle tanks have gained a firm foothold in the Army's inventory and already use the Rheinmetall L55 series 120mm smoothbore gun as standard, making the 120mm armed Leopard 1 a point of contention. All further work on the joint venture ended in 1987.

While West German military arms exports are subject to certain restrictions, countries allied with NATO and the West certainly benefit from overseas sales of Leopard 1 MBTs. Operators (outside West Germany) include Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Ecuador, West Germany/Germany, Greece, Italy, Lebanon, Netherlands, Norway, Turkey and the United Kingdom. The Australians received 90 (as the Leopard AS1), the Belgians 132, the Brazilians 378 and the Canadians 114 (as the Leopard C2). Chile adopted 202, Denmark 230 and Ecuador 30. Greece managed 520, Lebanon 43 (via Belgium) and Norway 172.

The UK purchased four Leopard 1 A5 series hulls for conversion into amphibious armoured rescue vehicles. The largest operators of the Leopard 1 series are West Germany/Germany with 2,437, Italy with 720 in service, the Netherlands with 468 and Turkey with 337.

Although their numbers have dwindled globally since then, their influence and influence were very noticeable during the Cold War. Many have given way to more modern systems, such as the German successor Leopard 2 (itself a product of the failed Virtue "MBT-70" project) and the American M1 Abrams. Despite its 1950s pedigree, the Leopard 1 is still a key frontline main battle tank component for many armies today (2012), a testament to its superior design. The total production of Leopard 1 was 6,485 copies.

The Leopard 1 fought in the Bosnian and Afghanistan wars in 2001, and the readiness of some armies, such as the Australians, was severely limited - these units never fired weapons in the war.

The chassis and hull of the Leopard 1 later became the basis for the Flakpanzer Gepard self-propelled artillery system, which deployed a new turret with radar tracking facilities and two 35mm automatic cannons. In this form, the crew was reduced to three and a second diesel engine was installed to support the main source of power - an MTU engine identical to the Leopard MBT version itself.

The Leopard 1 was also modified as a Leopard AVLB dedicated vehicle - also known as the "Bridge Legging Tank" or "Biber" ("Beaver"). This variant is essentially the Panther tank itself, reincarnated without the turret. Instead, there is a two-part steel bridge system and an associated power plant. The Leopard 1 driver's trainer does not have a turret.

An ARV (Armored Rescue Vehicle) variant was also produced, as well as an AEV (Armored Engineering Vehicle).