Notes: The Leopard was Germany’s first successful post-World War 2 tank design, with the requirement issued in 1956, and going into service in 1963. It was a standard sort of design for the period, with a few tweaks: the Germans decided to use the British L7A3 gun, since the Rheinmetall gun was not even near ready; the normal ranging machinegun for the period was replaced with a coincidence rangefinder, and some attention was made to crew comfort, not a big consideration at that time. The Leopard 1 was a very successful design, spawning numerous variants, steadily improving the design, until replaced by the Leopard 2 in 1979. By 2000, many countries were still using various Leopard 1 variants in front-line service, and some more equipped reserve units with them. Many were also modified into AEVs, ARVs, and AVLBs. The layout is conventional, with the driver at the center front, commander and loader’s hatches on the turret deck, and the engine to the rear.

The Leopard 1A1 adds a thermal sleeve to the main gun to reduce barrel droop during sustained fire. New, longer lasting tracks were fitted, as well as side skirts. The gun received better stabilization. These vehicles were further modified by adding appliqué armor and improved air intake filters; they are called the Leopard 1A1A1. These vehicles were then modified with image intensifiers and redesignated the Leopard 1A1A2. Improvements to the image intensifier led to the Leopard 1A1A4.

The Leopard 1A2 integrated the bolt-on appliqué of the 1A1A1 into the armor of the turret itself. Image intensification was extended to the driver. The vehicle was given an NBC overpressure system. About a third of these vehicles were further modified into the Leopard 1A3 standard; this gave the turret spaced armor, a stowage bin at the rear of the turret (designed to hold the searchlight when it is not mounted), and a ballistic computer with a laser rangefinder.

The Leopard 1A4 was the final version for the German Army; it has the previous improvements, plus full stabilization for the main armament. The next version, the 1A5, went mostly to Greece and Canada. These tanks have thermal imagers and a better suspension.

A few countries have additional improvements and features on their Leopards. Dutch 1A3s have an additional 10mm of appliqué armor added to the turret, glacis, sides, and lower hull; they use different radios, modified sights specifically designed for British-made ammunition, and use MAG machineguns in their coaxial mounts instead of MG-3s. (The commander’s machinegun is still an MG-3.) These vehicles were designated the Leopard 1-V; they were later given free of charge to Greece.

Italian 1A3s have lugs for reactive armor on the turret, glacis, and hull sides. Most of them have been modified to the Leopard 1A5IT configuration; these are basically 1A5s with appliqué armor.

Belgian Leopard 1s have their MG-3s replaced by MAGs. They have large external stowage boxes, a thermal sleeve for the main gun, improved gun stabilization, a laser rangefinder with ballistic computer, and appliqué armor. 132 of these tanks also have thermal imagers. (The remaining 202 were sold to undisclosed countries.) They are designated Leopard 1(BE) and 1A5(BE).

Many Greek and Canadian Leopards have extensive modifications and are dealt with under their own countries’ sections.

Twilight 2000 Notes: A few rare 1A5s were fitted with a 120mm main gun; this was stopped when Leopard 2 production reached a satisfactory level.

Merc 2000 Notes: As Real World Story.

Notes: After the failure of the German-American MBT-70 program in the late 1960s, Germany began development of a new tank to be called the Leopard 2. Though it shares a name with the Leopard 1, it shares virtually nothing with that vehicle, being an entirely new design. The first Leopard 2’s were delivered to the German Army in 1978, and by 1992 they had replaced most of the Leopard 1’s in the German inventory. Most of the Leopard 2-2A4 versions are similar to each other and have minor differences from each other, with the 2A5 being a major change in design. The Leopard 2 is also used by Austria, the Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland.

The layout of the Leopard 2 is conventional, with the driver at the center front and commander and loader’s hatches on the turret deck. The Leopard 2 is equipped with composite armor in the front and spaced armor on the sides. It has a fire control computer with a laser rangefinder. The gunner and commander have a thermal imager; the driver has a passive IR periscope.

Some of the other countries using the Leopard 2 have them with minor changes to suit their armies. Dutch Leopard 2s use MAG machineguns instead of MG-3s. Swiss Leopard 2s use Swiss radios and intercoms, and MG-83 machineguns.

The Leopard 2A5 is a Leopard 2 with numerous improvements. The tank has added armor on the turret and hull front, and the addition of composite armor to the side skirts; a GPS system has been added; the fire control system has been improved; the commander has a CITS (Commander’s Independent Thermal Imaging Sight); hydraulic gun controls have been replaced with electric controls; the driver’s hatch slides to the right (necessary because of the new shape of the turret); and a TV camera is mounted at the rear of the hull to help the driver back the tank without a ground guide. The ammunition bins have blow out panels similar to the M-1 Abrams series.

The Leopard 2A6 is basically a 2A5 using a longer 120mm L/55 Gun.

Twilight 2000 Notes: This is the tank Germany went to war with. They proved to be very effective; Pact tankers rightly feared them.

Merc 2000 Notes: The Leopard 2A6 and was never developed due to budgetary concerns.