It was announced as early as 2023—if not 2022—that Leopard tanks would be delivered to Ukraine. However, the “joy” of many Ukrainian tank crews was dampened by the so-called “defective” Leopards that were sent to Ukraine first. What kind of vehicles are we talking about, and why are they called that?
Contents:
A Brief Overview of the “Leopards” Themselves
The very first Leopard tanks appeared way back in the 1960s. While the Soviet Union was adopting the revolutionary T-64—which introduced new technologies and set the “trend in tank design” for decades to come—Germany decided not to experiment.
The Leopard 1 turned out to be relatively light and quite “aggressive” for its time. The name perfectly captured its essence—the main battle tank was a fast “hunter,” capable of quickly taking up a position and lying in wait for its “prey” in an ambush, securing the right to fire first. In any case, the Cold War did not escalate into a “hot” war, and the very first “Leopards” never had to face off against the T-64 and T-72.
As of 1966, the new West German tank weighed only slightly less than the latest Soviet models—40 metric tons. However, its armor could only protect the crew from automatic cannons or machine guns. That said, a main battle tank is not supposed to absorb the brunt of an attack. The engineers certainly held this view… The Leopard 1 was designed to engage enemy tanks in active defense, opening fire from ambushes and frequently changing positions.
But by the 1970s, it had become clear that the Leopard 1, to put it mildly, no longer met the demands of the times. The lack of armor was not worth the cost, which necessitated the development of the next tank in the family. The MBT-70 project failed, partly due to disagreements with American counterparts, but work on the MBT-80 proved far more productive… West Germany entered into partnership agreements with France and Italy, but this alliance was short-lived. Attempts to equip the vehicles with spaced armor failed to yield the performance figures characteristic of potential enemy tanks, as reported by intelligence.
Leopard 2K
AMX-40
OF-40
The success of Britain, the United States, and West Germany led to the rushed refinement of a French design—the Leclerc, which later received the designations Leclerc T40 and AMX-56 Leclerc, as well as the Italian OF-40, which was brought to mass production and named the C1 Ariete.
Leopard 2A1
AMX-56 Prototype
OF-40 MBT
M1 IP
Challenger 1
“Defective” Leopards
In the spring of 2022, Germany promised to deliver 110 Leopard-series tanks by 2023, and even then the news proved controversial. The issue wasn’t the delivery schedule, but the tank model. The tanks in question were Leopard 1A5s, which offer even less protection than the T-62s, which are often criticized in Russia. The T-62 can at least withstand fire from some anti-tank weapons, while the Leopard 1 cannot even withstand fire from automatic cannons.
Of course, no one is talking about conducting offensive operations in the 2023 campaign. The offensive phase has been deemed a failure even by Western media outlets, and conducting defensive operations will be a necessity. But… Can the Leopard 1 really hold its own against even early versions of the T-72B? Hardly—only at relatively short ranges and using the most advanced guided munitions in its arsenal that it is capable of firing.
Some believe that the U.S. will supply the enemy with M774 shells, which could indeed come as an unpleasant surprise. But a distinctive feature of the L7A3 gun compared to the American M68 is its less robust recoil mechanism, which will prevent it from firing M774-type ammunition… Just a couple of rounds fired with such shells would put the gun out of commission, and repairs would only be possible in NATO countries, with a wait time of several months. That’s too high a price to pay for a single T-72—and it’s not even certain that the T-72 would be destroyed.
Source — https://dzen.ru/a/ZM5EWIuelDR3XZe8
