Hey guys,
since a few weeks im posting from
time to time some tank pictures into
any thread. Sometimes guys can´t,
won´t or don´t understand the fact
that the Leopard 2 A6 is the best
tank which has ever been built!
Now im trying to change your
opinion if you haven´t still
understand that the Leopard 2 A6 is
the best.
Leopard 2 A6 vs. M1 A2 Abrams
vs
What's the most efficient Main
Battle Tank (MBT) in the world? An
easy nomination is the U.S. Abrams,
but as further proof that Germans
know a bit about engineering,
there's also the Leopard 2A6.
Entering service with the
Bundeswher (German Army) in 2001,
the 2A6 is the latest improvement
on a tank line that has been under
development since the 60s. With the
notable features of replaceable
armor, advanced gun sighting, and a
longer, more powerful cannon than
its American counterpart, the 2A6
can make a strong claim on the title
of "world's most powerful tank."
Those who support the Abrams
M1A2 might disagree -- but let's
break it down before we arrive at
any conclusions.
Between 1960 and 1965, the United
States and then-West Germany were
involved in a joint effort to design
and build an advanced heavy battle
tank, the MBT/Kpz-70. While the
terms of the agreement between the
two nations prohibited the countries
from designing new tanks "in house,"
Porsche was given the go-ahead in
1965 to develop improvements to the
then-in service Leopard I to bring
this tank's fighting capabilities up to
the standards established by the
MBT/Kpz-70 program. This program,
dubbed the "Vergoldeter
Leopard" (Gilded Leopard), received
additional funding in 1967 when the
West German Defense Ministry,
dissatisfied with the joint program's
progress, decided to increase the
scope of the project and rename it
"Keiler" (Wild Boar). In 1969, the US/
FRG MBT/Kpz-70 program dissolved,
but in 1970 the Ministry of Defense
combined the Vergoldeter Leopard
with the surviving MBT-70
technology to create a new tank.
The first prototypes resembled
modified Leopard 1A4s, using
MBT-70 road wheels, but retained
the Leo I return rollers, while the
engine exhaust, located on the sides
of the hull rear in the Leo I, was
moved to the hull rear. The engine,
taken from the MBT-70 design, was a
12-cylinder MTU MB-873 Ka-500
water-cooled multi-fuel four-stroke
diesel. Coupled with a 20Kw electric
generator, gearbox, air filters, coolant
system and automotive braking
system, the entire assembly could be
swapped out in 15 minutes.
Seventeen prototypes were built, ten
with Rheinmetall 105mm smoothbore
cannons, and the remaining seven
with a Rheinmetall 120mm
smoothbore. By 1977 the design, a
MLC 60 tank with 120mm
smoothbore cannon, multi-layered
armor and 12-cylinder multi-fuel
engine, had finally been approved by
the MoD and designated the
Leopard II.
The first Leopard II entered service
with the German army in 1979.
Equipped with a fully stabilized
hydro-electrical fire control system
as well as a 3600 2x-8x independent
commander's sight, the new Leo II
was the world's most lethal MBT in
service at the time. The Leopard II
carries 15 rounds of main gun
ammunition in an armored
compartment in the loader's station
(like the M1, this compartment had
"blow off" panels to redirect any
ammunition compartment
explosions) while an additional 27
rounds are stored in trays to the
driver's left (unlike the M1, these
rounds are not blast-protected, but
their placement allows for
immediate access by the loader --
provided the main gun is over the
front deck -- for transferring to the
armored turret compartment or for
direct loading). In addition, the
turret is equipped with a fully
stabilized co-axially mounted
7.62mm MG-3 machine gun with
4,750 rounds of ammunition. Both
loader's and commander's hatches
are equipped with mounting rings to
accommodate the single MG-3 anti-
aircraft/ general purpose machine
gun available between them.
Twenty years later, the Leopard II,
now in the A6 form, is still setting
the standard for total MBT
performance. The Leo II's distinctive
"bunker" turret, with its zero angle
slab sided walls, has been modified
to accept additional bolts on sloped
third generation layered armor
packages. Introduced with the A5
variant, this additional armor not
only significantly increases the
degree of protection, but because of
its modular design, panels can be
easily replaced when damaged in
combat. The turret also incorporates
an internal spall liner to reduce
fragmentation effects should a
projectile penetrate into the crew
compartment.
Introduced with the A4 model, the
A6 continues to use a gun mounted
muzzle reference system (similar to
that used on the M1 Abrams) to
enable the gunner to compensate
for thermal flexing in the main gun.
The EMES-15 dual magnification
primary sight, used continuously
through all of the Leo II designs,
has been raised to the top of the
turret (for increased "turret down"
visibility) and provided with an
armored "doghouse," while the
commander's PERI-R-17A2 stabilized
independent sight (equipped with
an independent thermal channel
since the A5) has been repositioned
to the left rear of the commander's
station (to increase forward visibility)
. As with all the tanks in the Leo II
series, the Commander's sight allows
for rapid target designation and
handoff, whereby the commander
can designate a target for the
gunner using the commander's
override and then, once the gunner
has acquired the designated target,
resume scanning for additional
targets to designate.
The 2A6's fire control system
incorporates a WBG- X thermal sight
and CE628 Nd:YAG laser rangefinder,
both manufactured by Zeiss
Optronik. Although the commander's
station is equipped with is own
thermal sight, the gunner's thermal
sight picture can be rerouted to the
commander's monitor for target
classification and evaluation. The
electro-hydraulic stabilization system
has been replaced by a completely
electrical one that not only
eliminates potentially hazardous
pressurized hydraulic fluid from the
turret, but also significantly reduces
overall noise and temperature levels
inside the turret (especially when
the main motor is off).
While the increased armor has
necessitated the A6's MLC to be
increased from 60 to 70, the
improved MTU MB 873 Ka-501 liquid-
cooled, 47.6-liter, 4-stroke, turbo-
charged V-12 diesel engine, which
develops 1,500hp at 2,600 rpm, is
more than capable of maintaining
the Leo II's legacy of automotive
performance. The A6 is also
equipped with an auxiliary power
unit (APU) to power the vehicle's
electrical systems when the main
engine is off as well as a crew
compartment air conditioner.
What sets the A6 apart, however,
from the rest of the world's 120mm
equipped tanks is its longer L55
120mm cannon. With an increase in
130cm in barrel length over previous
L44 cannon (55 caliber vs. 44 caliber)
, projectiles fired from the L55
achieve higher muzzle velocities (and
correspondingly higher levels of
kinetic energy.) The L55 chamber
has also been redesigned to accept
more powerful, higher chamber
pressure charges, which will impart
even more velocity and kinetic
energy on anti-tank munitions
(current German KE rounds fired
from the L55 achieve muzzle
velocities in the 1,800 m/s range,
while the M829A2 APFSDS-T rounds
fired from the American M256
120mm cannon are in the 1,700 m/s
range. (It should be noted that
while the German rounds are faster,
their LKE II DM53 KE rounds use a
tungsten-based penetrator (for
environmental and political reasons)
which does not offer the same
degree of penetration as the
American 829A2, which uses a
depleted uranium penetrator.)
A tank's qualities can be measured
in three categories -- firepower,
maneuverability, and armor
protection -- and its "greatness"
depends on how well it fares against
its peers in these categories. In this
regard, the M1A2 SEP, with its
superior armor and lethality
(compared with the protection and
penetrating qualities of the A6's
systems) might take the prize as the
superior vehicle. But in the real
world, politics and economics play a
very important role in MBT design.
While the M1A2 SEP is a physically
superior vehicle, at $5 million a
copy, it is also the most expensive,
almost a third again as expensive as
a brand new A6.
The A6 also has an advantage in
that it is a follow-on improvement in
the Leopard II series, which means
that countries currently fielding
older versions of the Leopard II can
simply have their existing fleet
upgraded to the A6 standard. And
since the M1A2 utilizes depleted
uranium in its armor and
ammunition -- a substance that most
European nations (England being an
exception) have chosen not to use in
military hardware -- the A6 is the
most effective, non-DU tank currently
available.
Finally, in simple terms of technology
age, the A6 is a much "newer"
vehicle than the M1A2. Why is this
significant? The issue of "newness"
has serious implications when
applied to maintenance
requirements and parts availability.
The Avro-Lycoming 1,500 hp turbine
engine that powers America's entire
fleet of MBTs, for example, has been
out of production since 1992, which
makes finding replacement motors
more difficult, and increases the cost
of what spare parts are currently
available. While the turbine powered
M1 series has a higher acceleration
and "burst" speed, this is at the
expense of significantly higher fuel
consumption rates. This may not
seem like much, but fuel
consumption is a very real issue for
countries like Greece, which lacks
America's deep fiscal pockets.
Is the Leopard 2A6 the best battle
tank in the world? As with a lot of
things, it all depends on your
perspective, but no one can deny its
advanced design, its armor
protection, its power, and its relative
affordability. Put it all together, and
you have the best tank which has
ever been built!
