Leopard 2A7V

2023-12-27T20:30:20Z

U9130189: I added armour information as well as information on the armament of the tank.

{{Specs-Card
|code=germ_leopard_2a7v
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German medium tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update "Air Superiority"]].

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
{{Specs-Tank-Armour}}

''Describe armour protection. Note the most well protected and key weak areas. Appreciate the layout of modules as well as the number and location of crew members. Is the level of armour protection sufficient, is the placement of modules helpful for survival in combat? If necessary use a visual template to indicate the most secure and weak zones of the armour.''

'''Armour type:''' 


{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 45 mm (54-82°) ''Upper Glacis''
40 mm (53°) ''Lower glacis''
| 100 mm
''25% of the forward hull'' 10 mm

''everywhere else'' 
| 20 mm (11-17°) || 20 mm (0-8°) ''Hull roof incl. engine deck''
|-
| Turret || 80 mm (57°) ''Right cheek add-on''
80 mm (58°) ''Left cheek add-on''

30 mm (63°) ''Upper mantlet add-on''

588 mm NERA ''Right cheek''

650 mm NERA ''Left Cheek''
| 80 mm (20-22°) ''Right add-on''
80 mm (22°) ''Left add-on''

35 mm (0°) ''Forward''

15 mm (0°) ''Rear''
| 20 mm ''(with tracks)'' || 40 mm ''forehead''
20 mm ''crew compartment''

10 mm ''back of turret''
|-
|}

'''Notes:''' 


=== Mobility ===
{{Specs-Tank-Mobility}}

The Leopard 2A7V has average mobility. Whilst it piled on ''a'' ''bit'' more armor than its predecessors, it's new MTU 1500 HP engine allows it to retain much of the speed of it's predecessor, the 2A6, with better acceleration. It's top speed on a flat road surface is 61 km/h.

{{tankMobility|abMinHp=2032|rbMinHp=1327|AoAweight=2.4|abMaxHp=2862|rbMaxHp=1500|weight=64.1|abForwardSpeed=68|rbForwardSpeed=61|abReverseSpeed=31|rbReverseSpeed=27.7}}

=== Modifications and economy ===
{{Specs-Economy}}

== Armaments ==
{{Specs-Tank-Armaments}}
=== Main armament ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|1}}

{{main|Rh120 L/55 A1 (120 mm)}}

The {{PAGENAME}} has access to the DM53 APFSDS, a high penetrating APFSDS shell. Such shell is able to penetrate [[M1A2 Abrams]], [[Challenger 2]] and [[T-80U]] more easily than its predecessor. It is a good idea to always aim for the center of the neck of ennemy tanks for a sure hit that will usually incapacitate all if not most of the crews.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[Rh120 L/55 A1 (120 mm)|120 mm Rh120 L/55 A1]] || colspan="5" | Turret rotation speed (°/s) || colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! Mode !! Capacity !! Vertical !! Horizontal !! Stabilizer
! Stock !! Upgraded !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
! Stock !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
|-
! ''Arcade''
| rowspan="2" | 37 || rowspan="2" | -9°/+20° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | Two-plane || 38.1 || 52.7 || 64.0 || 70.8 || 75.3 || rowspan="2" | 7.80 || rowspan="2" | 6.90 || rowspan="2" | 6.36 || rowspan="2" | 6.00
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 23.8 || 28.0 || 34.0 || 37.6 || 40.0
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{{:Rh120 L/55 A1 (120 mm)/Ammunition|DM12A1, DM33, DM11, DM53}}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====


{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''37''' || 16 ''(+21)'' || 1 ''(+36)'' || __
|-
|}

*Shells are modeled individually and disappear after having been shot or loaded.
*Rack 2 is a first stage ammo rack. It totals 15 shells and gets filled first when loading up the tank.
*This rack is also emptied early: the rack depletion order at full capacity is: 2 - 1.
*Simply not firing when the gun is loaded will move ammo from rack 1 into rack 2. Firing will interrupt the restocking of the ready rack.
*Be careful, it carries slightly less total ammo than the 2A6. Nevertheless, it should not affect gameplay much as it is not recommanded to carry more than the first ammo rack.
*A well aimed shot at the front-right part of the hull with a kinetic projectile can cause detonation of the 2nd ammo rack.

=== Machine guns ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|2}}

{{main|MG3A1 (7.62 mm)}}

The machine guns on this tank are of small caliber. Do not expect to do much damage with them. Bold helicopters that charge the battlefield may still be taken down with focused fire.

{| class="wikitable" width="50%" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="5" |[[MG3A1 (7.62 mm)|7.62 mm MG3A1]]
|-
!Mount!!Capacity (Belt)!!Fire rate!!Vertical!!Horizontal
|-
|Coaxial||4,500 (1,000)||1,200||N/A||N/A
|-
|Pintle||2,000 (1,000)||1,200||-8°/+20°||±120°
|}
== Usage in battles ==

''Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but instead give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).''

=== Pros and cons ===
'''Pros:'''

* A very well-armoured MBT with even fewer weak spots (UFP).
* Deadly firepower, incredibly powerful DM53 APFSDS round.
* Gen 3 thermals.
* Spall liners in turret & hull armour.
* Extremely good gun handling for an MBT: 40°/s for both turret rotation and gun elevation speed (with Ace crew) and -9°/+20° of maximum vertical guidance.
* Cannon barrel and cannon breech can absorb impact rounds which may otherwise penetrate the turret and injure crew members.
* Has access to the DM11 HE round.

'''Cons:'''

* Decent mobility, but inferior to its predecessors.
* Lower frontal plate is weak and relatively huge, most penetrations from here are deadly.
* Huge hull ammo rack that can be shot easily, just like on the other Leopard 2 variants, if more than 16 shells are carried makes the tank vulnerable to HE shells and presents an annoying hull weak spot.
* Hull penetrations are likely fatal; a penetrating shot on the left side of the hull will most likely knock out the driver, gunner and commander, while a penetrating shell on the right side of the hull will most likely hit the ammo-rack, in both cases destroying the tank.
* The wedges can be shot off with several hits, though the turret cheeks alone provide armor against KE.
* Despite all the added armour, the turret ring and the mantlet are both easily penetrated, and the enemy will most likely aim at these two spots to disable or destroy the tank.

== History ==
In the mid 2010s, the German government backtracked on plans to reduce the size of the armored force in the Bundeswehr. Instead, a plan was formulated with Krauss-Maffei-Wegmann, the manufacturer of the Leopard 2 MBT, to produce additional vehicles under a new and improved standard.

The Leopard 2A7V, as it became known, featured improved protection thanks to a modular armor package bolted on the front of the hull as well as improved optics and a new transmission adapted to the increased weight. The new vehicle was officially presented in October 2019 and entered service with the Bundeswehr in September 2021. Presently, all 104 Leopard 2A7Vs ordered by Germany are in active service with the Bundeswehr.

''- From [[wt:en/news/8636-development-leopard-2a7v-the-ultimate-evolution-en|Devblog]]''

== Media ==

''Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.''

== See also ==

''Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:''

* ''reference to the series of the vehicles;''
* ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.''

== External links ==

''Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:''

* ''topic on the official game forum;''
* ''other literature.''

{{Germany medium tanks}}

War Thunder Wiki - User contributions [en]

Leopard 2A7V