Leopard I

Leopard I

Panther F

Leopard A1A1

Leopard I

Panther F

Leopard A1A1

Germany

V Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
8.0	8.0	8.0

Class:

Medium tank

Research:120 000

Purchase:340 000

This page is about the German medium tank Leopard I. For other uses, see Leopard (Family).

Description

The Leopard I is a Rank V German medium tank with a battle rating of 8.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.51 "Cold Steel".

The main strengths of the Leopard I are its high mobility and the above-average rate of fire of the main cannon. In combination with a good gun depression of -9° (meaning, you can lower the gun quite extensively), an experienced Leopard I driver can exploit uneven terrain to effectively fight his enemies without showing much of his vehicle - or being in the inconvenient situation to leave his cover to return fire.

The MG3A1 is rapid firing rifle calibre GPMG equipped in a coaxial and pintle mount, but otherwise of little use against armoured vehicles. The occasional open top SPAA can be harassed, although some of the crew won't be accessible without a good angle. Most annoying on the ZSU-57 with its tall crew shielding and more than 13 mm of armour. Therefore just above the machine gun's penetration ability at 10m.

Considering everything, the Leopard 1 is not a bad vehicle in the right hands - unfortunately, the lack of a stabilizer and extremely sub-par armour will result in many less experienced players struggling to perform well when many of their opponents will have better, often stabilised guns and armour

General info

Survivability and armour

The Leopard's armour is not thick enough in the game to defend itself from most incoming fire, as many shell types at its battle rating are able to easily penetrate and destroy the tank. The Leopard 1 was originally built with a "perfect standard tank" idea, similar to the Main Battle Tank concept, as during its development, the armour has been considered an expendable quality and that superior speed and firepower is most important. Therefore the Leopard's armour design was only meant to withstand 20mm calibers from the front. A big threat is the ZSU-57, which gives any Leopard 1 a hard time with its high rate of fire of effective 57mm AP rounds.

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour (Hull, Turret roof)
• Cast homogeneous armour (Turret)

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides (Slope angle)	Rear	Roof
Hull	70 mm (60°) Front glacis 50 mm (51°) Bottom glacis	35 (40-42°) mm Top hull side 30 mm Bottom hull side	25 mm (12-47°)	30 mm Front area 15 mm Rear area
Turret	65 mm Turret front 45 - 200 mm Gun mantlet	37-45 mm (28-31°)	25-52 mm (26-72°)	25-35 mm Turret roof 20 mm Cupola area

Notes:

• Suspension wheels and tracks are 20 mm thick.
• The turret mantlet has varying thicknesses ranging from 45 - 200 mm. It is thickest near the centre in contrast to the borders where it is the thinnest.

Mobility

Mobility characteristic
Weight (tons)	Add-on Armor weight (tons)	Max speed (km/h)
40.0	N/A	72 (AB)
		65 (RB/SB)
Engine power (horsepower)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	1,286	1,583
Realistic/Simulator	734	830
Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	32.15	39.58
Realistic/Simulator	18.35	20.75

Armaments

Main armament

105 mm L7A3
Capacity			Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance	Stabilizer
60			-9°/+20°	±180°	N/A
Turret rotation speed (°/s)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
Arcade	14.28	_.__	_.__	_.__	_.__
Realistic	14.28	_.__	_.__	_.__	_.__
Reloading rate (seconds)
Stock	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
9.30	_.__	_.__	_.__

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration in mm @ 90°
		10m	100m	500m	1000m	1500m	2000m
DM13	APDS	303	302	296	277	257	252
DM502	HESH	127	127	127	127	127	127
DM12	HEATFS	400	400	400	400	400	400

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity in m/s	Projectile Mass in kg	Fuse delay in m:	Fuse sensitivity in mm:	Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):	Normalization At 30° from horizontal:	Ricochet:
								0%	50%	100%
DM13	APDS	1478	5.8	N/A	N/A	N/A	+1.5°	75°	78°	80°
DM502	HESH	730	15	0.4	0.1	4,310	+0°	75°	78°	80°
DM12	HEATFS	1173	11	0.0	0.1	1,270	+0°	65°	72°	75°

DM13 APDS (Armour-Piercing Discarding Sabot) will comfortably penetrate the armour of most foes; be aware however that some vehicles such as the IS-4 or M103 are only vulnerable in specific weak spots. APDS rounds do require some finesse with their placement, and because of the lack of explosive filler, unless you're confident you can secure a kill before a target can respond, you should attempt to disable their weaponry first to ensure your own safety. Against targets with known ammunition storage, it's possible to try to detonate it with a well-placed shot; keep in mind, however, that ammo detonations always occur with a random chance, taking out crew members is more reliable to destroy your enemies. This, of course, requires knowledge about the vehicles you may face - so be sure to use the game's X-Ray view in the hangar and analyse your potential foes for their weak spots! Also, keep in mind that with increased armour thickness the amount of shrapnels shrinks.

DM12 HEAT-FS (High-Explosive Anti Tank Fin Stabilised): Knowledge of potential opponents vehicle layouts can be very handy - as you now have a round at your disposal that can penetrate essentially any vehicle's armour frontally. Like the APDS shot, increased armour thickness results in a reduced amount of shrapnel after penetration. You are able to take out enemies on any distance since the HEAT round does not lose penetration effectiveness with distance - very handy on big scaled maps like Kursk. There is, however, a significant downside to HEATFS: Given that it is a chemical energy round, its fuse is highly sensitive in regards to its practical application in battle. As a result, virtually anything, such as trees or even a fence, will set it off prematurely, so you cannot fire through obstructions with this kind of round. It's often a good idea to clear bushes and fences with your machine guns quickly before taking a shot. Finally, the HEATFS round is relatively expensive in terms of SL, so keep that in mind when loading up.

DM502 HESH (High-Explosive Squash-Head) works very differently than other shell types. It ignores any angle, except for ricochet and deals damage by metal-flakes which are blown off inside the armour by the exterior explosion. To create this deadly shrapnel inside the tank, make sure to only hit armour plates which are directly adjacent to the interior crew compartment of the tank. Hitting exterior parts of a tank like spaced armour, the suspension, tracks etc. will not harm crew members/modules at all. Unfortunately, HESH is particularly ineffective against particularly high true armour values (as opposed to high 'effective' armour values sourced from highly angled but thin armour - HESH loves angles!). Like all high-explosive shells, the fuse is very sensitive and can be set-off by most objects e.g. fences, trees, shrubbery. The low muzzle velocity of this shell can make it quite hard to hit targets at larger distances, although an experienced tanker may be able to use this to their advantage by lobbing a round over a small deffolade or hill. It's also worth noting that HESH can be rather unreliable at times; it's best used as a fall-back ammo, or saved for particularly lightly armoured targets.

Ammo racks

File:Ammoracks LeopardI.png

Ammo racks of the Leopard I.

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
60	58 (+2)	47 (+13)	43 (+17)	40 (+20)	1 (+59)	No

Turret empty: 47 (+13)

Machine guns

7.62 mm MG 3A1
Pintle mount
Capacity (Belt capacity)				Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
2,000 (1,000)				1,200	-8°/+20°	±120°

7.62 mm MG 3A1
Coaxial mount
Capacity (Belt capacity)				Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
5,500 (1,000)				1,200	N/A	N/A

Usage in the battles

Scan and use the terrain to your advantage. Take into consideration the moderate vehicle height, which allows you to go turret down in certain locations, allowing you to safely use your commander's binoculars to locate targets. Then, after you have located the enemy, fire a few rounds in quick succession and relocate when spotted, especially when the enemy shots come dangerously close. The Leopard is quite fast, so taking hits from a distance while on the move is a risk that you may consider worth taking.

Always remember: The Leopard is not designed to take hits from any guns, nor fight in stand-off situations against heavier enemy vehicles. Frontally, the angle of the hull can bounce shots once in a while, but you're better off not to rely on this. The turret front is also the same, it's best to attempt to only fire when you can avoid receiving a shot or relocating to a position if possible. The main goal is to make the opponent incapable of returning fire. The majority of Russian rank V tanks (IS-3, IS-4M, T-10M, T-54s, SU-122-54, T-62 or ZSU-57-2) gunners are disabled by penetrating the right side of the turret or hull, if they are faced towards you. If you have the possibility to hit a Russian tank's hull, which is again faced towards you, prioritize it, because it is likely to take it out with one shot to the right side of the hull (3 out of 4 crew member are sitting in a row), this does not work with the stock APDS round due to the poor damage output. American top rank tanks like the M103, M47 or M60 are harder to take out. It is advised to take out the gunner first, which is located in the left side of the turret and then take out the rest of the remaining crew members. Hitting the ammo rack of your opponent is often the fastest way to take out an enemy vehicle, keep in mind though there is a small chance the ammo will not blow up (Best ammo types to ammo rack: HEAT-FS > HESH > APDS).

Sometimes moving is not an option, but remember, directly behind your hull front sits a large portion of your ammunition, at least if you're fully loaded. Always have that in mind when positioning yourself against the enemy - and don't forget that you don't have to stack all of your ammunition racks to their maximum capacity! Sometimes it can be wise to take less ammunition with you, as it will increase your survivability when taking hits - especially with the Leopard. The Leopards worst nemesis is the ZSU-57-2 and the IT-1. The ZSU-57-2 can be easily killed by hitting one of the many ammo racks in the big turret, which often leads to an explosion of the whole tank. The IT-1 on the other hand can be quite hard to deal with, since they are able to operate perfectly hull down only exposing the roof mounted ATGM. Destroying (only black damage status counts, red damage does not prevent from firing ATGM) the rocket mount/cannon barrel forces the IT-1 to repair for a whole 27 seconds (maxed out + expert crew).

The Leopard 1 holds a distinct advantage over almost every other tank it will face - it's almost always faster. While in a direct shoot-out, most other vehicles can take out the Leopard, using the mobility advantage of the Leopard will allow a good tanker to get into an advantageous position and take out targets before they get the opportunity to respond. However, ensure you are aware of your surroundings and have a fall-back option: getting caught off guard on the back of a hill with nowhere to back off to and with no real support is a death sentence.

Depending on the map and opponents, ammunition choices may vary howeverusually it's ideal to have HEATFS as primary ammunition (reasonably easy to use at range, reliable penetration values), APDS as a backup (extremely easy to use at range, particularly with the Leo's excellent optics) and a couple of HESH rounds to deal with any light targets you might encounter. Try to keep round storage to a minimum but keep in mind that with these ammunition choices often it will take a number of rounds to guarantee a kill.

In a nutshell: Use the superb mobility with the cannon's perfection to flank and spank enemies, wait and hunt for the perfect positions and kill the enemy tanks one by one, while always maintaining a good situational awareness. Patience is the key to success.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Fast and very agile when fully upgraded.
• High-penetration APDS and HEAT rounds.
• HESH rounds extremely effective against light targets.
• Reasonably fast reload time, can be reduced to 6.7 seconds.
• Good gun elevation and depression.
• Reasonably good turret traverse rate.
• Access to smoke grenades
• Relatively small, moderately low profile.
• Excellent reverse speed.
• A well coordinated squad of Leopards can effectively take over a match.
• Potential to be an extremely efficient vehicle in the right hands.
• Some parts of the turret (mainly the mantlet) can bounce rounds from the right angles.
• Reasonably low repair cost.

Cons:

• Essentially non-existent armour that can't stop any more than 20mm rounds reliably.
• No main gun stabiliser.
• Tankers unaccustomed to APDS may struggle with the stock vehicle.
• Stock accuracy is sub-par.
• HEATFS shells are expensive at 920 SL.
• Does not have the HESH round when stock.
• Like all MBTs, there is ammunition stored adjacent to the driver.
• 4-man crew complement, reasonably close-packed.
• Easy prey for high-calibre autocannons such as those found on the ZSU-57-2.
• HEATFS and APDS rounds have sub-par post-penetration effectiveness, often taking multiple rounds to ensure kills.

History

Development

The project for the Leopard started as far back as 1956 as an attempt to replace the American M47 and M48 Patton tanks in service at the time as they were becoming outdated to newer anti-tank technology. Specifications for the new tank came in July 1957 asking for a design weighing no more than 30 tons, with a power-to-weight ratio of 30 horsepower per ton and could withstand 20 mm gunfire alongside protection against chemical weapons and radiation fallout, which was becoming extremely common protection system for the modern tank designs. The design stressed mobility as the main focus, while firepower comes next and armour was relegated to minimum priority. The lack of focus on the armour was because of the belief that no matter how much armour a tank can have, it will eventually fall obsolete to the advent of newer anti-tank weapons such as the HEAT rounds, which was becoming stronger and stronger by the years.

In the initial stages of development, France and West Germany, interested in this tank design, worked on it from 1957 to build a common tank and the project was designated the Europa-Panzer. France had AMX, SLD Lorraine, and SOMUA with FCM Renault working on the project, while Germany had Porsche, Rheinmetall with Henschel, and Borgward working on the project. In 1958, Italy entered into the development as well, though it's not sure if they provided much to the program. By 1960, Porsche and Rheinmetall had prototypes submitted, as well as AMX from France, all the others failed to provide a prototype in time. In 1963, the Porsche prototype was selected as the winner in 1963, though even before this decision the vehicle already has priority in being built in greater number than the others. Though a tank is set, France and Germany split in the joint tank project in 1963 after France opted out of standardization with the NATO forces. This left Germany alone with their Leopard tank development, which they continued.

The Porsche Prototype II was well received, though changes were made to the design such as a new cast turret, hull design change, and relocating the radiators. The tank now mounted the 105mm L7 gun over the Rheinmetall design, as well as adding an optical range-finding system for increased gunnery. The design finished trials by the end of 1963 and production started in Munich in February of 1964. The first batches began arriving at the Bundeswehr (German Army) in September of 1965 and were put into units by November of that same year. The tank was finally designated the Leopard 1, with the prototype stage labelled as the Leopard 1A0.

Usage

After the first delivery, many upgrades were made on the tank throughout its production and service life. The first few Leopards were designated Leopard 1A1 and continued all the way to Leopard 1A6 as it incorporates new technology such as sights, gun, radios, armour, or even small upgrades or redesigns on some parts. Some of these Leopards are even upgraded further in each variant form, for example, the Leopard 1A1A1 which had it fitted with new turret armour and night sights. Other than the different variants, the Leopard 1 was also extensively modified or made into derivatives in roles such as anti-aircraft guns, armour recovery vehicles, bridge layers, and such.

The versatility of the Leopard 1 design and its rather cheap cost in comparison to other tanks at the time made it a useful tank and it was sought out by many different countries in and out of the NATO force group. These countries put them into service in the conflict, such as Denmark, which is believed to be the first country to use the Leopard 1 in hostile engagement, when going against Bosnian Serb forces. Canada also used the Leopard 1 extensively in the War in Afghanistan in 2006 as convoy protection units. Greece also had Leopard 1s and is the largest user of it, with over 500 units of Leopard 1A5s in service.

The Leopard 1 versatility and widespread use compared to other tanks in the NATO service made it a very useful weapon system for armies that couldn't afford the new American Pattons or Abrams tanks or the British Challengers and Chieftains. The Leopard 1 in German service was eventually replaced by the Leopard 2 design, which entered into service in 1979 as the main battle tank with better armour and better gun compared to the Leopard 1, fully replacing it in 2003. Other countries followed suit by upgrading their tanks to either the Leopard 2, the American M1 Abrams, or their own domestic tank designs. The vehicle in its various modernized forms is still operated by third parties such as Canada, Brazil, Turkey, and Greece. Some are kept in reserve in Chile and Ecuador due to their light frames and ease of use in soft soils like in the jungles in their countries.

In-game description

"Development of the tank began in 1957 in cooperation with France. However, this attempt to create a unified European tank was unsuccessful. The projects in both countries were conducted virtually in parallel, but in 1963, before the end of comparative testing of the French and German tanks, Germany declined to cooperate further with France. Each country began to build its own national tank — the Leopard in Germany, the AMX-30 in France.

During the development of the Leopard 1 among all combat characteristics preference was given to firepower and mobility. Later, due to the German engineers’ changing perspective on the significance of tank defenses in modern combat, a number of steps were taken to increase it. The first production order of 1,500 tanks was placed in 1963, and in September, 1965 the first serial Leopard 1 was delivered to the Bundeswehr."

Media

• Skins and camouflages for the Leopard 1 from live.warthunder.
  • ""301" PzBtl.120 Übung "Harte Nuss" (Germany 1974)" by Tiger_VI
  • "Bundeswehr three-color paint scheme" by ARTISTO

Videos

"Leopard 1 Tank Review" - CornyBros

"LEOPARD Top Tier Gameplay!" - PhlyDaily

"War Thunder Leopard 1 - Review and Gameplay!" - JustMax

Read also

• [Devblog] Leopard 1
  
• Official War Thunder forum article: [Vehicle Profile] Leopard I

Sources

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.