Leopard 2A5

Leopard 2A5

Leopard 2A4

Leopard 2A6

Leopard 2A5

Leopard 2A4

Leopard 2A6

Germany

VIII Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
12.0	12.0	12.0

Class:

Medium tank

Research:400 000

Purchase:1 080 000

This page is about the medium tank Leopard 2A5. For other uses, see Leopard (Family).

Description

The Leopard 2A5 is a Rank VIII German medium tank with a battle rating of 12.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.87 "Locked On".

General info

Survivability and 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.

Mobility

Write about the mobility of the ground vehicle. Estimate the specific power and manoeuvrability, as well as the maximum speed forward and backward.

Armaments

Main armament

Give the reader information about the characteristics of the main gun. Assess its effectiveness in a battle based on the reloading speed, ballistics and the power of shells. Do not forget about the flexibility of the fire, that is how quickly the cannon can be aimed at the target, open fire on it and aim at another enemy. Add a link to the main article on the gun: {{main|Name of the weapon}}. Describe in general terms the ammunition available for the main gun. Give advice on how to use them and how to fill the ammunition storage.

Additional armament

Some tanks are armed with several guns in one or more turrets. Evaluate the additional weaponry and give advice on its use. Describe the ammunition available for additional weaponry. Give advice on how to use them and how to fill the ammunition storage. If there is no additional weaponry remove this subsection.

Machine guns

Offensive and anti-aircraft machine guns not only allow you to fight some aircraft, but also are effective against lightly armoured vehicles. Evaluate machine guns and give recommendations on its use.

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:

• Excellent 120 mm gun, DM33 APFSDS is capable of penetrating 481mm @ 10m @ 0° and 278mm @ 10m @ 60°.
• Impenetrable turret cheeks. Add-on wedge armor make the turret immune from every shell in the game (average of 850mm against long rod APFSDS and 1450mm against HEAT). The wedges can be shot off with several hits, though the turret cheeks alone provide 650mm against KE.
• Extremely good armor on the UFP (430mm against long rod APFSDS), immune to every shell in the game except DM33, M829, L26, OFL 120 G1 and 3BM42.
• Great gun handling: 40°/s turret rotation speed (with Ace crew) and -9°/+20° of vertical guidance.
• Side turret covered by add-on armor can bounce early APFSDS shells.
• Gunner optics are now mounted on top of the turret, removing the annoying weakspot present on the Leopard 2A4.

Cons:

• Lower glacis can still be penetrated by most shells.
• Huge hull ammo-rack if more than 16 shells are carried. It makes the tank extremely vulnerable to HE shells.
• A penetrating shot on the left side of the hull will most likely kill driver, gunner and commander, thus destroying the tank.
• DM33 is very expensive (900SL).
• DM12A1 HEAT-FS, very useful against light vehicles, cost 410SL.
• 8x/12x sight can be tricky to use in close quarters engagements.

History

In 1988, German engineers began work on modernizing the Leopard 2 main battle tank. Improvements were made to the tank’s defensive capabilities, primarily the turret armour. Moreover, the 2A5 model was fitted with an electric stabiliser instead of the electro-hydraulic variant that the previous versions used.

The gunner received improved and less vulnerable optics, and the tank commander – a panoramic periscope with thermal imaging. The build of the driver’s hatch was also modified, along with several other minor improvements made to the general design.

Leading to the 2A5 modernization program being officially approved by the military officials of Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands. It is interesting to note that the models exported to the last two countries on the list were actually different from the ones issued to the German army – for instance, the Bundeswehr tanks received no extra frontal hull armour. Production of Leopard 2A5 tanks began in 1995. Overall, 350 earlier-version Leopards were upgraded as a result of the program.

- From Devblog

Media

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

See also

• Leopard 2A4

External links

• [Devblog] Leopard 2A5: This Time We Are Dead Serious