Leopard 2A5
Contents
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
The Leopard 2A5 has improved armour compared to its predecessor, the hull is much better protected and the already impenetrable turret cheeks have more protection on the side of the turret. Add-on armour boosts the ability to protect against HEAT-FS and early ADFSDS rounds. The wedges on the front of the turret are able to be blown off if a round with enough energy hits it.The gunners optic is also moved into the roof to eliminate the weak spot which was easily penetrated by any tank.
Be aware of Russian tanks though! Most of them will carry their HE rounds that can easily destroy you anywhere they hit. A hit directly to the turret will most likely send fragments into your hull, penetrate and lets your fuel tank explode or at least set a fire and knock out the gun barrel.
Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof
*Effective from above |
---|---|---|---|---|
Hull | 35 mm (53-82°) Upper glacis
58.16 - 251.49 mm effective
62.23 - 63.56 mm effective |
10 mm (5°) Upper hull
10.04 mm effective
35 mm effective
20 mm effective |
20 mm (12-50°) All rear
20.45 - 31.11 mm effective |
20 mm (0-8°) Hull roof incl. engine deck
20 - 20.02 mm effective* |
Turret | 80 mm (57-59°) Right cheek add-on
146.89 - 155.33 mm effective
139.48 - 150.97 mm effective
66.08 mm effective
400.06 mm effective
354.36 mm effective |
80 mm (20-22°) Right add-on
85.13 - 86.28 mm effective
86.28 mm effective
35 mm effective
15 mm effective |
20 mm (10°) Basket
20.31 mm effective
58.48 mm effective |
35 - 40 mm (80-89°) Forehead Armour
35.01 - 42.57 mm effective*
14.14 - 15.1 mm effective*
20 mm effective*
20.15 mm effective* |
Composite armour | Front
+Approximate |
Sides | ||
Hull | Upper+Lower glacis
High Hardness Rolled: 35 mm External Comp. w/ NERA Elements: 280-520 mm Rolled Homogeneous Armour: 45 mm 200 - 300 mm kinetic+ 305 - 545 mm chemical+ |
N/A | ||
Turret |
Left cheek High Hardness Rolled: 35 mm External Comp. w/ NERA Elements: 585 mm Rolled Homogeneous Armour: 45 mm Add-on Armour: 80 mm 415 mm kinetic+ 610 mm chemical+
High Hardness Rolled: 35 mm External Comp. w/ NERA Elements: 550-650 mm Rolled Homogeneous Armour: 40 mm Add-on Armour: 80 mm 400 - 440 mm kinetic+ 605 - 705 mm chemical+
External Comp. w/ NERA Elements: 400 + 200-280 Add-on Armour: 0-30 mm 260 - 325 mm kinetic+ 600 - 690 mm chemical+
External Comp. w/ NERA Elements: 600 + 200-280 mm Add-on Armour: 80 mm 425 - 460 mm kinetic+ 825 - 905 chemical+ |
Side armour
High Hardness Rolled: 35 mm External Comp. w/ NERA Elements: 230 mm Rolled Homogeneous Armour: 45 mm Add-on Armour: 0-80 mm 260 mm kinetic+ 230 - 285 mm chemical+ |
Notes:
- Upper hull and Lower rear hull overlap (10 + 20 mm thick)
- Upper mantlet add-on and Mantlet armour overlap (30 + 400 mm thick)
- Holes in the engine deck are covered by 8 mm of mesh
- Approximate kinetic effectiveness ratings have been calculated using effectiveness from the M1 Abrams page, and scaled with RHA and HHR as constants.
- Approximate chemical effectiveness ratings have been calculated using effectiveness from the M1 Abrams page, and scaled with External Comp. w/ NERA Elements as a constant.
Mobility
The only drawback compared to the previous model would be the Leopard 2A5's mobility since despite the 4 tons increase in weight, the engine remains the same, so the Leopard 2A5 is both slower and less manoeuvrable compared to the Leopard 2A4, but it can still keep up with the other nations MBTs
Keep in mind that the neutral steering is quite underperforming (way slower than on the Leopard 2A4).
Armaments
Main armament
The Leopard 2A5 has access to the DM33 APFSDS shells which make it a deadlier foe as few tanks can stand against it with the exception of the Challenger 2 and T-80U.
120 mm Rheinmetall L44 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Capacity | Vertical guidance |
Horizontal guidance |
Stabilizer | ||
42 | -9°/+20° | ±180° | Two-plane | ||
Turret rotation speed (°/s) | |||||
Mode | Stock | Upgraded | Prior + Full crew | Prior + Expert qualif. | Prior + Ace qualif. |
Arcade | 38.08 | 52.71 | 64.00 | __.__ | 75.29 |
Realistic | 23.8 | 28.0 | 34.0 | 37.6 | 40.0 |
Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||
Stock | Prior + Full crew | Prior + Expert qualif. | Prior + Ace qualif. | ||
7.80 | __.__ | __.__ | __.__ |
Ammunition
Penetration statistics | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Penetration in mm @ 0° Angle of Attack | |||||
10m | 100m | 500m | 1000m | 1500m | 2000m | ||
DM23 | APFSDS | 410 | 408 | 401 | 393 | 384 | 376 |
DM12A1 | HEATFS | 650 | 650 | 650 | 650 | 650 | 650 |
DM33 | APFSDS | 481 | 478 | 470 | 461 | 450 | 440 |
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% | ||||||||
DM23 | APFSDS | 1,640 | 4.3 | N/A | N/A | N/A | +1.5° | 78° | 80° | 81° |
DM12A1 | HEATFS | 1,140 | 13.5 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1,640 | +0° | 65° | 72° | 75° |
DM33 | APFSDS | 1,640 | 4.3 | N/A | N/A | N/A | +1.5° | 78° | 80° | 81° |
Ammo racks
Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
---|---|---|---|
42 | XX (+XX) | XX (+XX) | No |
Machine guns
7.62 mm MG 3A1 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Coaxial mount | ||||||
Capacity (Belt capacity) | Fire rate (shots/minute) |
Vertical guidance |
Horizontal guidance | |||
4,500 (1,000) | 1,200 | N/A | N/A | |||
Pintle mount (Loader) | ||||||
Capacity (Belt capacity) | Fire rate (shots/minute) |
Vertical guidance |
Horizontal guidance | |||
2,000 (1,000) | 1,200 | -__°/+__° | -__°/+__° |
Usage in battles
The Leopard 2A5 is slower, but it has much better armor and access to the DM33 round. With these new changes, the playstyle changes a bit too:
- Hull down: In the 2A4, the gunners optic was easily penetrated so the hull-down was still vulnerable. However, in the 2A5, this weak spot is eliminated and the armor of the turret is much better, so a hull-down position can now leave the Leopard 2A5 invulnerable.
- Sniping: With the DM33 APFSDS round, the Leopard 2A5 can now make use of the great distance in combat to deal damage while tanking incoming shots.
- Flanking: Due to the worse mobility compared to the 2A4, it is better to stick to more stationary tactics like hull down and sniping. However, with a little bit caution, flanking can still be successful.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Excellent 120 mm gun, DM33 APFSDS is capable of penetrating up to 481 mm maximum at point-blank range
- Impenetrable turret cheeks, the add-on wedge armour makes the turret immune from every shell in the game (average of 850 mm against long rod APFSDS and 1,450 mm against HEAT)
- Extremely good armour 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 armour can bounce early APFSDS shells
- Gunner optics are now mounted on top of the turret, removing the annoying weak spot 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
- Hull ammo-rack consequently makes the tank extremely vulnerable to HE shells
- A penetrating shot on the left side of the hull will most likely knock out the driver, gunner and commander, thus destroying the tank
- DM12A1 HEAT-FS, though very useful against light vehicles, costs 410 SL
- 8x/12x sight can be tricky to use in close quarters engagements
- The wedges can be shot off with several hits, though the turret cheeks alone provides 650 mm against KE
- Tank's weight is 4 tons increased while the engine is still the same, making the Leopard 2A5 slower compared to the l2A4
- Despite all the added armor, the turret ring and driver's hatch are both easily penetrated, and the enemy will most likely aim at these two spots to disable or destroy the tank.
- Known bug in the transmission of the tank, issues with neutral steering even when spaded
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
External links
Germany medium tanks | |
---|---|
Pz.III | Pz.III B · Pz.III E · Pz.III F · Pz.III J · Pz.III J1 · Pz.III J1 TD · Pz.III L · Pz.III M · Pz.III N |
Pz.IV | Pz.IV C · Pz.IV E · Pz.IV F1 · Pz.IV F2 · Pz.IV G · Pz.IV H · Pz.IV J · Pz.Bef.Wg.IV J |
Pz.V | VK 3002 (M) · Panther A · Panther D · Panther F · Panther G · Ersatz M10 · Panther II |
M48 upgrades | M48A2 G A2 · M48 Super |
Leopard 1 | Leopard I · Leopard A1A1 · Leopard A1A1 (L/44) · Leopard 1A5 · C2A1 · Turm III |
Leopard 2 | PT-16/T14 mod. · Leopard 2K · Leopard 2AV |
Leopard 2A4 · Leopard 2 (PzBtl 123) · Leopard 2A4M · Leopard 2 PL · Leopard 2A5 · Leopard 2 PSO · Leopard 2A6 · Leopard 2A7V | |
Trophies | ▀M4 748 (a) · ▀T 34 747 (r) |
Other | Nb.Fz. · KPz-70 |
USA | mKPz M47 G · M48A2 C |
USSR | ◊T-72M1 |