“The accuracy is fantastic”
Ukrainians rave about ancient German tanks
Updated on October 9th, 2023 – 5:03 p.m. Reading time: 2 min.
The cannon of the Leopard 1 main battle tank: With newer models you can shoot for kilometers – the details in the video. (Source: t-online)
They are decades old and have long since been decommissioned from the Bundeswehr. But the predecessors of the Leopard 2 are apparently well received in Ukraine.
They were initially seen as an emergency solution so that Ukrainian soldiers had at least some protection from Russian grenades during their operations at the front. The Bundeswehr retired its Leopard 1 main battle tanks 20 years ago. But the previous model of the Leopard 2 apparently serves the Ukrainians better than expected.
“The accuracy is fantastic,” says Ukrainian commander Vitaly enthusiastically about the German battle tank. “I can reach about one meter at a distance of five to six kilometers. No other modern machine can do that, except the British ‘Challenger 2’,” “Bild” quoted the soldier as saying. The tanks, which went into service in 1963, owe their accuracy to a modern, computer-controlled fire control system. “The Leopard 1’s ballistic computer makes it possible to enter the correct data and hit the target the first time,” explains tank commander Palych.
Leopard 1 can hold its own against Soviet tanks
Of course, the previous model is not quite as powerful as the Leopard 2. To increase accuracy, the crew of the Leopard 1 fires best from a standing position. However, this is not necessarily a disadvantage when fighting against Russian tanks: they also mostly date back to the Cold War era. Models like the T-72 or the even older T-64 cannot fire while moving. But since Russia probably still has thousands of tanks, it’s not just class that matters for Ukraine, but also quantity.
The Leopard 1 has this advantage over Soviet tanks
Soviet tanks only need three crew members because the ammunition is automatically reloaded. Their disadvantage, however, is that a hit can easily cause the ammunition on board to explode, which leads to the dreaded “horse-in-the-box effect”. In the Leopard 1, on the other hand, the ammunition is stored in the belly of the vehicle so that it is better protected from hits.
Between 1964 and 1984, the armament manufacturer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann produced 4,700 examples of the Leopard 1. Several NATO armies are or were using the Leopard 1, and the tank was also exported to South America and Australia.
Weighing 42 tons and having a 105 millimeter caliber cannon, the Leopard 1 is lighter and slightly less armed than more modern battle tanks. A Leopard 2 weighs around 64 tons and fires a 120 millimeter cannon. With its top speed of 65 km/h and its range of 550 kilometers, the Leopard 1 can also keep up with more modern tanks.
