Leopard 2 Tank Documentary

[@marklee1194]

The music at 1:01 just makes the Leopard II even more awesome.

[@jth6868]

Track title is Rocks Away, Composed by Tim Souster www.dewolfemusic.com/search.php?id=16764805&code=lc1yjL

[@SilentCoyote]

Remember when the Russian Federation took a still image from this at 8:22 and overlaid the HUD from a lancet and claimed they destroyed a Leopard 2 in Ukraine? Pepperidge Farm Remembers.

[@juanpablochaconvargas6919]

here for the same XD

[@Proximax9]

I was a leopard 2a4 gunner (finnish defence forces) and we bought our leopards from german. They were used, but in fairly good shape. They had all the systems, rangefinder and the gunner main sight was the standard 12x EMES which there is supposed to be. I cant think of anything which could've been changed from the tank... everything was in place :P

[@karjohden]

I`ve driven this tank when i did the military service in sweden. Its fucking amazing.. thats all i can say... Just the gyro that keeps the canon fixed on its target is awsome.. if the tank bounces too much, you can just hold the trigger, and when the system is stabil enought it fires it self, as long as you hold the trigger... just amazing.. What a machine..

[@kollinhwang]

Anyone else from the H.Feels company?

[@EAFSQ9]

Who makes these films? They seem to be closely attributed with videos produced for SAAB Bofors / BAE Bofors.

[@TankNutJohn89]

@ajazaad: Sorry, thats WRONG! The Leopard 2 use's the 120mm Smoothboregun Length 55 from Rheinmetall. I think you mean Krauss Maffei Wegmann with Kruass. They've designed the Leopard 2. The M1A2 use's the 120mm Smoothboregun Length 44 from General Dynamic's. It's basically the same Gun ( licensed ) build in the US.

[@Chrinik]

I´ve sat in a Leopard2 A6 while in basic training in Munster, and it is quite a beast, and i was impressed how small it looks when you are further away, but when you stand ontop of it, it´s friggin huge. Oh and the mobility part, the official HP of the engine is listed with 1500...but with a little tweaking, they can press the engine too unknown heights... 90mph on a highway is much for an MBT. And the A6 finaly got a generator powering the turret while the motor is off...mandatory

[@Proximax9]

leopard 2 has a blast door for ammunition. If the storage room is hit, the roof panels are being ripped off by the pressure and most of the pressure is directed upwards. There is some ammunition in the hull aswell, but it is less likely to take hit than the tower. Besides, all ammunition is placed in the tank the way that if they do explode, the projectile parts are fired towards outer walls.

[@agt155]

@creshal Not all rounds are fin stabilised. The Challenger 2 has a rifled barrell so that it can fire HESH rounds. Also the Challenger 2 uses 3 part ammo which is much lighter than single piece, and can be loaded faster.

[@tonygogap]

A 120mm Smoothbore is the gun on the Abrams, a discarding sabot round is a shell or round. The M1 Abrams has different types of shells too.

[@62kenny78]

This is one of the early Leopard 2 - there are several improvements made, the actual version is the 2 A6 - which means it is the 6. update made.

[@MarcusDidiusFalco]

This is the Leopard2A2 or 3. This one here misses the Field-Adjustment-Collimator and there is an opening on the left side for ammo. You see it right in the beginning. If I remember correctly, with the A3 this weak point in the side armor was closed. The actual Tank in use is the A6M for the Out-of_Area troops.(M for additional protection from AT.Mines) The other in use are the normal A6 and the A5KWS (Kampwertgesteigert = Combat-Value-Enhanced)

[@Baseshocks]

@kuyaTanY on top of what Khristophoros said, the Leo 2 uses standard engine parts that are commonly used... the cost of maintenance for the Leo 2 is far less then the M1A2.

[@cf80to01]

The first Leo 2's entered service with Germany in 79/80. It has been significantly updated since into the Leo 2A6M.

[@leventekocsis9103]

Leo 2A7V*

[@TankNutJohn89]

@Vykuk123: The XM1111 System is in development, the MRM-KE is in commissioning since 2004. It was sucessfully used in Afghanistan. Okay, i've understand, the Challenger 2 is your favourite Tank, however. It hasn't killed so much tanks as the Abrams, it has lower electronics, older Cannon, lower High Speed, higher Cost, less Units ( 300 Challenger 2 - 7500 Abrams )

[@52111centrumcz]

@ibm0026 The Challanger does NOT use a copy of the 120mm smoothbore; it uses a rifled cannon!!! Its the L-30 if I'm not mistaken and the Brits use it because they wished to retain the ability to fire HESH warheads.

[@Talon3000]

That tank driving underwater is so surreal...

[@OlderG0ds]

"The latest version of Chobham armour is used on the Challenger 2 (called Dorchester armour), and (though the composition most probably differs) the M1 Abrams series of tanks, which according to official sources is currently protected by silicon carbide tiles. Though it is often claimed to be otherwise, the Leopard 2 in fact does not use Chobham armour, but pure perforated armour, avoiding the very large procurement, maintenance and replacement costs of those ceramic armor systems."

[@Proximax9]

to puncru: most of the technology in tanks is at least 10 years old, because of the time taken to adjust them for the battle conditions. If you looks at Leopard 2 for exaple, it was made 20 years ago and most of the systems are still used in modern tanks today.

[@iskenuz]

Composite armor plays by different rules than rolled homogenous steel. It functions best when hit directly, thanks to the ceramics fracture patterns.

[@Proximax9]

rheinmetall L44 isnt a machine gun, it's the main antitank cannon (120 mm smoothbore) used both in abrams and leopard 2

[@TankNutJohn89]

@Leathlord: i can hear you have no idea. I've already said, that the M256 120mm Length 44 Smoothbore Gun of the Abrams is the same Gun, like the German, but from General Dynamics. It's a license build. The Performance of the M256 is the same like from the german L/44. The L/55 was adopted because the Abrams was used to have the 105mm Gun. Now it has a 120mm Gun, the turret can't take a longer 120mm. The Turret of the Leopard is longer & higher than Abrams' Turret.

[@mkms685]

0:49 Kurt Knispel, is that you?? 😂

[@Proximax9]

I didn't quite understand your question. Abrams indeed has gas engine, leopard 2 has diesel engine. However, they both have about the same power output... and diesel if of course better in battle field, as it isnt as flammable as gas...

[@klubchez5224]

Absolutely mouth watering

[@cannasnagler]

L55 has a longer barrel not a bigger round/kaliber (55*120mm), which means increased velocity which gives longer range (+1500m) and increased penetration (+25%). These numbers where floating around - have no idea if they are correct :-)

[@Kreisliga1000]

@TheCFarmy the leopard can stay for hours underwater and the tower will be requiered, you can it disguise. the motor and the hole tank is fully functional underwater. you can wait with 6 tanks in a river or a lake underwater between the reed and strike from the back when the enemy is surprised. the idea was, that you can cross a river without a bridge.

[@icantafford]

@m16a4ish The A5/6 variants support armour superior to that of the M1(and all it's variants) despite being lighter. The L55 cannon in the A6 and "+" variants is more powerful than the M1A1/2's L44. The speed and power are near identical. And the Leopard 2's engine is a million times better in a combat situation because it's engine is deisel. The gasoline engine in the M1 is a logistics nightmare, it is a gas guzzler and damn near needs a fleet of soft fuel trucks following it (ideal targets)

[@johorridoh]

Canadian army has Leopard C2. It´s based on the Leopard 1A3 . Since the year 2000 improved by A5 towers. 20 Leopard 2A6M were borrowed from the Bundeswehr for two years. M stands for Mineprotection and is regarded the best protected Battletank in the world today ; )

[@Proximax9]

I was a gunner for Leopard 2a4 in finnish armed forces... that's why I like the leopard so much :P I'd love to get to try abrams too, so I could say which one really is better... I have a feeling though that they don't have that much difference in performance...

[@Proximax9]

there are couple of mistakes in this video... (I dont know which version this tank is in this video, but the 2A4 has a laser range finder up to 4000 meters, not 4000 yards. Also, the tank gunner doesnt use infrared, but thermal camera... other than that I think the video is correct :)

[@Rabidus289]

you dont want to start mounting a tube in the middle of combat, i'd imagine it's more likely to be used for transport. for instance, crossing a river when bridges have been knocked out etc.

[@TankNutJohn89]

@Vykuk123: The MRM-KE is already in use, it has killed an driving T-72 at a Range of 8.600m.

[@Konstatsai]

thanks for uploading

[@Proximax9]

The ammo storage is indeed a bit of a weakness, but usually you can't even see the hull of the tank in combat, only the turret... Besides, does it matter whether the hit comes through the driver or the ammo storage, it kills everyone in the tank either way :P Oh and the "windows" are actually periscopes, so they are not really a weakness...

[@Proximax9]

yeah... well the only thing our leo2a4 was missing was the wind sensor, but I heard they dropped that out anyway so it doesnt even belong in the 2a4 model. (not sure tho)

[@icecremer]

@USparatroopersurgeon To be perfectly honest, American tanks were also named after consecutive numbers, in fact, most tanks are, they just get nicknames, and most American tanks during WW2 got their names from the British, like the M4 Sherman or the M3 Lee. The British was naming American built tanks after famous American Civil war generals. The russians also gave nicknames to their tanks, Like the KV and IS tanks.

[@warhawk9566]

i know they have the same sized gun and same caliber but what i mean is it looked like they moved the barrel back into the turret more, like the barrel is the same length but not as much of it is on the outside.

[@52111centrumcz]

@USparatroopersurgeon Actually the Russian numbers on the Ts are supposed to be the years the first time the design was finalized and accepted by passing the military acceptance trials.

[@HingerlAlois]

A lot of countries have Leopard 2s, Germany (nowadays only something like 400 active, a lot were scrapped or sold after Cold War), Austria, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey.

[@Ariana321]

Only thing that could really improve this tank would be to give it the same "Dorchester" armor as the Challenger 2. Get that on there, and not only will you have a masterpiece of a tank, but you'll have a damn near indestructible masterpiece at that.

[@realbadcorps]

Later versions upgrade the armour, the Leopard 2 was first put in service in 1979 about the same time as the M1 Abrams. At that time, Chobam was the cutting edge but newer model Leopard 2s have more modern armour.

[@Hjalie]

It can only pierce the armour on the top of the turret. But the newest Leopard 2 tanks have extra armour for more protection against anti-tank missiles and 30 mm projectiles.

[@Proximax9]

there is a modification made of Challenger 2, which has a new Rheinmetall L55 cannon (same as in Leo 2a6) and a new engine, which has 1500 hp (same as in leopard) briging the both tanks quite close to each other in performance :)

[@MarcusDidiusFalco]

When I was i the Army we had a little "shootout" against two squads of M1. Both sides had their Training-Equipment mounted. (For Leo2 it'S called AGDUS - a kind of MILES for Tanks) We fought 7 Duells an won 5 Times...

[@littlegrabbiZZ9PZA]

The gas slippage is strong enough to blow any mud out of the way of the projectile. Accurracy is affected, but the projectile won't stick.

[@wenyicvs]

What a piece of engineering? I'm in love.

[@redreaper-xe6so]

still the size of an IED and the chance of killing a vehicle plays in. The Leo2 has a lot of other issues, too. Like compare even ultramodern versions of Leo2 versus, for instance, TUSK II, which can reliably take even the heaviest antitank missiles to the side, not just front. Or how while leo2 has some containment of explosion, the Abrams has full turret containment + full hull containment.

[@Proximax9]

well... it doesnt really pour inside the tank, if the hit is delivered with kinetic penetrator as you probably meant, the fragments will do the job just as well... if it's a HEAT round (explosive round) then the pressure does the thing more effectively. There isnt really burning happening there as much as fragments and pressure... :)

[@Proximax9]

targeting on a specific part on a tank is very difficult, taking advantage of such a small area in combat is not very easy. Even if the ammonition would explode, the rounds are placed in the way that the warheads are fired away from the crew... of course the tank shells would fly backwards and break some equipment or knock down the crew... but still :P I give credit to abrams about this, they have all their ammonition in the rear of the turret.

[@warhawk9566]

correct me if im wrong but the leo seems to have a shorter cannon than the abrams but it also smes like the germans were able to do this without sacrificing shell velocity. if so that could means the germans finally made a tank that can both kill other tanks and support infantry

[@Proximax9]

I got out from army 9 months ago, so I remember those things quite clearly :) From what I have seen from pictures and video files, I've noticed the gunner's controls and other stuff is pretty much the same, just positioned differently... It would still be awesome to test abrams's gunner controls :D

[@mattmatt115]

good news... this tank will now finally be battle tested, after everybody thought they would be designed to rot away not being used. canada has recieved the first of its leopard 2 A6M CAN (can unofficaly being the term for the slat armor package) and they are going straight to afhanistan

[@agt155]

@creshal No it doesn't. A smoothbore was tested but they stuck with the rifled gun.

[@SukhoiSu37Terminator]

There were 98,000 T-54/55 tanks produced.There were 88,000 or so T-34 tanks produced.Where do you get your numbers?

[@Proximax9]

danthebold: what's the effective firing range abrams has? I'm a finnish leopard 2a4 gunner, and I'm kinda interested about abrams... I just wish I could someday get to try abrams too :)

[@ph11p3540]

The leapard 2 keeps getting upgraded like a gaming PC. Canada purchased used Leapard 2s for Afganastan because they did not want to modify a brand new tank. There are a lot of hidden upgrades against new threats.

[@P47RICK]

The Leclerc has the best autoloader which is pretty cool too.

[@OnkelWurstbrot]

@ViciousCritique Hmmmm, than maybe you could explain to me why I, as a former gunner of the loe2, had a kill death ratio of 10 to 1 in the manuvers against the abrams?

[@Cougar545x39]

@m16a4ish Do you think a hit in battle is more destructive due to the "wow, battle feeling"-factor than the same hit in a test?

[@m16a4ish]

This tank is pretty bad ass, on paper. It has performed exceptionally well, in practice. It has a very high kill rate, in simulations. It's armor can withstand anything, from controlled explosions to controlled "enemy" fire. It has extensive "combat" experience, patrolling the streets of kosovo and the "very dangerous" anti-taliban north in afghanistan. Oh, I forgot. It also survived a very, very, very scary uncontrolled explosion from a tiny ied. Wow, what a tank.

[@shadowdancerRFW]

Leo2a6 has extreme firepower, able to engage moving vs moving target at up to 4km with unnerring accuracy. T-90 doesn't even come close to it, even with AT-11 missiles. Doesn't anyone wonder why the M1A2's gun is based on the german L44, the CH2 is currently developing a gun after the L55 german gun, the K2 has the L55 gun itself and the list goes on and on and on...

[@dragonzmaj1]

No, British use rifled gun which fires separate ammunition while German gun is smoothbore and fires one piece ammunition. Only the caliber is the same, their ammunition is not interchangeable.

[@HingerlAlois]

The Leopard 2 is used in Austria, Chile, Canada, Denmark, Finnland, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Swiss, Turkey and of course germany. All in all 3480 Leopard 2 tanks were manufactured.

[@thenoobfactor]

Probably not. A hybrid sabot/HEAT wouldn't be effective as you would either need to make the warhead too small for the shaped charge to be useful, or the shell too large to have the velocity needed.

[@51m0n77]

Love the muzak in the background

[@52111centrumcz]

@tntsundance T-90 comes close, not quite there but good enough. Also the chinese have a T-99 or something like that; It has simmilar range/sighting systems as the western types (even though there are limited numbers of them)

[@OR3NG]

@savethesonnenblume actually leo2a7 is the latest version

[@MGBandit75]

I'm falling in love with this tank

[@Kreisliga1000]

the underwater function is a good idea, i think. the leopard 1 cold diving, too. you can't shoot underwater, that's clear. it's simply the diving function. you need no bridges, no little ships or ferries. you can stay underwater and undetected.

[@adrienperie6119]

Something not many people know, is that the barrel life on the Leopard 2 main gun can be as low as 50 rounds, and 150 to 200 on average.

[@joekabira3986]

Adrien Perié L44 or L55?

[@Zbyszkoz]

Next:25 T-72A1 and 12 T-72B1 tanks (each fitted with Kontakt-5 explosive reactive armour [ERA]) had confirmed NATO tests done on other former Soviet tanks left behind in Germany after the end of the Cold War. The tests showed that the ERA and composite Armour of the T-72s was incredibly resilient to 1980s NATO anti-tank weapons.

[@Frostyshard]

One of my great grandfathers was in German Infantry in WW2 and another of my great grandfathers was in the American Merchant Marines. in WW2 and even he was of German blood. I take pride in my German heritage regardless of what side they fought for.

[@discobubbles]

i have somewhere seen on internet that leopard 2 tanks are also very easy to drive. they are the worls most easiest tanks to drive. they can be driven like a normal heavy suv. very easy to drive and fun. not like a heavy and bulky tank. leopard 2 is a nice tank though

[@Aliasify]

The Chobam armour that the Leapord and M1 use arent the same as whats on the challanger 2. The M1 and leapord use the same chobham armour as the chllanger 1, while the challanger uses chobam level 2 AKA Dorchester as well as ERA etc

[@MeeGra123]

@megamushroom07 Oh ^^ Ok i didnt notice that but isnt the new leo provided with the newest technologies? I dont know much about the russian tanks but in any comparison with other tanks ive seen the leo won...

[@moktarbom]

yeah i hear my country bought like 100 of these babies at warehouse sale prices(about US$1mil each).

[@thenoobfactor]

Sloping is still effective against KE rounds, the shape of the shell doesn't cancel the laws of physics. Just not so much with HEAT warheads.

[@jenkster09]

I'm a big M1A2 fan so it goes without saying I still like the Abrams. Witht that being said I am very impressed with the Leo2, nice looking also. :p Kudos to german engineering1 nice going fellas!

[@WarDaddyUSA]

agreed. beautiful tank. but im American so ill take my proven Abrams. now I would love to see the army adopt a couple hundred of these bad boys. if not the Leo, we definitely need the puma IFV.

[@davepriddy9263]

Great video and tank.

[@Proximax9]

actually the depleted uranium doesnt really have much radiation left... it's very similar to lead. Hard and heavy... Besides... Abrams uses the same ammonition as Leopard 2, so there's really no point arguing about it...

[@batumba123]

The Leopard 2 can drive in depth of up to 4 meters with a mount that gives air to the engine

[@mechislander]

oohhhhh so that's what those panels on the side are for. I always thought they were for crew supplies or something.

[@TankNutJohn89]

@dragonnaid1: That is not only for Tanks mate, this Sign is called Balkenkreuz, search it up on Google.

[@Stormgebieder]

Has the Leo 2 real extinsive battle experience?

[@AstralDoor]

@AstralDoor Though pretty much the whole thing is still the 2a6, there's supposed to be some small difference. Either way i think the swedes tank 122 version is cooler =P

[@Celeon999A]

Beside the cell damage through the DU particles energy emission (minor radiation burnings in the case of a inner DU exposure) within the human body its destructive effect on the cell's DNA are the main trigger for development of cancer. This process can take 10 to 20 years before a person would develop cancer. It can also not happen at all. This differs from person to person.

[@sneakeypete]

well, by the looks of this, this was a demo of the origional leo2 (eg, as a promo video for potential buyers)

[@Proximax9]

actually abrams is about the same as this one, as they used to be the same project... weapon is the same, and optics are almost identical. Abrams is the same size too. Leopard is indeed a big tank, but it's very accurate and powerful. :)

[@DukeCount1992]

How old are these videos ?? 80's ?

[@PoetSnipe]

...yes, you're right...that is why the modern versions solve this problem by using different updates...the bundeswehr is today equipped with the leopard up to version 2A6...

[@Banananaish]

@shadowdancerRFW and the sound of the Leo is bad ass!

[@ravikumarjp]

you can watch the enemy properly/throughly, and plan your attack accordingly, so U need high range of view

[@kuyaTanY]

what is the stronger in terms of fire power ? the m1a2 or the leopard 2 ?

[@stopthatimmediately]

what is the conduct of fire in german? wie sagt man auf deutsch "identified," "sabot up," "on the way," etc

[@Tarik360]

@KillamriX98 Of course, doesn't all tanks do that?

[@ex59neo53]

Leopard 2 and Leclerc are really the most impressive tanks . (Jagdpanther is still my favourite all-time design :p)

[@Zbyszkoz]

Next:War era US M1 Abrams tanks), which are among the most formidable of current tank gun projectiles. We also tested the 30mm GAU-8 Avenger (the gun of the A-10 Thunderbolt II Strike Plane), the 30mm M320 (the gun of the AH-64 Apache Attack Helicopter) and a range of standard NATO Anti Tank Guided Missiles -- all with the same result of no penetration or effective destruction of the test vehicles

[@mitchcoleman2533]

what ranks are the crew men who occupy the leopard2?

[@thewomble1509]

So many errors in this; Torsion bar suspension, not hydro, No Chobham type armour. The Germans were offered it but turned it down as it would have meant completely re designing the turret. Narrator calls it a Leo 1 at the 5.43 mark.