My driving teacher (he is close to 80 years old) was a tank driver when the first Leopard 1 were delivered to the Bundeswehr. He got to drive them before the tanks had speed limiters, and he said they reached up to 90 kph on the road.
every Tankcrew tried this once.. its very loud inside the Tank at this speed and the Tank is going to be uncontrollable. It is very dangerous if you do this on a normal Road because the Tank is wearing Gummi bumper on the tracks. At this speed the Bumpers tend to fly away, you don`t want to sit in a car were some of this hardgummi things passing your windscreen and leaving it through the back window.
The Leopard 1 shows how much the german engineers have learned form the WW2 tanks and their issues. The powerpack allone is a huge improvement over the "we have to dismantle half the tank just to replace the gearbox" approach of some of the old tanks like the Panzer III. The fact that those engineers actually had the luxury to take their time with the design helped as well off course.
@@23GreyFox saying somebody has a lot to learn before giving as a example to compare two designing philosophies two different grade vehicles with a decade of difference doesn't leave you in a good position.
German variants: Leopard (1) A1 Skirts, new tracks, stabilizer ... A2 thicker turret armor A3 welded turret A4 new fire control system A1A1 add-on armor A5 thermal imaging, laser range finder, digital fire control system
Kind of bothers me that they failed to mention the Marder (Marten) IFV. That one saved a lot of Soldiers in Afghanistan and a group of them on a nearby hill was often enough to prevent any attacks
Wernher von Kerman Bovington is a Tank-Museum. Other armored vehicles are there by chance. Experience from WW2 showed, that the existing AIFVs didn't offer enough protection, therefore the concept of the later Marder was developed.
Still my favorite, loved working on them during my time in the German army as a hull tech. The 20 minute power pack change is for shows only, just to baffle onlookers. The real change time of a power pack is about 40-45 minutes and that includes removal of the top deck (engine cover). Nobody in their right mind would pull the pack under fire anyway, get the recovery tank to tow the broken down tank out of the line of fire and work in less lead polluted air. Great memories, will make it to Bovington one of these years - will meet with some of my old buddies in Munster again in April though.
The Belgian Army actually managed to loose one top deck during a field training exercise. They were exchanging a power pack when they had to move and put the tank "sans topdeck" on a carrier and drove off. When they noticed it and returned it already disappeared. No doubt some enterprising German made a handsome profit at the local scrapyard. Unfortunately the Belgian Army did not have a spare top deck and none were available elsewhere: hence one less operational tank in the Belgian Army.
@@fdsdh1 because they had much practice with the first Chieftain marks multifuel engine, REMEs nightmare! i remember that times well when i was a boy and the BAOR Tank units were in Manouvre in southern lower saxony, many broken Tanks during that time and only the CenturionARV which was a bit underpowered to tow the heavy Chieftain (crosscountry) in the Fields and forrests of lower saxony But for Boys the Chieftain was spectacular compared to lighter Leos or M-48, until today the Chieftain tank is my favourite! ( edited thx to Quantum HD :) ) Tank
They are not ... as the EU shows. Brexit is the right way to go ... and the way EUrocrats are treating anything coming from Britain shows that the reasoning behind it was the right way to go. Oh and there are ZERO UK-friendly comments here in german media ... because they dont like the anti-globalist "separatists". Just be prepared for a french-german tank that is capable of crossing the channel in large numbers ...
@@Muck006 i wonder what kind of scenario would make the german/eu-citizens believe war with the UK would be acceptable. yes you want to leave the EU but that won't erase/negate the cooperating years we had, the bonding that happened.
and we're glad to have our european neighbours as allies now. there's other threats in the world we have to overcome together, be it with political, economical or military methods. greetings from germany.
I drove one of these in 1989 in the Canadian army. My souvenor is that it was like driving a Cadillac. Powerful and smooth over any kind of terrain. The gyroscope stabilized cannnon was also very impressive. German engineering at it's best!
In 1979 I was in the 2nd Bn 33rd Armor in Germany in September on a field training exercise called Reforger. I watched a unit of Leopards move, shoot, expel smoke and back away! Made me glad Germany is on our side! Didn't know Leopards weighed only 40 tons! My M 60A1 weighed 58 tons combat loaded! BTW, In German the name is pronounced, "Leo-Pard"!
yes in eu we say it as leo with quick cut to pard :) normal thing here mate not sure for most of eu country's but leo and pard means two different things :)
@wood1155 They were always horribly unreliable and in Kursk, where their service was crucial, they were not equipped with machine guns and very vulnerable to infantry. They were pretty much useless. Even when they were given a machine gun the considerable amount of resources they represented made them a really bad investment.
I loved learning to operate the Leopard when my unit (3AD 3/32 Armor C-company) had a 90-day service exchange with the Bundeswehr. The hardest thing I had to deal with was the electronic shifter which was nothing like what I was used to on the M-60A1 and M-60A3. It was a very strange and unnatural feeling the first time I drove a tank across the bottom of a river. It was really weird to watch the river water slowly seep inside the tank as we drove across the fording point. One of the requirements prior to doing this was to practice emergency escape procedures from a submerged tank simulator using micro-scuba units with a 15-minute air supply. As Mr. Willey pointed out one of the greatest strengths of the Leopard I was it's speed, the second was it's relatively low profile which made it very difficult to spot in rolling or hilly terrain. Great Tank Chat!! Can't wait for the one on Leopard II.
I know I am late, but would you mind explaining why the elctronic shifter would make such a difference? I'm asking as someone who has never served and does not know a lot of things about cars in general.
@@DGARedRaven The electronic shifter allowed faster and smoother gear changes on the fly without having to slow down. Once you got used to it of course... 😁
Pretty much every time the french try a joint venture, if their own companies are not awarded the Lions share of manufacturer they drop out and make an technologically similar machine by themselves
Copycats ... or they use their intelligence service to get into german companies many times. But copy cats need to improve otherwise they will dy. French industry is dying over decades year by year. Eco energy they do not know, just outdated nuclear power plants.
Quickshot0 I’d put even money on the French pulling the plug on that venture as soon as the production isn’t going to be done in France which it won’t be
@@DragoonZeroAlpha >> panther tank: who are you? leopard: i am you ... 30 years later ... in peace time designed and built when nobody is bombing us ... with a much bigger budget and 4 times as much time to develop and build. What we learned, we learned from you and the Tigers. You did OK grand dad Panther ... you did OK.
Surprisingly and it rarely get's mentioned, but when the leo 1 was adopted by the Bundeswher as their new tank, quite a few German high ranking officers questioned whether it was actually the right kind of design for the battles it would face on the NG plain.
It helps that you don't build to Der Fuehrer's tank fantasies, but rather to logically observed military demands, and in peace time conditions (Cold War notwithstanding).
Panther? After it first problems were fixed. You have to understand that it took 10 years to make this guy while in WW2 you had fraction of time to design tank and yet they still built the best tanks in that time
I was doing my service on this tank before it was phased out in norway. Its a nice comfortable tank for the crew. You have over pressure system against chemical warefare, wading ablility, high speed, escape hatch, gunner and seperate commander periscope that both can aim and fire main and coaxial gun, manual loaded gun that had APFS, HEP and HEAT amunition for the gun. The motor engine is the most beautiful grunty sounding diesel motor. In norway we used to tent on the back of the tank in the winter, making it very warm and cosy at bed time. I choose to be the tank loader as im 186 cm and broad shouldered, but I think it has great riding positions in all positions, exept maybe on the gunners space. Its also some cool choices made to have a lot of equipment on the outside, having a tower basket on the back for more carry ability. There was still hard to drive these tanks in the night time or in low visibility; Often you had to guide it in terrible conditions or peek your head out. Ask me anything and I will try to answer :)
@@shronkler1994 No real fighting with the Leo. The Leo is a more of a glasscannon type. Fast, agile, reliable, comfy, but the tradeoff was Armor. Just a different style
@@OrIoN1989 Good day , Sir. I have a question: since Germany have decided send 88 Leopard 1A5 to Ukraine, could you please compare fighting ability Leopards to T-72 or to T-80??? Thank you in advance!
@@valvol4388 the most important thing is what kind of optics/termals and computer assistance to control and calculate the projectile path to target. The leo has a small er cannon, but i dont think it will matter. The first tank to fire will win the duel, but its dependent on Who are able to spot the other tank first. It comes down to experience of the usage of the tank, preperations like cammoflage and positioning etc. I would rather be in a leopard 1 because its more spacious, and that will Impact crew endurance. Most leos have upgraded electronics inside and is almost on par with a lot of leo2, but lack a bit of firepower. They do not have blow out panels and most of the ammo is around in the hull of the tank, so the Armor design has some weak points in modern standard.
@@OrIoN1989 Thank you for your opinion. I appreciate it, however I have another question: The German company Rheinmetall applied to the German Federal Government with another application for the export of 88 tanks Type 1A5 Leopard to Ukraine. The cost of used Leopard 1A5 tanks, which can be delivered to Ukraine, is about EUR 115 million. So, the cost of one unit is about 1.3 million euros. Isn’t a highway robbery??? I found the Leo 1A5 made in 1997 for $ 280000 usd “combat ready” for sale at the west coast of USA. What do you think? Thank you!!!
This is NOT a complaint but an observation. Some of the tanks are on a ramp. Looks good but you can't see all the top of the tank.😮 How about you put the ramps around the other way so the tank looks like it's Comming down hill? That way you can see all the vehicle. Still an amazing museum. Well done.☺
The front isnt always the most important bit of the tank ... and if you listened you might have noticed that bit about the "easily removable power pack" ... whch is at the back.
@@Wallyworld30 and this grand prize, for you to take home, to do with as you wish, road ready at 60kph, parking no PROBLEM ...... (dramatic music) .... THE ..... LEOPARD .... 1
Not this exact Leopard but this was my chariot into battle with the Taliban in 2006. Every time I see one as a monument I feel old, every time I see one running I feel young. Thanks for putting this out.
Ah, the Leopard 1, the tank I got my Tank Drivers Licence on, back in the good old days. Leo 1 and Berge ( Recovery) Leo will always have a special place in my heart. Good Times.
@@rippspeck Fun fact: The German army has license plates starting with Y, because all of the other letters (except for X) had already been taken by German municipalities when the Bundeswehr was founded.
The video production quality has been improving in just under a year. Now you have different camera angles, steady b-rolls, good lighting and sound recording. Great job.
Love this tank. Cold War tanks and German tanks are my favourite types of tank. My favorite tank of all time may be the T-54/55m but German tanks are all the other top 10. Didn't think that it could only stop a 20mm, this tank is still in service in many countries, but it would be outgunned by a modern Russian BMP-3 APC, wow. It's fast and hits hard though, I bet it's 105 could send a BMP to the scrap heap in 1 shot. This tank looks so good though. Elegant, powerful, built for war. It's the quintessential tank, if you asked a child to imagine a tank, they would probably imagine/draw this.
I grew up with these tanks in the 1970s along with the Chieftain down in Pembroke in West Wales. This was the only place outside West Germany they were allowed to train. They always turned up on the first day of spring coming past my school on transporters.
That's true for most diesel engines ... the ignition is done by fuel compression so as long as there is enough diesel in the mix to ignite under compression it'll ignite the whole mix
I don't think the French going their own way made the Standardpanzer a failed project. Very clearly both France and germany took what they learned from the project to develop the tank they wanted, it wasn't the exact same tank, but the AMX-30 and Leopard 1 both go into the annals as very solid designs. In fact the AMX-30 is the first really solid French MBT, they gained that out of the collaboration and it gave them a solid starting point to rebuild their tank industry after the failures during and immediately after World War II. That tank, plus their highly successful AMX-13 design, put the French armor industry back on solid footing again for the first time since the 1930s, and both are huge successes that do a lot to help the French and Germans sharply reduce their dependence on the US military industrial complex, which in my mind was the whole point of the collaboration. In that sense, the Standardpanzer project gave both the French and the Germans a perfect launch point to start anew and really get into the modern era of tank design, which is something their industry had struggled hugely with, it was a huge success for both France and Germany in that regard.
There's not that many of these joint projects that has succeeded. Eurofighter is to date the biggest failure but there are many examples. I have no idea why they aren't learning. They tried to build a fighter together before (several actually) but they always fail.
@@azynkron The Eurofighter is not a failure though? Like, it's one of the best performing jets around the world, so I'm not entirely sure where you're getting that idea from.
DerLoladin in terms of an export success it hasn’t been though. It’s also a victim of circumstance as well as its 4.5 gen aircraft. Too expensive to be used in brush wars but unlikely to survive in high end conflicts without significant support or preparation
@@azynkron Your definition of "success" is a little too rigid. Many development products aren't made to produce vehicles for actual combat, so much as to develop the nation's technological potential. Personally I think nations go into these joint projects knowing that they're less about producing viable weapons and more about giving nations a common technological starting point for their own weapons development projects. If multiple common ideas from the pooled project wind up in viable designs for various nations then the project was a success, such as Standardpanzer (AMX30 and Leopard 1) and MBT70 (M1 Abrans and Leopard 2)
I was in a German Tank battalion PzBtl383 in Bad Frankenhausen. We were among the last units in 2000 to use the Leo 1A5 . My favorite was the speed, mobility and sound of this engine.
Light, fast tank with a big gun. Like a tank destroyer, presumably with the similar tactical role in mind, expecting to fight a defensive battle against superior numbers of attacking Warsaw Pact armour.
Allies: "You can now build your own tanks!" Germany: *pulls out Maus blueprints* Allies: "But it'll have to be light and fast." Germany: *cries in heavy tanks*
@@detroitbecomehorny7119 when it is needed, the current Leopard 2 version is fully up to date and is in no need of a successor. There might be something like a Leo 2A8 with the Rheinmetall 130mm gun at some point though.
@@zafranorbian757,but France and Germany are definitely developing a new tank which will either have the massive 3-ton Rheinmetall gun,which they presented to the public in Washington in October 2019 or the French 140mm from Nexter. That sounds pretty badass to me and even if they somehow manage to fit Rheinmetall’s gun into the Leopard 2,it will be pretty obsolete when the French-German MGCS rolls out with a 140mm cannon and an automatic loading system.
@@Bird_Dog00 The Bergepanzer can be translated to Mountainpanther, that is a cougar or mountain lion and - et voila - you got an animal (in the zoo). - Just kidding ;-)
In 1966, I visited our subsidiary Cadillac Gage north of Detroit. They had a Leopard that they were developing the gun stabilizer for. They took the Leopard out in the big field behind the plant, and came zigzagging very sharply toward us at high speed, with the gun pointing ominously straight at us (OK, a very small amount of traverse lag). The combination of speed, maneuverability, and gun stabilization at that early stage left a lasting impression. I believe it had the skirts, but not 100% sure. At the time, Cadillac Gage was also building early versions of their wheeled APC, and working on the Stoner Weapon System, which we also examined. Very impressive company in a rather small building.
Pretty simple: Look at the Leopard 2 improvements. The Tiger 1 + 2 were constructed and ran in production in less rhan 2 years. This tank took over 10 years - due to the fruitless france cooperation, that did never happen again cause too slow too complicated as seen again in that tiger copter we currently have. Leopard 2 was far more complex but had a quicker + faster development + production phase.
Nope! Iam German and i say a Chieftain is sexy! Chiefs and Centurions were the Heros during my youth. Lets pass a Chieftain unit 1m away from your position on a Walkway, feel the vibration and the sound of the engine, thats Breathtaking, I have seen many of them during the 70s when they were in Manouvres in lower saxony Brit Chieftains and Centurions, Dutch Centurions and Belgium and German Leopard 1 , the Leopard never impressed me that way like dark camo Chieftains or earlier the Centurions
I started my army career at JLR RAC when it was just RAC. I'd spend several hours each week at Bovington Tank Museum which was right across the road from where I was. So many great (and not so great) tanks and armoured vehicles there, each with their own story. I'm getting old now so I guess it is normal for me to be looking back at the things I liked best - but the truth is, the Tank Museum never gets old, just older. It is STILL an incredible experience, just walking around - looking; remembering...
@@Zycras1 I remember sitting in a trench and hearing (and feeling) a Leopard drive by but had no sense of which direction it was travelling at all. Had a colleague who had been a Leopard driver - his main complaint was struggling with motion sickness when driving at high speeds.
Love the big cat used to love to be in it or hear it running around Puckapunyal Australia (1AR) but was a scary sight at night on the highway outside Katherine NT going full tilt down the road and it was going a lot faster than 80 Km/H. Aussie replaced them with rebuilt M1A1/2 Abrams got em cheap. Still am and always be a cat man
Except the (reconditioned) Abrams Australia bought weren't cheap. Quite frankly, they paid too much for them; they didn't come with the heavy (i.e. DU) armour, nor the integrated fire control and battlefield management systems, and there is less of them than the Leo Is they replaced. And they had to fork out a LOT of extra money for (rail) transportation capability. They could have bought brand new Leo 2s for much less, and these would have come with more suitable diesel engines - available on a "tropicalised" Abrams which the US wouldn't consider in the deal. Unfortunately, the deal was a political decision, pushed through by the Howard LNP government; the Army has recognised the mistake, and will be spending around $1B to upgrade the existing units and purchase more.
I wondered what was going on buying the Abrams. Given the Leo 2 was available why not go for commonality and build upon the in house knowledge. But then again what would I know as an ex reservist SIG and later a Sapper.
@@markfryer9880 Likely stereotypical conservative/republican backroom closed door deals and with likely kickback/legal-bribes from the US too - sort of like Lend Lease, but with 2000's era inflation added.
I will always remember this tank for sweetening my guard duty one day. It was winter and I was ordered to guard a gate of a Bundeswehr barrack. Not a fun duty. Anyways, while I was standing at the gate a column of these came up to the gate and parked there with their engines running for a while. This allowed me to stand in the warm air coming out of their massive exhausts while looking at these amazing machines. As for tanks this concept is hilariously stupid. It's stunning they only started building the Leopard2 during the late 70s. The Leopard1 is the definition of a glass cannon. The Soviets had a bunch of far superior tanks at the time.
I love how fast they reverse the leopard 2a6s they throw them tanks about like rally car's, It's amazing to watch! I'm a modeller I'm building the new buffel bergepanzer 3 kit the leopard 1A5 is my favourite leopard 1 and the Kodiak AEV 3 we're waiting for that to be released very soon as a model kit! We're 3D printing all the cameras and trophy system etc for more unarmoured builds in the models to! Great information very informative 👍
The Leopard 1 is basically the successor of the Panzer IV: Fast, effective and based upon the doctrine that Russian 122mm canons would penetrate any armor at that time anyway so still a Blitzkrieg tank...It was an amazing piece of weaponry! We are lucky we never had to see it in action against the Russians...
Rdgr E30.........I always say that the Germans would have been better off ''keeping it simple stupid'' (So much time RMs and energy wasted on the V's and VI's ).....and going full hog with only, just the Sturm III and Pz IV.... Stretch, Suspension and Sloping the armour and turret.. enabling kwk 42 L70s Panther gun....say 30-35 tonnes.....which would have translated into what? 10,000 more units?
@@rpm1796 The Germans didn't have the oil to support the tanks they had, nevermind 10 000 more units. They had discussions as early as '41 about partially demotorizing divisions due to fuel shortages. By '43 they were regularly leaving tanks behind because of a lack of fuel. Throughout the entire invasion of the USSR divisions had to be held back and slowed down due to poor logistics and fuel rationing.
Transmission placement, it's attached to the power pack. The Panzer III video mentions the time- consuming process to remove the forward mounted transmission. Granted the Sherman just had its bolted inside a protective casing.
Indeed, rear mounted gear boxes had many reliability issues in ww2. People talk about needing a wrench to change gear in the T34. The crusader and other rear mounted transmission British tanks had horrific reliability too. Front mounted transmissions are harder to replace as they are concealed by armour plate, they also raise the hight of the tank as you need the drive shaft to go under the turret basket
@@Mattamaza ...the Germans had a rear drive tank in their hydraulic drive demonstrator based on a much modified Pz 4. Hang on a minute and I'll give you an exact reference....Speilberger, W., et al, Panzerkampfwagen 4 and its variants 1935 - 1945 Book 2, Pages 272 - 276. Oh...it was a hydrostatic drive. I can give you an excerpt on the drive characteristics if you like. This demonstrates that the Germans before wars end were thinking about rear drive tanks. Cheers, Sandor.
@@sandorbiczo8094 That's pretty interesting, just did some reading on it. "Unfortunately, the German test data has been lost to history." Bummer. Interesting idea though
BadSkeelz yeah it was call Hans the panzer mechanic standing in the board room with his Luger screaming at the top his lungs about a easy to transmission in the tank
The LYNX is an awesome vehicle. It was so smooth when giving her beans cross-country because the engine was in the back and not in the front like the M113, M577 and M548.
Speed, speed, speed. Combined with minimal armor not expected to stand up to any enemy tank round, just 20mm.. Sounds like a Hellcat with a better turret and slightly thicker armor.
well the armor was thick enough to survive hits from 100mm guns in the front arc, but due to the limitations of sovjet fire control computers (or the lack of them), the limitations of sovjet gunners optics and the long travel time and hgh trajectory arc of HEAT, a tank like Leopard 1 wich is not stitting in a position and waiting to get shot at, is close to impossible to hit.
Never; these are presented by historians working at the museum. I could maybe see them getting James May to do his top 5, but it seems highly unlikely. Clarkson is pretty much impossible.
Jeremy Clarkson did a really good documentary on the Victoria's Cross. It was not in his Top Gear style at all. So between him and James May they would probably treat this the way it should be. I mean we know James May would but I'm talking more about Clarkson.
William Redfern Well you guys invented the thing Centurion and Chieftain was the best Cold War era tanks, better than our M-60 And Leopard 2 Challenger 2 is world class
M1a2 is what I consider to be the best tank if the army fielding it can afford to keep it running properly. Of course the non export a2s that America has
@@nks406 You heard of a Centurion? Missed ww2 by a couple of weeks but was the template for all modern MBT's. Another one fooled into thinking German tanks were the be all and end all of ww2 tanks, when most were rife with problems. Same goes for the idiot with his caps lock stuck. Watch a few of the tank museums videos before spouting nonsense. Centurion Chieftains and Chally 1 and 2's are or were all excellent MBT's
The mobility of chieftain was never intended to be as poor as it became. the shockingly bad L60 engine was the real issue, not British Tank design doctrine. The staff requirement was for an engine developing at least 750hp, possibly 800. Also, Chieftain was originally specified to weigh around 45 tons but during development it became apparent that would not be possible.
I’m not sure if this tank was ideal if the Cold War went hot. By the 60’s new technology like longer range guns and ATGM meant frontal assault with tanks was as dead as infantry attack in 1914. Protection should be the first criteria so the tank doesn’t get knocked out by tanks and ATGMs at 3,000 meters, or in Leo1’s case, by a BMP-1’s 76mm.
At the beggining of the programme they obviously decided protection against HEAT was not really feasible, however you are right with the BMP point (and other light vehicles and guns). The Germans added more armour later on.
As I understand part of the German doctrine of the time was "oh god, the Russians are coming..." - so fire once and then run away, regroup, and keep harassing until allied reinforcements arrive. So it made some sense to emphasize speed not only on a tactical level but also on a strategic level.
The point is that an ATGM would knock anything out no matter how armoured. It's an interesting approach from the Germans and is indeed a complete U-Turn in tank design from WW2 (for the better)
@@Sp4mMe considering that the sovjets would have walzed into western germany with a 10/1 advantage in heavy armor over all NATO forces in western germany, a mobile and flowing defense action is the way to go.
![เจ็บที่ยังฮัก - ม่อน วรวิทย์ [ Official Mv ] จอนนี่มิวสิค](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/KALIGSRSjFs/mqdefault.jpg)
My driving teacher (he is close to 80 years old) was a tank driver when the first Leopard 1 were delivered to the Bundeswehr. He got to drive them before the tanks had speed limiters, and he said they reached up to 90 kph on the road.
every Tankcrew tried this once.. its very loud inside the Tank at this speed and the Tank is going to be uncontrollable. It is very dangerous if you do this on a normal Road because the Tank is wearing Gummi bumper on the tracks. At this speed the Bumpers tend to fly away, you don`t want to sit in a car were some of this hardgummi things passing your windscreen and leaving it through the back window.
Abrams goes faster than that
@@michael931 I don't know if it is true, but following unofficial reports from tank crews of the l
Leopard 2, it can reach up to 120kph.
@@michael931 the abrams is actually a way slower than the leopard
@@chechenfeels Not that much slower
As much as I enjoy the quirkyness of David Fletchers Chats, I also really enjoy David Willeys vids. His enthusiasm is apparent and enjoyable.
You know, I really enjoy them both to the point where there is no "favorite"...I think they compliment each other.
Your two uncles at a family gathering. You love to hear their stories.
I like that he (David Willey) doesnt sound like he's out of breath all the time.
David Fletcher is more entertaining. Willey's are just as informative without the great jokes. Fletcher could have been a comedian in another life.
@@Wallyworld30 Fletcher has that British humor and pessimism in him.
The Leopard 1 shows how much the german engineers have learned form the WW2 tanks and their issues.
The powerpack allone is a huge improvement over the "we have to dismantle half the tank just to replace the gearbox" approach of some of the old tanks like the Panzer III.
The fact that those engineers actually had the luxury to take their time with the design helped as well off course.
Yes they learned a bit when the war ended. The first modern tank with this layout was the IS2, the T44 had even a better layout as early as 1944
@@jonugalde1275 Change the powerpack in russian tanks take many hours. So much to learned.
@@23GreyFox you have not understood my point. Neither I'm talking about Russian tanks but Soviet ones.
@@jonugalde1275 Same outcome. Change anything on a T-55 is a pain.
@@23GreyFox saying somebody has a lot to learn before giving as a example to compare two designing philosophies two different grade vehicles with a decade of difference doesn't leave you in a good position.
German variants:
Leopard (1)
A1 Skirts, new tracks, stabilizer ...
A2 thicker turret armor
A3 welded turret
A4 new fire control system
A1A1 add-on armor
A5 thermal imaging, laser range finder, digital fire control system
Wasn't there a Leopard 1A6 with the 120mm gun from the Leopard 2?
Kind of bothers me that they failed to mention the Marder (Marten) IFV. That one saved a lot of Soldiers in Afghanistan and a group of them on a nearby hill was often enough to prevent any attacks
EvanMcC 18 There was for proof of concept a prototype of a Leopard 1 with the 120mm L44, but it has never been standardized.
Wernher von Kerman Bovington is a Tank-Museum. Other armored vehicles are there by chance. Experience from WW2 showed, that the existing AIFVs didn't offer enough protection, therefore the concept of the later Marder was developed.
@@herosstratos The cold war was over, so no need for it.
At 3:08 ... so thats a german 105mm SELFIE STICK in action huh?
A Canadian, German, British 105 selfie stick
Scandinavian selfie stick too....
Ahh stuffing.
Its a friggin euro selfie stick....way too many countries
@@beartrapcanadian6852 british 105mm qf adopted as main nato tank gun
Still my favorite, loved working on them during my time in the German army as a hull tech. The 20 minute power pack change is for shows only, just to baffle onlookers. The real change time of a power pack is about 40-45 minutes and that includes removal of the top deck (engine cover). Nobody in their right mind would pull the pack under fire anyway, get the recovery tank to tow the broken down tank out of the line of fire and work in less lead polluted air. Great memories, will make it to Bovington one of these years - will meet with some of my old buddies in Munster again in April though.
The BAOR were probably the best at pulling power packs... maybe a bit of a dubious claim to fame!
Still, engine replacement is lighting compared to other tank types.
@fdsdh1 was that due to them having Chieftains, by any chance? XD
The Belgian Army actually managed to loose one top deck during a field training exercise. They were exchanging a power pack when they had to move and put the tank "sans topdeck" on a carrier and drove off. When they noticed it and returned it already disappeared. No doubt some enterprising German made a handsome profit at the local scrapyard. Unfortunately the Belgian Army did not have a spare top deck and none were available elsewhere: hence one less operational tank in the Belgian Army.
@@fdsdh1 because they had much practice with the first Chieftain marks multifuel engine, REMEs nightmare!
i remember that times well when i was a boy and the BAOR Tank units were in Manouvre in southern lower saxony, many broken Tanks during that time and only the CenturionARV which was a bit underpowered to tow the heavy Chieftain (crosscountry) in the Fields and forrests of lower saxony
But for Boys the Chieftain was spectacular compared to lighter Leos or M-48, until today the Chieftain tank is my favourite! ( edited thx to Quantum HD :) ) Tank
I'm bloody glad the Germans are on our side now!
And always will be. We will never ever going to be at war with our european neighbours again. Greetings from Germany.
They are not ... as the EU shows. Brexit is the right way to go ... and the way EUrocrats are treating anything coming from Britain shows that the reasoning behind it was the right way to go. Oh and there are ZERO UK-friendly comments here in german media ... because they dont like the anti-globalist "separatists".
Just be prepared for a french-german tank that is capable of crossing the channel in large numbers ...
@@Muck006 i wonder what kind of scenario would make the german/eu-citizens believe war with the UK would be acceptable. yes you want to leave the EU but that won't erase/negate the cooperating years we had, the bonding that happened.
@@Muck006 wtf XD just wtf XD
and we're glad to have our european neighbours as allies now. there's other threats in the world we have to overcome together, be it with political, economical or military methods.
greetings from germany.
I drove one of these in 1989 in the Canadian army. My souvenor is that it was like driving a Cadillac. Powerful and smooth over any kind of terrain. The gyroscope stabilized cannnon was also very impressive. German engineering at it's best!
How does this tank have a staiblizer?
You probably drove a leopard 1A5, the standard leopard 1 had no stabilizer
@@Mjstas
I think he meant the leopard A1A1
I had served at a leopard 1a5 unit in the Greek army, a great machine ❤
ich mach auch videos zu panzern,,,
Pay debts
Who would have thought that we'll gonna see it in a big war after all this time?
No one
Only silly humans think there would be an end to all wars.
Will be interesting to see how it's going to be utilised
a dream come true
They kept a bunch of them for a reason.
Been a Leopard 1A5 driver and gunner for 8 years in the Danish army. Damn good times
SFOR?
@@andriandrason1318 Yes, twice. 1997 and 2000
In 1979 I was in the 2nd Bn 33rd Armor in Germany in September on a field training exercise called Reforger. I watched a unit of Leopards move, shoot, expel smoke and back away! Made me glad Germany is on our side! Didn't know Leopards weighed only 40 tons! My M 60A1 weighed 58 tons combat loaded! BTW, In German the name is pronounced, "Leo-Pard"!
We Belgians also pronounched it Leo-pard! Such beauties
I think you're mixing up different kinds of tons. The M60A1 is 47 metric tons while the Leopard is 42 metric tons.
yes in eu we say it as leo with quick cut to pard :) normal thing here mate not sure for most of eu country's but leo and pard means two different things :)
I was at the 79 reforger 2AD there on TDY from fort hood .
Italy: Can i copy your homework?
Germany: Yeah just change it up a bit so it doesn't look obvious you copied
Italy: Ok
**OF-40**
Only 39 produced. OF = only 40?
Ah the OF-40.
aka "what you get if you ask Fiat to copy a Porsche"...
oof - 40
🤣😂🤣😂🤣.
they copied the leopard but they are italians so it is the leopard in bad version or fiat version :)
Finally Porsche designed a tank that was actually good for something.
Same thought😂
Looking at you, elefant 😂
@@andrewlee5449 The Elefant was very good. K/D Ratio more than 10 to 1.
@@partikelsmusic Elefant looking at leopard 1 "Wish I could climb that steep ramp too😭"
@wood1155 They were always horribly unreliable and in Kursk, where their service was crucial, they were not equipped with machine guns and very vulnerable to infantry. They were pretty much useless. Even when they were given a machine gun the considerable amount of resources they represented made them a really bad investment.
I loved learning to operate the Leopard when my unit (3AD 3/32 Armor C-company) had a 90-day service exchange with the Bundeswehr. The hardest thing I had to deal with was the electronic shifter which was nothing like what I was used to on the M-60A1 and M-60A3. It was a very strange and unnatural feeling the first time I drove a tank across the bottom of a river. It was really weird to watch the river water slowly seep inside the tank as we drove across the fording point. One of the requirements prior to doing this was to practice emergency escape procedures from a submerged tank simulator using micro-scuba units with a 15-minute air supply. As Mr. Willey pointed out one of the greatest strengths of the Leopard I was it's speed, the second was it's relatively low profile which made it very difficult to spot in rolling or hilly terrain. Great Tank Chat!! Can't wait for the one on Leopard II.
I know I am late, but would you mind explaining why the elctronic shifter would make such a difference? I'm asking as someone who has never served and does not know a lot of things about cars in general.
@@DGARedRaven The electronic shifter allowed faster and smoother gear changes on the fly without having to slow down. Once you got used to it of course... 😁
@@redknight1322 Appreciate the answer! Thanks.
A modern day M-18 is my take on the design. Shoot and scoot tactics, with the flank of the enemy being your destination.
Pretty much every time the french try a joint venture, if their own companies are not awarded the Lions share of manufacturer they drop out and make an technologically similar machine by themselves
Copycats ... or they use their intelligence service to get into german companies many times. But copy cats need to improve otherwise they will dy. French industry is dying over decades year by year. Eco energy they do not know, just outdated nuclear power plants.
"Screw you guys we're going home...merde !" :)
Don't forget your yellow vest on the way out then buddy
I think they recently effectively merged a French tank making company with a German one. So perhaps that will be a solution to France's issue there?
Quickshot0 I’d put even money on the French pulling the plug on that venture as soon as the production isn’t going to be done in France which it won’t be
panther tank: who are you?
leopard: im you but better...
And i actually work.
And im popular.
.....even those cheap peaceful canadians bought me over the surplusd us tanks
@@DragoonZeroAlpha >>
panther tank: who are you?
leopard: i am you ...
30 years later ...
in peace time designed and built when nobody is bombing us ...
with a much bigger budget
and 4 times as much time to develop and build.
What we learned, we learned from you and the Tigers.
You did OK grand dad Panther ... you did OK.
@@kobalt63 lol so true.....
panther: but people can pronounce my name correctly.
T44 tank: Leopard do not cheat to people, you have got much more in common with me than with the Panther
Affordable, reliable and mobile. Funny how big of a contrast this is to Germany's WW2 tanks.
Surprisingly and it rarely get's mentioned, but when the leo 1 was adopted by the Bundeswher as their new tank, quite a few German high ranking officers questioned whether it was actually the right kind of design for the battles it would face on the NG plain.
It helps that you don't build to Der Fuehrer's tank fantasies, but rather to logically observed military demands, and in peace time conditions (Cold War notwithstanding).
actually I think leopard 1 is similar to panzer III in design comcept
Panther? After it first problems were fixed. You have to understand that it took 10 years to make this guy while in WW2 you had fraction of time to design tank and yet they still built the best tanks in that time
They learned the lesson from their failure while everyone else tried to copy their failure.
I was doing my service on this tank before it was phased out in norway. Its a nice comfortable tank for the crew. You have over pressure system against chemical warefare, wading ablility, high speed, escape hatch, gunner and seperate commander periscope that both can aim and fire main and coaxial gun, manual loaded gun that had APFS, HEP and HEAT amunition for the gun. The motor engine is the most beautiful grunty sounding diesel motor. In norway we used to tent on the back of the tank in the winter, making it very warm and cosy at bed time. I choose to be the tank loader as im 186 cm and broad shouldered, but I think it has great riding positions in all positions, exept maybe on the gunners space.
Its also some cool choices made to have a lot of equipment on the outside, having a tower basket on the back for more carry ability.
There was still hard to drive these tanks in the night time or in low visibility; Often you had to guide it in terrible conditions or peek your head out.
Ask me anything and I will try to answer :)
Ah, yes, I have a question! Have you been in combat and if so, did you feel safe? It sounds like the Leopard 1s armour was thin.
@@shronkler1994 No real fighting with the Leo. The Leo is a more of a glasscannon type. Fast, agile, reliable, comfy, but the tradeoff was Armor. Just a different style
@@OrIoN1989 Good day , Sir. I have a question: since Germany have decided send 88 Leopard 1A5 to Ukraine, could you please compare fighting ability Leopards to T-72 or to T-80??? Thank you in advance!
@@valvol4388 the most important thing is what kind of optics/termals and computer assistance to control and calculate the projectile path to target. The leo has a small er cannon, but i dont think it will matter. The first tank to fire will win the duel, but its dependent on Who are able to spot the other tank first. It comes down to experience of the usage of the tank, preperations like cammoflage and positioning etc. I would rather be in a leopard 1 because its more spacious, and that will Impact crew endurance.
Most leos have upgraded electronics inside and is almost on par with a lot of leo2, but lack a bit of firepower. They do not have blow out panels and most of the ammo is around in the hull of the tank, so the Armor design has some weak points in modern standard.
@@OrIoN1989 Thank you for your opinion. I appreciate it, however I have another question: The German company Rheinmetall applied to the German Federal Government with another application for the export of 88 tanks Type 1A5 Leopard to Ukraine.
The cost of used Leopard 1A5 tanks, which can be delivered to Ukraine, is about EUR 115 million. So, the cost of one unit is about 1.3 million euros. Isn’t a highway robbery??? I found the Leo 1A5 made in 1997 for $ 280000 usd “combat ready” for sale at the west coast of USA. What do you think? Thank you!!!
a Leopard tank is a good weapon in the field.
I myself have been a tank commander on a Leopard 1 in the Danish army
Looking onward from the outside of the military, it seems to me to be well engineered for the battle of movement
This is NOT a complaint but an observation. Some of the tanks are on a ramp. Looks good but you can't see all the top of the tank.😮 How about you put the ramps around the other way so the tank looks like it's Comming down hill? That way you can see all the vehicle. Still an amazing museum. Well done.☺
The front isnt always the most important bit of the tank ... and if you listened you might have noticed that bit about the "easily removable power pack" ... whch is at the back.
Edwin Leslie drink red bull, it gives you wings so you can fly up to see the tops.
They need to put them on a lazy Susan spinning like a gameshow "show case" prize.
@@Wallyworld30 and this grand prize, for you to take home, to do with as you wish, road ready at 60kph, parking no PROBLEM ...... (dramatic music) .... THE ..... LEOPARD .... 1
@@Wallyworld30 I'm thinking The Price is Right format, get some rocket launchers, a flame thrower and the grand prize ... a tank.
Not this exact Leopard but this was my chariot into battle with the Taliban in 2006. Every time I see one as a monument I feel old, every time I see one running I feel young. Thanks for putting this out.
Ah, the Leopard 1, the tank I got my Tank Drivers Licence on, back in the good old days. Leo 1 and Berge ( Recovery) Leo will always have a special place in my heart. Good Times.
One of the sexiest post war tanks!
The Leopard was really agile.Even with the Recovery Vehicle it was very easy to get speeding tickets in Bergen-Hohne.
So that's why there are license plates on tanks...
@@rippspeck Fun fact: The German army has license plates starting with Y, because all of the other letters (except for X) had already been taken by German municipalities when the Bundeswehr was founded.
@@rippspeck Y - tours : Wir buchen, sie fluchen. When german conscripts had made fun of the Bundeswehr.( We book, you curse.)
@@kratzikatz1 Some say the "y" is the end of Germany.
@@no1DdC And X eventually was assigned to NATO vehicles.
I love David Willey's Tank Chats.
The video production quality has been improving in just under a year. Now you have different camera angles, steady b-rolls, good lighting and sound recording. Great job.
The Australian Army's Leopard AS1 at 06:33 in 3-colour "Auscan" looks good.
Love this tank. Cold War tanks and German tanks are my favourite types of tank. My favorite tank of all time may be the T-54/55m but German tanks are all the other top 10.
Didn't think that it could only stop a 20mm, this tank is still in service in many countries, but it would be outgunned by a modern Russian BMP-3 APC, wow.
It's fast and hits hard though, I bet it's 105 could send a BMP to the scrap heap in 1 shot.
This tank looks so good though. Elegant, powerful, built for war. It's the quintessential tank, if you asked a child to imagine a tank, they would probably imagine/draw this.
Love me some David Willey! His pace and wit on these lectures is so spot on😊
Loved working with the leopard 1A3 we had in Canada. That one shown has Canadian markings.
That one dislike is probably a T-54/55 crew member!
and second dislike one of the French designers who bailed
And the six't must be the man at rheinmetall who saw a british gun in a german tank
This tank is about equal to T-55 and inferior to T-55AM2..
Almost a total of 6 T-54/55 crews don't like this video...
@@HanSolo__ Yeah, clearly over thats for sure! I think its more like around the T-62/72 family.
Best review of the Leopard1 I've seen so far. Well done!
I grew up with these tanks in the 1970s along with the Chieftain down in Pembroke in West Wales. This was the only place outside West Germany they were allowed to train.
They always turned up on the first day of spring coming past my school on transporters.
I think we need some more back story to that opening.... Lol
yes, yes we do
@HiWetcam British humour mate...
@@WozWozEre I think DW is more scary than the tank!
*I don’t want to see your ugly face!* hahaha
@HiWetcam - He's having a laugh. Try it, grumpy-boots.
Great film, David is very good to camera.
Another epic video from the Tank museum. I built a great model of this tank a few years ago.
Quite a few Leo 1 variants are now available in 35th scale kit form, including C2 MEXAS and other modern updates.
What a tank. Thanks David Willey. I am happy to be a Patreon supporter!
The Leopard's engine is still kind of multi fuel, it takes anything as long as it is a flamebile liquid with 60% diesel.
That's true for most diesel engines ... the ignition is done by fuel compression so as long as there is enough diesel in the mix to ignite under compression it'll ignite the whole mix
@@con_boy I only knew about the Leopard's engine.
While this isn't exclusive to the Leopard, Germany still uses diesel engines in all their military vehicles for this very reason.
This tank is gorgeous, just flat out gorgeous. Leopard 2 is a sweet looking tank as well, but this one just has something special to it.
I suspect it's the Porsche in it.
I don't think the French going their own way made the Standardpanzer a failed project. Very clearly both France and germany took what they learned from the project to develop the tank they wanted, it wasn't the exact same tank, but the AMX-30 and Leopard 1 both go into the annals as very solid designs.
In fact the AMX-30 is the first really solid French MBT, they gained that out of the collaboration and it gave them a solid starting point to rebuild their tank industry after the failures during and immediately after World War II. That tank, plus their highly successful AMX-13 design, put the French armor industry back on solid footing again for the first time since the 1930s, and both are huge successes that do a lot to help the French and Germans sharply reduce their dependence on the US military industrial complex, which in my mind was the whole point of the collaboration.
In that sense, the Standardpanzer project gave both the French and the Germans a perfect launch point to start anew and really get into the modern era of tank design, which is something their industry had struggled hugely with, it was a huge success for both France and Germany in that regard.
There's not that many of these joint projects that has succeeded. Eurofighter is to date the biggest failure but there are many examples. I have no idea why they aren't learning. They tried to build a fighter together before (several actually) but they always fail.
@@azynkron The Eurofighter is not a failure though? Like, it's one of the best performing jets around the world, so I'm not entirely sure where you're getting that idea from.
DerLoladin in terms of an export success it hasn’t been though. It’s also a victim of circumstance as well as its 4.5 gen aircraft. Too expensive to be used in brush wars but unlikely to survive in high end conflicts without significant support or preparation
@@azynkron Your definition of "success" is a little too rigid. Many development products aren't made to produce vehicles for actual combat, so much as to develop the nation's technological potential.
Personally I think nations go into these joint projects knowing that they're less about producing viable weapons and more about giving nations a common technological starting point for their own weapons development projects. If multiple common ideas from the pooled project wind up in viable designs for various nations then the project was a success, such as Standardpanzer (AMX30 and Leopard 1) and MBT70 (M1 Abrans and Leopard 2)
@@aidan11162 - export wise the Eurofighter Typhoon has been a success,especially compared to its main rival the Dassault Rafale.
I was in a German Tank battalion PzBtl383 in Bad Frankenhausen. We were among the last units in 2000 to use the Leo 1A5 . My favorite was the speed, mobility and sound of this engine.
Light, fast tank with a big gun. Like a tank destroyer, presumably with the similar tactical role in mind, expecting to fight a defensive battle against superior numbers of attacking Warsaw Pact armour.
Tank chats is the only thing that makes me happy anymore.
Allies: "You can now build your own tanks!"
Germany: *pulls out Maus blueprints*
Allies: "But it'll have to be light and fast."
Germany: *cries in heavy tanks*
Hahahah
They only delayed us, Leopard 2 A7V is at 60 tonns again.
@@zafranorbian757,when is the damn Leopard 3 going to finish development
@@detroitbecomehorny7119 when it is needed, the current Leopard 2 version is fully up to date and is in no need of a successor. There might be something like a Leo 2A8 with the Rheinmetall 130mm gun at some point though.
@@zafranorbian757,but France and Germany are definitely developing a new tank which will either have the massive 3-ton Rheinmetall gun,which they presented to the public in Washington in October 2019 or the French 140mm from Nexter.
That sounds pretty badass to me and even if they somehow manage to fit Rheinmetall’s gun into the Leopard 2,it will be pretty obsolete when the French-German MGCS rolls out with a 140mm cannon and an automatic loading system.
I was driver on a Leopard 1 in 1973-74 in the Dutch army , 43 tank Bat A Esk in Langemanshof Germany . These tanks where great
6:38 Bergepanzer 2
6:42 Biber (Beaver)
6:45 Dachs (Badger)
6:51 Gepard (Cheetah)
We germans like our animals
@@Serkay64 So, what animal is a Bergepanzer?
never seen one in a zoo...
@@Bird_Dog00 The Bergepanzer can be translated to Mountainpanther, that is a cougar or mountain lion and - et voila - you got an animal (in the zoo). - Just kidding ;-)
@@Bird_Dog00 Bergepanzer 3 goes with Büffel (Buffalo). I don't know if it was also used for the Bergepanzer 2.
I prefer "Prrrrruttel" for the Gepard, fits better 😆
In 1966, I visited our subsidiary Cadillac Gage north of Detroit. They had a Leopard that they were developing the gun stabilizer for. They took the Leopard out in the big field behind the plant, and came zigzagging very sharply toward us at high speed, with the gun pointing ominously straight at us (OK, a very small amount of traverse lag). The combination of speed, maneuverability, and gun stabilization at that early stage left a lasting impression. I believe it had the skirts, but not 100% sure.
At the time, Cadillac Gage was also building early versions of their wheeled APC, and working on the Stoner Weapon System, which we also examined. Very impressive company in a rather small building.
The real question is, what are the quirks and features?
THIS....
Ze tank comes out of ze factory with a CD with only one song, Panzerlied
...and the -Doug- Dave Score?
Pretty simple: Look at the Leopard 2 improvements. The Tiger 1 + 2 were constructed and ran in production in less rhan 2 years. This tank took over 10 years - due to the fruitless france cooperation, that did never happen again cause too slow too complicated as seen again in that tiger copter we currently have. Leopard 2 was far more complex but had a quicker + faster development + production phase.
@@typxxilps The next MBT is planned to be a French/German coop.
The first leo is more awesome as i expected.
Thanks for the good chat (as everytime)
I like that the video of it moving features Canadian pirate tankers.
This is just too interesting to stop watching when you've started the video
Great video! But why is it unlisted? (It's not visible on the channel, but I'm a subscriber, so I followed my notification to get here.)
Yup. For me too. It didn't show in the sub box, but today it was on the frontpage and I was like what... youtube screwing up again
It didn't show up on my Subscriptions Page either. I only saw it in the side box of a different video.
Oh, now it is "listed", and it's on The Tank Museum home page.
Diverging specifications...MBT70...cough...
Excellent presentation, thank you!
It was a great tank in peace time.
A friend of mine was , in the late seventies , a Leopard gunner. He told me that he once hit a target from around 3 km (Italian Army).
This tank is so sexy, it hurts
Ricardo Carmine ooof. That 45° front beak is a bit uncouth
Nope! Iam German and i say a Chieftain is sexy! Chiefs and Centurions were the Heros during my youth.
Lets pass a Chieftain unit 1m away from your position on a Walkway, feel the vibration and the sound of the engine, thats Breathtaking,
I have seen many of them during the 70s when they were in Manouvres in lower saxony Brit Chieftains and Centurions, Dutch Centurions and Belgium and German Leopard 1 , the Leopard never impressed me that way like dark camo Chieftains or earlier the Centurions
Just like you.
I started my army career at JLR RAC when it was just RAC. I'd spend several hours each week at Bovington Tank Museum which was right across the road from where I was. So many great (and not so great) tanks and armoured vehicles there, each with their own story. I'm getting old now so I guess it is normal for me to be looking back at the things I liked best - but the truth is, the Tank Museum never gets old, just older. It is STILL an incredible experience, just walking around - looking; remembering...
Looking forward to the Leopard II, my father used to drive one.
I got to train on the Leopard 1 while serving in Germany. Our sister unit in Bundeswehr invited us to stay for a week. What fun we had.
Cracking video. What would be Awesome if UK and Germany produced a joint developed tank Diesel powered and named it Tiger Drei!
Would have to start with a 'C' to keep us happy... How about Cheetah, it would keep the big cat theme and the 'C' theme?
MrKansai1 teghe Nice One meets All Requirements!
You mean a British hull made from British alloys with a german engine and a german gun? Fantastic idea! Greetings from Germany
William Wallace
My thoughts exactly
But don’t the Germans already have a cheetah variant (gepard)
@@virtualinfinity6280 unlikely, as the UK is now relying on Rheinmetall to develope and build their tanks
Love this tank when I was in the infantry. The roar of the engine is incredible!
It is so by design. We were told at BW the Gepard would be hard to locate by sound.
@@Zycras1 I remember sitting in a trench and hearing (and feeling) a Leopard drive by but had no sense of which direction it was travelling at all. Had a colleague who had been a Leopard driver - his main complaint was struggling with motion sickness when driving at high speeds.
@@epilotdk Indeed. You only know, that a Leopard 1 is around somewhere.
08:05 That is a nice explanatory photograph.
Too bad a tank had to be cut in half to get that awesome display 😕
It is so exciting to hear both the story and the tech specs that Mr.Willey explains very good indeed! thankyou, Levi from Finland
Love the big cat used to love to be in it or hear it running around Puckapunyal Australia (1AR) but was a scary sight at night on the highway outside Katherine NT going full tilt down the road and it was going a lot faster than 80 Km/H. Aussie replaced them with rebuilt M1A1/2 Abrams got em cheap. Still am and always be a cat man
M1a1 AIM SA. no A2s yet. Will probs get them long after I'm out
I lived not far from Pucka.....loved thr Leopards when ever I could go see them. Later when I joined the Army it was M1A2....not quite the same! ☹
Except the (reconditioned) Abrams Australia bought weren't cheap. Quite frankly, they paid too much for them; they didn't come with the heavy (i.e. DU) armour, nor the integrated fire control and battlefield management systems, and there is less of them than the Leo Is they replaced. And they had to fork out a LOT of extra money for (rail) transportation capability. They could have bought brand new Leo 2s for much less, and these would have come with more suitable diesel engines - available on a "tropicalised" Abrams which the US wouldn't consider in the deal. Unfortunately, the deal was a political decision, pushed through by the Howard LNP government; the Army has recognised the mistake, and will be spending around $1B to upgrade the existing units and purchase more.
I wondered what was going on buying the Abrams. Given the Leo 2 was available why not go for commonality and build upon the in house knowledge. But then again what would I know as an ex reservist SIG and later a Sapper.
@@markfryer9880 Likely stereotypical conservative/republican backroom closed door deals and with likely kickback/legal-bribes from the US too - sort of like Lend Lease, but with 2000's era inflation added.
Excellent start to the new year, thank you.
Awesome, take the principle of Cromwell, and enhance. They did like Cromwell, it’s speed.
its more like they refined the Panther. when you look at Leopard 1 you see ALOT of similarities in desing to Panther
very interesting video thanks for educating us on these older tanks 😍
One of the best looking tanks ever built, next to the chieftain. Certainly suits the name.
Imo Britain and germany made the best looking Tanks. Tigers, centurions, leopards, challengers etc
@@rayhan_2k841
T-80U also looks pretty damn good., as does the Leopard 1A5 and Challenger 1 Mk3.
It is a good looking tank. I’ve seen a photo of one at an angle where it seemed to have similarities to a T34/85.
I love the leopard 2A7
*M1A2 Wants to know your location*
Brilliant video and as usual very informative.
Thank you very much.
I will always remember this tank for sweetening my guard duty one day. It was winter and I was ordered to guard a gate of a Bundeswehr barrack. Not a fun duty. Anyways, while I was standing at the gate a column of these came up to the gate and parked there with their engines running for a while. This allowed me to stand in the warm air coming out of their massive exhausts while looking at these amazing machines.
As for tanks this concept is hilariously stupid. It's stunning they only started building the Leopard2 during the late 70s. The Leopard1 is the definition of a glass cannon. The Soviets had a bunch of far superior tanks at the time.
Perhaps, they are going to war again now. Another 50 from Belgium to be refurbished for Ukraine.
The best video of the kind, congratulations.
I see one of these every day when I walk to class at the Royal Military Colege of Canada
I love how fast they reverse the leopard 2a6s they throw them tanks about like rally car's, It's amazing to watch! I'm a modeller I'm building the new buffel bergepanzer 3 kit the leopard 1A5 is my favourite leopard 1 and the Kodiak AEV 3 we're waiting for that to be released very soon as a model kit! We're 3D printing all the cameras and trophy system etc for more unarmoured builds in the models to! Great information very informative 👍
It is a Porsche after all.
“If you really want you can buy one or two of these...” I BLOODY WISH M8!
There is an A1 for sale here in England for £200,000 at the moment, sell your house and buy it!
The Australian Army gave them away here in the mid 2000's.
@@barje.waffles5461 You live in the Promised Land
As one of the comedians once said on Top Gear: they are congestion charge EXEMPT ... which makes them brilliant for a cruise through London, right?
I'd rather drive a BTR in London. Cheaper, faster, less thirsty and more room for groceries! 😁
Thanks you for the description. I appreciate your work.
It's like a longer Panther with a giant turret.
Went to the museum on New Year's Day, it was incredible!
The Leopard 1 is basically the successor of the Panzer IV: Fast, effective and based upon the doctrine that Russian 122mm canons would penetrate any armor at that time anyway so still a Blitzkrieg tank...It was an amazing piece of weaponry! We are lucky we never had to see it in action against the Russians...
Rdgr E30.........I always say that the Germans would have been better off ''keeping it simple stupid'' (So much time RMs and energy wasted on the V's and VI's ).....and going full hog with only, just the Sturm III and Pz IV.... Stretch, Suspension and Sloping the armour and turret.. enabling kwk 42 L70s Panther gun....say 30-35 tonnes.....which would have translated into what? 10,000 more units?
@@rpm1796 The Germans didn't have the oil to support the tanks they had, nevermind 10 000 more units. They had discussions as early as '41 about partially demotorizing divisions due to fuel shortages. By '43 they were regularly leaving tanks behind because of a lack of fuel. Throughout the entire invasion of the USSR divisions had to be held back and slowed down due to poor logistics and fuel rationing.
@@rpm1796 Nothing was wasted on the Panther and Tiger.
I saw a few in use in Afghanistan in 2009 (C2 variant with MEXAS applique armour package) Some great footage of the C2 in your video!
Sprocket in the back is new for german tanks compared to WW2
Good spot!
Transmission placement, it's attached to the power pack. The Panzer III video mentions the time- consuming process to remove the forward mounted transmission. Granted the Sherman just had its bolted inside a protective casing.
Indeed, rear mounted gear boxes had many reliability issues in ww2. People talk about needing a wrench to change gear in the T34. The crusader and other rear mounted transmission British tanks had horrific reliability too. Front mounted transmissions are harder to replace as they are concealed by armour plate, they also raise the hight of the tank as you need the drive shaft to go under the turret basket
@@Mattamaza ...the Germans had a rear drive tank in their hydraulic drive demonstrator based on a much modified Pz 4. Hang on a minute and I'll give you an exact reference....Speilberger, W., et al, Panzerkampfwagen 4 and its variants 1935 - 1945 Book 2, Pages 272 - 276. Oh...it was a hydrostatic drive. I can give you an excerpt on the drive characteristics if you like. This demonstrates that the Germans before wars end were thinking about rear drive tanks. Cheers, Sandor.
@@sandorbiczo8094 That's pretty interesting, just did some reading on it. "Unfortunately, the German test data has been lost to history." Bummer. Interesting idea though
Wow, never knew about the "power pack" engine replacement. Can tell all those WW2 breakdowns left an impression!
BadSkeelz yeah it was call Hans the panzer mechanic standing in the board room with his Luger screaming at the top his lungs about a easy to transmission in the tank
If the Fal was the right arm of the free world, the Leopard 1 was the left arm.
I'd say the Carl Gustaf M2 would be the left arm.
I say that the centurion was the left arm.
@@HanSolo__ not really; "The Right Arm of the Free World" is an actual nickname that the FAL received.
Well Said Laz!
your longer chats are so good. I like them better than any of the other videos.
I'd love to see a video on the canadian LYNX recon vehicle
The LYNX is an awesome vehicle. It was so smooth when giving her beans cross-country because the engine was in the back and not in the front like the M113, M577 and M548.
Was on a Lynx in pet for 3 yrs,86-88 recce squadron
Ah Leo 1, my wonderful home for myself and three brothers for over 10 years!
France starting something and pulling out of something early that's new.
Makes me wonder about the Leopard 3 program...
I posed that question about the road wheels before seeing, and hearing, the comments about the suspension. So they do make a big difference..
Speed, speed, speed. Combined with minimal armor not expected to stand up to any enemy tank round, just 20mm.. Sounds like a Hellcat with a better turret and slightly thicker armor.
well the armor was thick enough to survive hits from 100mm guns in the front arc, but due to the limitations of sovjet fire control computers (or the lack of them), the limitations of sovjet gunners optics and the long travel time and hgh trajectory arc of HEAT, a tank like Leopard 1 wich is not stitting in a position and waiting to get shot at, is close to impossible to hit.
20mm proof, hummm, no wonder i got completely shredded by M3 Bradley 25mm in War Thunder
latter the tank was given addon armor to protect it against 30mm.
Annnnd then came the leopard 2.....A6.....just incase you wanted even more frontal armor
8.3 vs 7.7 , also apart by 20-30 years
At the same time the Chieftain had approx 250 mm thick sloped armour on it's turret!
@@komradearti9935 Did I say it was?
Got to love the sleek lines of the Leopard.
When is Jeremy Clarkson or James May going to present one of these?
Never; these are presented by historians working at the museum. I could maybe see them getting James May to do his top 5, but it seems highly unlikely. Clarkson is pretty much impossible.
I could see James May giving us a tank chat since he's the world most interesting boring person lol
Perhaps we could have a TV chef present an episode too.
Jeremy might do that as he is interested in the military
Jeremy Clarkson did a really good documentary on the Victoria's Cross. It was not in his Top Gear style at all. So between him and James May they would probably treat this the way it should be. I mean we know James May would but I'm talking more about Clarkson.
Beautiful design from our friends across the pond
I’m American but I admit the Brits and the Germans are the tank designer masters of the world
William Redfern Well you guys invented the thing Centurion and Chieftain was the best Cold War era tanks, better than our M-60 And Leopard 2 Challenger 2 is world class
@@williamredfern5504 Your keyboard is broken. Or do you mean to shout entire paragraphs?
M1a2 is what I consider to be the best tank if the army fielding it can afford to keep it running properly. Of course the non export a2s that America has
brits no germans maybe
@@nks406 You heard of a Centurion? Missed ww2 by a couple of weeks but was the template for all modern MBT's. Another one fooled into thinking German tanks were the be all and end all of ww2 tanks, when most were rife with problems. Same goes for the idiot with his caps lock stuck. Watch a few of the tank museums videos before spouting nonsense. Centurion Chieftains and Chally 1 and 2's are or were all excellent MBT's
Beautiful tank
Noone dare dislike this
Challenge accepted!
@@gislemark79 get in the bin😂
Someone did. Time to get the Gestapo back from retirement.
I did
I will, just because you said so.
Idc I'm a rebel
early models of leopard 1 without the additional armour are so beautiful
Well, Chieftain certainty had the "mobility is not so important"-factor down!
It was made to defend our tiny island! It did not need mobility!
*attempts to salvage pride*
@@Ag3nt0fCha0s Yeah, but how did half of them got themselves lost in West-germany...?
They never got lost in West Germany. The British Army always knew where their tanks broke down.
The mobility of chieftain was never intended to be as poor as it became. the shockingly bad L60 engine was the real issue, not British Tank design doctrine.
The staff requirement was for an engine developing at least 750hp, possibly 800. Also, Chieftain was originally specified to weigh around 45 tons but during development it became apparent that would not be possible.
My all time favorite tank. I would love to drive this around town. It's more than capable of doing so.
I’m not sure if this tank was ideal if the Cold War went hot. By the 60’s new technology like longer range guns and ATGM meant frontal assault with tanks was as dead as infantry attack in 1914. Protection should be the first criteria so the tank doesn’t get knocked out by tanks and ATGMs at 3,000 meters, or in Leo1’s case, by a BMP-1’s 76mm.
At the beggining of the programme they obviously decided protection against HEAT was not really feasible, however you are right with the BMP point (and other light vehicles and guns). The Germans added more armour later on.
As I understand part of the German doctrine of the time was "oh god, the Russians are coming..." - so fire once and then run away, regroup, and keep harassing until allied reinforcements arrive. So it made some sense to emphasize speed not only on a tactical level but also on a strategic level.
The point is that an ATGM would knock anything out no matter how armoured. It's an interesting approach from the Germans and is indeed a complete U-Turn in tank design from WW2 (for the better)
@@Sp4mMe considering that the sovjets would have walzed into western germany with a 10/1 advantage in heavy armor over all NATO forces in western germany, a mobile and flowing defense action is the way to go.