The Leopard 2PL is a modernized Leopard 2A4 main battle tank in service with the Polish Armed Forces. After Germany retired its fleet of Leopard 2A4s in the 2000s, the Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (Polish Armaments Group) and Rheinmetall AG carried out a series of upgrades to keep the 2A4 effective and up-to-date in modern conflicts, and specifically improved the turret armor and optoelectronics. In War Thunder, the Leopard 2PL is a versatile opponent due to its strong turret cheeks, excellent mobility, and great optics, but it inherits some weaknesses from the preceding 2A4, which make it somewhat of a sidegrade to the Leopard 2A5 and 2A6.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Turret armor cheeks are near-impenetrable | Exposed turret ring weakspot |
| Excellent mobility & gun handling | Poor hull protection |
| Great optics with Gen 3 thermals | Hull ammo rack is easy to detonate |
| No DM53 APFSDS round |
Armor layout
The Leopard 2PL retains the Leopard 2A4's armor layout (stronger turret, weaker hull), but the turret protection is now greatly enhanced with the addition of add-on composite screens that are bolted onto the turret faces and sides. The turret cheeks can stop all APFSDS rounds in-game (including the Object 292's vaunted 152 mm APFSDS penetrator) and ATGMs.
Note: The Leopard 2PL’s composite armor is more resilient than the composite wedges on the Leopard 2A5/2A6/2A7, which can be shot off after absorbing a few hits. The 2PL’s composites are indestructible.
There are some notable weak spots in the turret armor, namely the gunner’s sight port and the mantlet. Wiggling the turret in combat is an effective way to prevent rounds from hitting these spots. However, the mantlet is rather large and is easy to penetrate when using APFSDS.
Like the 2A4, the frontal hull armor is quite lackluster and will not protect against most APFSDS penetrators, even with the internal NERA composite array. However, the composites may prevent HEAT shells from MBTs from penetrating the UFP, but will not stop high-penetrating ATGMs like the BMP-2M's 9M133 from going clean through the hull.
The sides are also weak, and nearly all autocannon rounds will be able to penetrate the 10 — 35 mm thick side armor and the internal RHA plates. Avoid angling the tank to minimize the exposure of the side armor.
| Most amount of armor | - Turret cheeks - Turret sides |
| Medium amount of armor | - Turret mantlet - Gunner sight - UFP and LFP |
| Least amount of armor | - Hull sides and rear - Turret ring - Turret rear |
Survivability
With its relatively spacious interior, the Leopard 2PL has decent survivability if it gets shot in the LFP or UFP areas, but the large frontal ammo rack can be problematic to deal with since it is in an exposed position. The Leopard 2PL will usually not survive if it gets shot in the turret ring or near the upper half of the UFP.
Tip: A good strategy to avoid filling up the frontal ammo rack is to carry 16 rounds or fewer to keep the rack empty.
There are some fuel tanks and interior armor plates that can help to reduce spall damage. However, the Leopard 2PL does not have access to the hull spall liners found on the later Leopard 2A7V.
Smoke grenades
The Leopard 2PL has 16 smoke grenades mounted on the turret, which can be used to provide near-instantaneous cover and hide the tank when necessary. These smoke grenades are also quite useful for blocking sightlines.
Mobility
A MTU MB 873 Ka-501 diesel engine provides the 59.2 ton Leopard 2PL with up to 1,500 horsepower, and the Leopard 2PL can reach speeds of up to 68 km/h on most terrain, which is more than enough to get to capture zones and strategic positions quickly. Only light vehicles and more nimble MBTs like the Type 10 will be able to outpace the tank.
Note: Due to the additional armor on the turret, the Leopard 2PL weighs 4 more tons than the regular Leopard 2A4. However, the impact on the tank’s mobility is frankly negligible due to its still-high HP/t.
A power-to-weight ratio of 25.3 hp/ton will also make climbing up inclines and hills easy. Additionally, the 31 km/h reverse speed helps the 2PL to get out of sticky situations (especially in urban combat) without much issue.
Optics and electronics
The Leopard 2PL has one of the highest-quality optic suites in-game, with great sights for both the gunner and commander.
Commander and gunner optics
The gunner’s sight has a comfortable FoV in all magnification settings and is easy to use. The regular Leopard 2A4 has the same magnification and FoV for its sights.
| Gunner Optics | Magnification | FoV |
|---|---|---|
| Unzoomed | 4.0x | 19° |
| Zoomed | 12.0x | 6° |
| Commander Optics | Magnification | FoV |
|---|---|---|
| Unzoomed | 2.0x | 38° |
| Zoomed | 8.0x | 9° |
Generally, the commander’s sight is more useful when needing to peek over obstructions or over a hill. It has a wider FoV at the cost of image magnification. Players can also control the main gun and machine guns from the commander’s sight by activating commander aim mode.
Thermals
Both the gunner and commander have access to Gen 3 thermals (1200×800), which can help locate targets at longer distances or in the dark. These thermals are superior to the ones found on the Leopard 2A5/2A6 and the PSO.
Armaments
The Leopard 2PL retains the Leopard 2A4's armaments and is equipped with a stabilized 120 mm Rh120 L/44 cannon and two 7.62 mm MG3A1 machine guns.
120 mm Rh120 L/44
The Rheinmetall Rh120 L/44 is the main armament of the Leopard 2PL and can fire HEAT, APFSDS, and HE-TF shells. The Rh120 L/44 has a respectable reload time of 6 seconds with an aced crew, a quick turret traverse speed (40°/s), and excellent gun depression (-9°). Export versions of the Rh120 L/44 are also found on the M1A1 Abrams.
| Name | Type | Max penetration @ 10 m | What should I use it against? |
|---|---|---|---|
| DM12A1 | HEAT-FS | 480 mm | Avoid using this round and use DM43 instead. |
| DM11 | HE-TF | 37 mm | Against lightly armored vehicles or low-flying aircraft (helicopters) |
| DM33 | APFSDS | 481 mm | Everything, swap to DM43 after it is researched |
| DM43 | APFSDS | 535 mm | Everything, but DM11 may perform better against lightly armored vehicles |
Note: The Leopard 2PL does not have access to the superior DM53 APFSDS round found on later Leopard 2s, even though it uses the same cannon.
The DM43 and DM11 rounds are the most useful out of the ones listed above. DM43 can be used against anything, while DM11 is more useful as an anti-helicopter tool with its timed fuze. It can also be used against lightly armored IFVs or SPAA, or open-top vehicles.
7.62 mm MG3A1
The MG3A1 is a general-purpose 7.62 mm machine gun and bears some similarity to the earlier MG42 used in World War II. The Leopard 2PL is equipped with two MG3A1s: one on the commander’s hatch, and one coaxially mounted next to the main cannon.
While the MG3A1 has a high rate of fire (1,200 RPM), it does not have much penetrating capability due to its small caliber. It is mostly useful for getting rid of obstacles or for spraying at low-flying aircraft.
Camouflages
The Leopard 2PL has a large variety of camouflages to choose from. Using the right camouflage in the right environment will make the tank harder to spot visually.
Standard
Basic desert camouflage
Tricolor camouflage
Three-tone CARC camouflage scheme
Winter camouflage
Digital camouflage
Usage in battles
Simply put, the Leopard 2PL performs like a Leopard 2A4 except with a bit more armor. Players will still have to be aware that their hull and turret ring are weak spots that can be exploited by enemies. While it may not be as hard to kill as other tanks like the T-80U, the Leopard 2PL’s true strength is its versatility, which allows it to be easy to use and effective in nearly all situations.
Recommended loadout
- Ammo loadout: 18x DM43 (or DM33 if DM43 is not researched), 2x DM11
- Camouflage: As appropriate for the map (see section above)
The most effective strategy is to use the Leopard 2PL from a hull-down position to maximize the effectiveness of the turret armor (similar to the Challenger 2). Simply use the commander’s sight to spot enemies, pop out of cover, shoot, and quickly reverse back to safety. Most opponents will have plenty of trouble trying to target the mantlet or gunner port if the player wiggles their turret. The Gen 3 thermals also make spotting enemies on large maps a breeze.
The Leopard 2PL is also great for executing rapid flanking maneuvers with its high top speed in close-quarter scenarios. With some teammates, a well-positioned Leopard 2PL can cause some real pain for the opposing team. As usual, map knowledge and situational awareness are paramount to success when attempting any sort of flanking maneuvers.
Leopard 2PL vs. Leopard 2A4M
You may wonder whether the Leopard 2PL or the Canadian Leopard 2A4M is better, since both of these tanks are modifications of the base Leopard 2A4. The Leopard 2PL is a squadron vehicle obtainable for free via squadron RP, whereas the 2A4M is a premium pack vehicle available for purchase in the Gaijin store.
For armament, the 2A4M gets access to a better gun APFSDS penetrator (KE-W), which provides about 48 mm more penetration than the DM43 round on the 2PL. Both tanks have Gen 3 thermals for the gunner and commander, but the 2A4M is equipped with Gen 1 thermals for the driver, while the 2PL only has NVD for the driver.
In terms of armor, the Leopard 2PL has a more armored turret (the “armored” wedges on the 2A4M’s turret are empty, so its turret face armor is equivalent to the regular 2A4). However, the 2A4M has a slightly more armored UFP due to the addition of a 45 mm composite screen on top of the UFP’s RHA armor. Thicker add-on composite screens on the 2A4M also give it improved side protection over the 2PL against HEAT rounds and autocannon fire.
The Leopard 2A4M has worse mobility than the Leopard 2PL if it is equipped with the addon slat armor and mine protection kit. The 2A4M becomes slightly lighter than the 2PL if both modifications are removed.
