Leopard 2 PL

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This page is about the German medium tank Leopard 2 PL. For other versions, see Leopard 2 (Family).
Leopard 2 PL
germ_leopard_2pl.png
GarageImage Leopard 2 PL.jpg
ArtImage Leopard 2 PL.png
Leopard 2 PL
AB RB SB
11.3 11.3 11.3
Research:570 000 Specs-Card-Activity.png
Purchase:1 140 000 Specs-Card-Lion.png
Show in game

Description

The Leopard 2PL is a Polish heavy modification of the Leopard 2A4, which is the fifth variant of the Leopard 2 main battle tank family. Poland initially received the Leopard 2A4 in the 2000s after purchasing it from Germany. Modernization is underway in collaboration with Rheinmetall and the Polish Armaments Group. The need for modernization became apparent as soon as the Polish Army received the first Leopard 2A4 tanks from the German Army (Bundeswehr) in 2002; nevertheless, the initial efforts to create its plan and scope did not begin until mid-2012. Leopard 2PL incorporated several significant upgrades. The fundamental upgrades involved the installation of an electric turret drive and gun stabilization (rather than a hydraulic one), the installation of an auxiliary power unit (APU), the installation of new thermal imaging equipment, the modernization of the driver's seat, and the installation of a new anti-explosion system, fire and mine protection package. A BMS combat management system, remote-controlled weapon stations on the tank's turret, new types of ammunition, air conditioning systems in the driver and combat compartment, and modernization of the electronics cooling system were also installed. The most notable difference is the increased ballistic resistance of the turret, which exceeds that of the Leopard 2A5 variant. Around the vehicle turret, additional external composite armour modules are added. However, it was not decided to reinforce the hull and vehicle chassis since this would result in a large increase in vehicle weight and budget limitations as well. Inside the vehicle, special anti-splinter liners have been placed to shield the crew in case of successful enemy ammunition penetration.

Introduced in Update "Ixwa Strike" as a squadron vehicle, the Leopard 2PL is a significantly modified Leopard 2A4, much like the Leopard C2A1 MEXAS ideology. The major purpose of the modernisation is to keep the Polish Army Leopard 2A4 up to date with modern combat environments and improve tank protection due to more advanced tank ammunition developed by various nations across the world. The addition of a commander's independent sight provides the tank commander with an independent sight outfitted with thermal imaging equipment, introducing hunter-killer capabilities. Overall, it feels remarkably comparable to the regular Leopard 2A4, with the exception that mobility is substantially decreased due to the additional exterior composite armour modules fitted around the vehicle turret, which resulted in increased weight.

General info

Survivability and armour

Composite armour
Balanced protection against all types of ammunition
Smoke grenades
Creation of a smoke screen in front of the vehicle
Armourfront / side / back
Hull80 / 65 / 25
Turret80 / 80 / 25
Crew4 people
Visibility95 %

The Leopard 2PL features the strongest turret for the Leopard 2 series in game so far due to the turret armor package, negating the issues the 2A4's turret face may have had in a full uptier to 11.3. Unlike the Strv 122A and the Strv 122B PLSS however, it still retains the mediocre hull armor of the Leopard 2 and Improved series, being unable to stop most shells at its BR. Unlike the Leopard 2 Improved however, the 2PL does not have a redesigned turret face, meaning that it retains the same turret weakspots as the Leopard 2A4, such as the Gunner Primary Sight and the gun mantlet. However, unlike the 2A4, due to the additional composite screen, the gun mantlet is no longer an issue against chemical projectiles such as 3BK18M, but is still penetrable by most APFSDS found at this BR.

The 2PL is also able to withstand more than one hit from CL3143, DM53 and 9M119 to the turret face. As opposed to Leopard 2 Improved models (2A5, 2A6, 122), which can typically only withstand a high powered shell to the turret since the additional composite wedge is likely to have been blown off. This changes with the 2PL. Due to the additional armor package being modeled as a permanent part of the tank, the turret face is able to withstand multiple hits from 9M119 and CL3143 and DM53 at any ranges. Moving to turret's add-on side armour, it is able to withstand hits from chemical penetrators up to 400mms, gradually increasing as we move towards the turret front, where a additional wedge from the Leopard 2 Improved can be found mounted on top of the add-on armor over the gunner's position and cannon breech, resulting in around 1500mms of protection against chemical projectiles and 1000mms of protection against kinetic penetrators in some areas, even being able to negate some top tier APFSDS such as 3BM60.

Armour type:

Armour Front (Slope angle) Sides Rear Roof
Hull Composite Armour Upper Glacis
35 mm (53°)
20 mm Top
35 mm Bottom
20 mm 20 - 35 mm
Turret 35 mm Turret front
35 mm Gun mantlet
Variable thickness add-on armour
15 - 35 mm
300 mm Composite Screen Variable thickness add-on armour
25 mm 20 mm
Composite armour Front Sides
Hull Upper+Lower glacis
400 mm Kinetic
600 mm Chemical
N/A
Turret Turret cheeks
1010 mm Kinetic
1,520 mm Chemical
Gun mantlet (Center)
478 - 615 mm Kinetic
730- 1,400 mm Chemical
Gun mantlet (Outer)
524 - 915 mm Kinetic
535 - 1,520 mm Chemical
Side armour
260 mm Kinetic
230 - 600 mm Chemical

Notes:

  • Upper hull and Lower rear hull overlap (10 + 20 mm thick)
  • Upper mantlet add-on and Mantlet armour overlap (30 + 400 mm thick)
  • Holes in the engine deck are covered by 8 mm of mesh

Mobility

Speedforward / back
AB76 / 35 km/h
RB and SB69 / 31 km/h
Number of gears8 forward
4 back
Weight59.2 t
Engine power
AB2 862 hp
RB and SB1 500 hp
Power-to-weight ratio
AB48.3 hp/t
RB and SB25.3 hp/t

The Leopard 2PL features identical mobility to the rest of the Leopard 2 series (with exception to Leopard 2 prototypes).

Game Mode Max Speed (km/h) Weight (tons) Engine power (horsepower) Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
Forward Reverse Stock Upgraded Stock Upgraded
Arcade 76 35 59.2 2,032 2,862 34.32 48.34
Realistic 69 31 1,327 1,500 22.42 25.34

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference
AB4 627 → 6 884 Sl icon.png
RB4 517 → 6 721 Sl icon.png
SB5 734 → 8 532 Sl icon.png
Total cost of modifications281 200 Rp icon.png
473 000 Sl icon.png
Talisman cost3 100 Ge icon.png
Crew training310 000 Sl icon.png
Experts1 080 000 Sl icon.png
Aces2 200 Ge icon.png
Research Aces1 280 000 Rp icon.png
Reward for battleAB / RB / SB
150 / 190 / 210 % Sl icon.png
250 / 250 / 250 % Rp icon.png
Modifications
Mobility Protection Firepower
Mods new tank traks.png
Tracks
Research:
20 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
31 000 Sl icon.png
440 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank suspension.png
Suspension
Research:
14 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
22 000 Sl icon.png
310 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank break.png
Brake System
Research:
14 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
22 000 Sl icon.png
310 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank filter.png
Filters
Research:
15 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
23 000 Sl icon.png
330 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank transmission.png
Transmission
Research:
20 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
31 000 Sl icon.png
440 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank engine.png
Engine
Research:
20 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
31 000 Sl icon.png
440 Ge icon.png
Mods tank tool kit.png
Improved Parts
Research:
6 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
31 000 Sl icon.png
440 Ge icon.png
Mods extinguisher.png
Improved FPE
Research:
4 200 Rp icon.png
Cost:
22 000 Sl icon.png
310 Ge icon.png
Mods tank reinforcement ger.png
Crew Replenishment
Research:
15 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
23 000 Sl icon.png
330 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank horizontal aiming.png
Horizontal Drive
Research:
20 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
31 000 Sl icon.png
440 Ge icon.png
Mods tank cannon.png
Adjustment of Fire
Research:
14 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
22 000 Sl icon.png
310 Ge icon.png
Mods tank ammo.png
120mm_DM_HE_FS_ammo_pack
Research:
14 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
22 000 Sl icon.png
310 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank vertical aiming.png
Elevation Mechanism
Research:
15 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
23 000 Sl icon.png
330 Ge icon.png
Mods smoke screen.png
Smoke grenade
Research:
15 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
23 000 Sl icon.png
330 Ge icon.png
Mods thermal sight.png
NVD
Research:
15 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
23 000 Sl icon.png
330 Ge icon.png
Mods art support.png
Artillery Support
Research:
20 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
31 000 Sl icon.png
440 Ge icon.png
Mods tank ammo.png
120mm_DM_APDS_FS_ammo_pack
Research:
20 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
31 000 Sl icon.png
440 Ge icon.png
Mods tank laser rangefinder.png
Laser rangefinder
Research:
20 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
31 000 Sl icon.png
440 Ge icon.png

Armaments

Laser rangefinder
Reduces the error and increases the maximum measurable distance of the rangefinder
Night vision device
Improves visibility by enhancing natural light or active illumination.
Thermal imager
Allows to see thermal radiation in the infrared range day and night

Main armament

120 mm Rh120 L/44 cannon
Two-plane stabilizer
Reduces the swing of the gun in two planes while moving
Ammunition42 rounds
First-order15 rounds
Reloadbasic crew → aces
7.8 → 6.0 s
Vertical guidance-9° / 20°

The Leopard 2PL is fitted with the powerful Rh120 L/44 120 mm, a gun that has been utilized since the Leopard 2K. DM33 features the same ballistics of those found on the 2A5 and is similar to the 2A6. However, the 2PL is also equipped with the nonexistent DM43, being able to penetrate only up to 530mms of armor as opposed to the DM53 round found on the 2A5/6, which is able to penetrate over 600mms of rolled homogenous armor.

120 mm Rh120 L/44 Turret rotation speed (°/s) Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode Capacity Vertical Horizontal Stabilizer Stock Upgraded Full Expert Aced Stock Full Expert Aced
Arcade 42 -9°/+20° ±180° Two-plane 38.1 52.7 64.0 70.8 75.3 7.80 6.90 6.36 6.00
Realistic 23.8 28.0 34.0 37.6 40.0

Ammunition

The 2PL has access to all the ammunition seen in the Leopard 2 Improved series except DM53. It also has access to a unique time fused HE not found on other Leopard series.

DM12A1; HEATFS - The DM12A1 is the first round the 2PL has access to, and is considered a mediocre round, as it's unable to reliably penetrate certain tanks equipped with ERA at its BR. However, it is quite useful when used against lightly armoured vehicles such as IFVs or SPAAs. As a hollow charge, it is prone to detonating mid air due to trees, bushes and fences.

DM33 & DM43; APFSDS - The 2PL has access to 2 types of APFSDS: DM33 and DM43, both of which perform similarly against tanks at its BR, since most tanks don't have exactly 55mms more frontal armor that can be penetrated by the latter but not the former.

DM11; HE - DM11 is a new HE-TF shell found on the Rheinmetall L/44. Which can be deadly to low flying helicopters in certain situations due to the timed fuse.

Penetration statistics
Ammunition Type of
warhead
Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
10 m 100 m 500 m 1,000 m 1,500 m 2,000 m
DM12A1 HEATFS 480 480 480 480 480 480
DM11 HE-TF 37 37 37 37 37 37
DM33 APFSDS 481 478 470 461 450 440
DM43 APFSDS 536 534 528 521 514 507
Shell details
Ammunition Type of
warhead
Velocity
(m/s)
Projectile
mass (kg)
Fuse delay
(m)
Fuse sensitivity
(mm)
Explosive mass
(TNT equivalent) (kg)
Ricochet
0% 50% 100%
DM12A1 HEATFS 1,140 13.5 0.05 0.1 2.15 65° 72° 77°
DM11 HE-TF 970 19 0.3 0.1 3.93 79° 80° 81°
DM33 APFSDS 1,640 4.3 - - - 78° 80° 81°
DM43 APFSDS 1,660 4.3 - - - 78° 80° 81°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Leopard 2 PL
Full
ammo
1st
rack empty
2nd
rack empty
Visual
discrepancy
42 16 (+26) (+41) No

Notes:

  • Shells are modeled individually and disappear after having been loaded.
  • Rack 2 is a first stage ammo rack. It totals 15 shells and gets filled first when loading up the tank.
  • This rack is also emptied early: the rack depletion order at full capacity is 2 - 1.
  • If you pack 16 (+26) shells, it will keep the frontal hull rack empty.
  • Simply not firing when the gun is loaded will move ammo from rack 1 into rack 2. Firing will interrupt the restocking of the ready racks.

Machine guns

Ammunition4 400 rounds
Belt capacity200 rounds
Reloadbasic crew → aces
10.4 → 8.0 s
Fire rate1 200 shots/min
Ammunition2 000 rounds
Belt capacity200 rounds
Reloadbasic crew → aces
10.4 → 8.0 s
Fire rate1 200 shots/min
7.62 mm MG3A1
Mount Capacity (Belt) Fire rate Vertical Horizontal
Coaxial 4,500 (1,000) 1,200 N/A N/A
Pintle 2,000 (1,000) 1,200 -8°/+20° ±120°

Usage in battles

The 2PL playstyle is identical to the 2A4 and subsequent German MBTs. However, the 2PL may be able to utilize hull down tactics more effectively due to the additional turret armor. In terms of armament, the 2PL has the powerful Rh120 L/44 which German tankers are already familiar with.

Enemies worth noting:

  • M1 Abrams: Good turret protection, but dead in the water if you fire anything at the UFP.
  • Strv 121: Hull and turret face can be penetrated by DM33.
  • Strv 122A/Strv 122B PLSS: Hull front impenetrable by DM33 unless MEXAS armour package is destroyed. Turret can be penetrated if additional composite screens are blown off
  • Leclerc/Leclerc S2: Avoid aiming at the commander side of the turret even with DM43 APFSDS.
  • Challenger 2: LFP, breech, and driver's port.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Good turret armour
  • Effective gun
  • Better APFSDS shell (DM43) than other Leopard 2A4s
  • Excellent mobility
  • Has access to 3rd generation thermals for both the gunner and commander

Cons:

  • Same turret weaknesses as the 2A4, minus the gun mantlet specifically against chemical penetrators.
  • Unreliable hull armour
  • The Leopard 2A4's typical gunner-sight optic is still present
  • DM43 APFSDS shell is lacking penetration for the battle rating

History

Devblog

The Leopard 2PL is an ongoing joint project for the modernization of the Leopard 2A4 tanks in service with the Polish army, currently being carried out by the German company Rheinmetall AG and the Polish state-owned Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa. The aim of the program is to improve the combat efficiency of the elderly Leopards to 3rd generation plus level main battle tanks.

The main areas of modernization are improving the tank's protection and firepower. The Leopard 2PL has additional modular turret armour (forehead and sides), enhanced protection of the gun mantlet. On the turret's rear, massive boxes appeared, which under some circumstances can work as spaced armour for protection against HEAT shells. The L44 cannon remains the same, but the upgraded fire control system has modern thermal imaging equipment and is adapted for firing more powerful rounds. Since the power plant and chassis of the Leopard 2A4 remained unchanged, the additional protection of the hull had to be abandoned, as the weight of the tank approached 60 tons. In total, 128 Leopard 2A4's in service are to be upgraded under the Leopard 2PL program.

Media

Skins
Images

See also

Related development

External links


Germany medium tanks
Pz.III  Pz.III B · Pz.III E · Pz.III F · Pz.III J · Pz.III J1 · Pz.III J1 TD · Pz.III L · Pz.III M · Pz.III N
Pz.IV  Pz.IV C · Pz.IV E · Pz.IV F1 · Pz.IV F2 · Pz.IV G · Pz.IV H · Pz.IV J · Pz.Bef.Wg.IV J
Pz.V  VK 3002 (M) · Panther A · Panther D · Panther F · Panther G · Ersatz M10 · Panther II
M48 upgrades  M48A2 G A2 · M48 Super
Leopard 1  Leopard I · Leopard A1A1 · Leopard A1A1 (L/44) · Leopard 1A5 · C2A1 · Turm III
Leopard 2  PT-16/T14 mod. · Leopard 2K · Leopard 2AV
  Leopard 2A4 · Leopard 2 (PzBtl 123) · Leopard 2 PL · Leopard 2A5 · Leopard 2 PSO · Leopard 2A6 · Leopard 2A7V
Trophies  ▀M4 748 (a) · ▀T 34 747 (r)
Other  Nb.Fz. · KPz-70
USA  mKPz M47 G · M48A2 C
USSR  ◊T-72M1

Squadron ground vehicles
USA  M901 · M1A1 AIM
Germany  Leopard 2 PL
USSR  BMP-2M · T-80UK
Britain  Bhishma TWMP
China  Object 122MT "MC"
Sweden  T 80 U
Israel  Magach 6B Gal