Leopard 1A5 (Italy)

This page is about the medium tank Leopard 1A5 (Italy). For other versions, see Leopard 1 (Family).

▄Leopard 1A5

OF-40 Mk.2A

Ariete (P)

▄Leopard 1A5

OF-40 Mk.2A

Ariete (P)

Italy

VI Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
9.3	9.3	9.3

Class:

Medium tank

Research:220 000

Purchase:620 000

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Description

The Leopard 1A5 was used by Italy during the last stages of the Cold War. It was actually a hybrid, consisting of a hull from the Leopard 1A2 family that Italy also used and licence-produced by OTO Melara, and the turret of the Leopard 1A5. Italy initially looked to upgrade their own Leopard 1A2s and 1A1s with an advanced Italian-made FCS, but ultimately opted to go with the Leopard 1A5 turret. These new tanks would be delivered between 1971 and 1972 followed by two batches built by OTO Melara under licence, which became one of the bulkheads of the Italian army alongside the American M60, which Italy also licence-produced. The Leopard 1A5 would mainly serve in the Italian army as part of the KFOR taskforce.

Introduced in Update "New Power", the Leopard 1A5 is the final evolution of the Leopard 1 family, and thus offers some very competitive tools at the players' disposal. It plays very similarly to the OF-40s, the weakspots for the most part being the same. What the Leopard 1A5 is great at is being a sniper, the zoom levels together with the thermal imager allows the 1A5 to easily pick off enemies from afar. The mobility when stock sadly is not the greatest but as soon as you unlock the modules you can get to places around the battlefield at around the same speed as the rest of your team. In terms of armament the Leopard 1A5 is equipped with a NATO standard 105 mm L7A3 cannon. This cannon is able to fire a multitude of munitions which includes APFSDS rounds. This allows the tank to be able to destroy pretty much any tank it will face at its battle rating. Survivability-wise, the Italian 1A5 features a surprisingly useful laser warning receiver, unlike its German counterpart. However, the tank has relatively poor armour. Even IFVs will easily go through the armour, meaning you need to be a bit more strategic with what enemies you decide to engage. It has a huge ammo rack at the front of the hull, so any shot there will usually take the crew out of the battle.

General info

Survivability and armour

Smoke grenades

Creation of a smoke screen in front of the vehicle

LWS

Notifies about the vehicle's exposure to laser emissions

Self-entrenching equipment

Creation of ramparts and trenches in soft ground

Armourfront / side / back

Hull70 / 35 / 25

Turret65 / 45 / 52

Crew4 people

Visibility95 %

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	70 mm (60°) Upper Glacis 50 mm (50°) Lower Glacis	35 mm Upper 30 mm Lower	25 mm	15-30 mm
Turret	45-120 mm Gun mantlet	40-43 mm Right Side 37-45 mm Left Side	33-52 mm	21-65 mm
Additional Armour	10-35 mm Gun Mantlet	10-20 mm Turret Sides 5 mm Sideskirts	5-10 mm Turret Rear	N/A

The Leopard 1A5 is a further development of the A1A1 specification of the Leopard MBT. That being said, it does not differ much from its predecessor in terms of armour. The Leopard 1A5 prioritizes firepower and mobility over the survivability of the tank. As such, it has no notable modules or layout that offer advanced survivability. The frontal armour is reliable against APDS and AP rounds from many of the autocannons found on IFVs at the rank but struggles against chemical and armour-piercing rounds from dedicated tanks and tank destroyers. The side and rear armour however, is a different story. Offering only 30-60 mm of armour over most of the surface, it can be penetrated by most rounds fired from cannon calibre weapons. Any shot from the side will penetrate the tank and have the potential to destroy it in one shot. This is due to three of the four crew members in the tank being situated in the turret. This is the major drawback of the Leopard 1 series tanks. A single shot has the capability to destroy the Leopard. As such, it requires a slightly more careful and patient play style.

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB73 / 28 km/h

RB and SB66 / 26 km/h

Number of gears8 forward

4 back

Weight42.5 t

Engine power

AB1 584 hp

RB and SB830 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB37.3 hp/t

RB and SB19.5 hp/t

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	73	28	42.5	1,286	1,584	30.26	37.27
Realistic	66	26		734	830	17.27	19.53

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB3 992 → 6 227

RB4 073 → 6 353

SB5 205 → 8 119

Total cost of modifications185 200

302 000

Talisman cost2 700

Crew training175 000

Experts620 000

Aces2 100

Research Aces1 010 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

150 / 200 / 240 %

226 / 226 / 226 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Research: 7 800 Cost: 12 000 300 Suspension Research: 7 300 Cost: 11 000 280 Brake System Research: 7 300 Cost: 11 000 280 Filters Research: 12 000 Cost: 19 000 460 Transmission Research: 13 000 Cost: 20 000 500 Engine Research: 13 000 Cost: 20 000 500	Improved Parts Research: 2 300 Cost: 12 000 300 Improved FPE Research: 2 200 Cost: 11 000 280 Crew Replenishment Research: 12 000 Cost: 19 000 460 Smoke grenade Research: 13 000 Cost: 20 000 500	Horizontal Drive Research: 7 800 Cost: 12 000 300 105mm_usa_HESH_ammo_pack Research: 7 800 Cost: 12 000 300 105mm_NATO_APDS_FS_ammo_pack Research: 7 800 Cost: 12 000 300 Adjustment of Fire Research: 7 300 Cost: 11 000 280 Dozer Blade Research: 7 300 Cost: 11 000 280 LWS/LR Research: 7 300 Cost: 11 000 280 Elevation Mechanism Research: 12 000 Cost: 19 000 460 NVD Research: 12 000 Cost: 19 000 460 Artillery Support Research: 13 000 Cost: 20 000 500 105mm_DM33_APDS_FS_ammo_pack Research: 13 000 Cost: 20 000 500

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

105 mm L7A3 cannon

Two-plane stabilizer

Reduces the swing of the gun in two planes while moving

Ammunition55 rounds

First-order9 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

8.7 → 6.7 s

Vertical guidance-9° / 20°

105 mm L7A3					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	55	-9°/+20°	±180°	Two-plane	22.8	31.6	38.4	42.5	45.2	8.71	7.70	7.10	6.70
Realistic					14.3	16.8	20.4	22.6	24.0

Ammunition

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
DM12	HEATFS	400	400	400	400	400	400
DM512	HESH	127	127	127	127	127	127
DM23	APFSDS	337	335	330	322	314	306
DM33	APFSDS	408	405	398	389	379	370

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%
DM12	HEATFS	1,174	10.5	0.05	0.1	1.27	65°	72°	77°
DM512	HESH	732	11.2	0.1	4	4.31	73°	77°	80°
DM23	APFSDS	1,455	4.2	-	-	-	78°	80°	81°
DM33	APFSDS	1,455	3.79	-	-	-	78°	80°	81°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Leopard 1A5 (Italy)

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
55	52 (+3)	49 (+6)	10 (+45)	7 (+48)	1 (+54)	No

• Racks 4 and 5 are first stage ammo racks.

Machine guns

7.62 mm Beretta MG42/59 machine gun (coaxial)

Ammunition4 600 rounds

Belt capacity200 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate801 shots/min

7.62 mm Beretta MG42/59 machine gun

Ammunition2 000 rounds

Belt capacity200 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate801 shots/min

7.62 mm Beretta MG42/59
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	4,600 (200)	801	N/A	N/A
Pintle	2,000 (200)	801	-8°/+20°	±120°

Usage in battles

The Italian Leopard 1A5 can be a truly powerful vehicle when used in the right hands. For people who are going through the stock grind, it is recommended that you play a support role, until you get access to the APFSDS round. The Leopard 1A5 sadly is not very armoured, compared to other vehicles it will face, the main weak spots are the hull and the sides. So for people who have just picked it up, either play as a support, sniper or flank, as the stock HEAT round is not very good to deal frontally with most of the enemies.

One thing the Leopard 1A5 has that its German counterpart doesn't is a laser warning receiver, although you'll have to research it, this tool can prove to be a very useful modification for the tank as it will notify you whenever an enemy vehicle is lasing you, such as a helicopter. The LWR should give you enough time to react and either use your smoke discharges or quickly move to cover to avoid getting destroyed. Once you have gone through and researched most of its important modifications, such as the APFSDS round and the engine upgrade, you should be ready to play a more offensive role.

A good point you could take advantage of is your speed, your engine will be decent enough that you'll usually be with or ahead of your team most of the time. Use your speed at the start of matches to get to positions that enemies might not expect you to be in, which might guarantee you the first shot in most engagements. Your main gun is also very good at long ranges, so it is also not a bad idea to keep your distance, since you cannot count on your survivability. In night battles thanks to your thermal imager, you are able to easily gain an advantage compared to most of your enemies who might only have access to night vision only. This also should apply for all game modes, be aware that in Arcade battles the enemies are able to see your weak spots when they aim at you, so keep that in mind if you decide to go hull-down as an experienced player might just go for a different module, such as your cannon barrel or breech, and finish you off slowly.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Has access to a thermal imager
• Potent APFSDS round, can deal with the majority of targets you'll encounter
• Decent mobility, isn't the fastest but isn't the slowest either

Cons:

• Poor survivability, most enemy fire will usually destroy you in 1 shot
• Big target, will likely stick out

History

The story of the Italian Leopard 1A5 began during the late stages of the Cold War. Italy equipped several variants of the Leopard tank, first a small batch of Leopard 1A1s, which were then upgraded to Leopard 1A2s. They would be extensively used and at one point a study was conducted which aimed to equip the Leopard 1A1 with the Italian-made "Thetis" thermal imager system to evaluate its implementation on the Italian army Leopard tanks. Only a singular prototype was completed, this was likely due to the Italian army setting its eyes on the more interesting Leopard 1A5, which would also come with a thermal imaging system as standard. Thus, the final standard version of the Leopard 1 was the A5, obtained by extensively modifying many vehicles belonging to previous versions.

Leopard 1A5 in a convoy

In order to modernize the tanks already in service, the Italian Army acquired some versions of Leopard 1A5 turrets from Germany, later installed on Leopard 1A2 hulls already in service, which would be plentiful in general. Some modifications had to be done on the Leopard 1A2 hulls however, as it wasn't as simple as installing the turret on the hull. For this, the Italian army had put the Gorizian Mechanical Workshops (COMG), the Fiore company (FIREMA) and the factories of the Army of Nola and Bologna, in charge to make a series of improvements on the Leopard 1A2, such as the suspension system. In fact, in order to compensate for the weight increase of about 2 tons, some of the more important modifications were added to the hull, the most important of which concerned: replacing the deflection roller with one of smaller dimensions and its repositioning more in above, the replacement of the first two rollers on the suspensions carriers of the volute springs with end-of-stroke buffers, the strengthening of the torsion bars, the adoption of a new maintenance-free track tensioner, and lastly but not least, the predisposition of the application of bulkheads track cover with brand new fenders. These changes were made to a number of hulls (202) higher than the 120 units foreseen for the transformation in the A5 version, perhaps in anticipation of further acquisitions of new turrets, then faded; the extra hulls therefore kept the original turret. These new tanks would be delivered between 1971 and 1972 followed by two batches built by OTO Melara under licence.

The turret of the Leopard 1A5 is immediately distinguished by the application of the additional passive armour designed by Blohm und Voss, adopted for the first time in Germany in 1975 on the A1A1 subversion; the protection extends over 360° from the 1st shield of the gun to the rear rack for the turret equipment consists of eleven armoured panels with rubber coatings spaced about 10 cm from the main armour by the use of bolts, mounted on elastic supports. Thanks to a zip opening on the additional armour, it was still possible to use the crewman's circular hatch to load ammunition and eject shells that have already been fired.

Leopard 1A5 ready to be demolished

What made the Leopard 1A5 more potent and distinct from the previous versions was the additions of a night imaging and thermal imaging camera, laser rangefinder, laser warning system (only present on the Italian 1A5) and a electro-hydraulic stabilization system for its armament. Due to all these new additions, such as the installation of new firing systems and stabilization systems, it would cause a reduction to 55 transportable shells for the 105 mm cannon. Typically on board the Italian army would bring 27 APDS or APFSDS, 16 HEAT, 6 HESH, and 6 WP. The Leopard 1A5's service in the Italian army would mainly be during the war in the Balkans, in which Italy took part in the various peacekeeping missions, but ultimately they never saw action. Most of the Leopard 1A5s would quickly be put out of service during the late 1990s as from 1995, the new Italian-made C1 Ariete MBT would be delivered. All the Leopard 1A5s would then either be turned into static displays or sent to the Italian military graveyard at Lenta. There were plans to sell them to an undisclosed South American country however that never went anywhere.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Leopard 1A5 (Italy) from live.warthunder.com.

Images

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See also

Related development

• Leopard 1A5

External links

• [FERREA MOLE] Leopard 1A5 (in Italian)
• [Army Guide] Leopard 1A5