LeKPz M41

This page is about the German light tank LeKPz M41. For other variants, see M41 Walker Bulldog (Family).

leKPz M41

M109G

Marder A1-

leKPz M41

M109G

Marder A1-

Germany

IV Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
6.3	6.7	6.7

Class:

Light tank

Research:63 000

Purchase:200 000

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Description

The leKPz M41 is a rank IV German light tank with a battle rating of 6.3 (AB) and 6.7 (RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.95 "Northern Wind".

Essentially a West German-operated model of the American M41 Walker Bulldog, the leKPz M41 features smoke grenades and a different ammunition selection. It offers scouting capability and a powerful armament in a highly mobile package.

General info

Survivability and armour

Smoke grenades

Creation of a smoke screen in front of the vehicle

Armourfront / side / back

Hull31 / 25 / 19

Turret25 / 25 / 25

Crew4 people

Visibility88 %

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour
• Cast homogeneous armour (Gun mantlet, Lower glacis)

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	28.5 mm (49°) Front glacis 63.5 mm (33-37°) Lower glacis	28.5 mm	28.5 mm (46°) Top 25.4 mm (1°) Middle 25.4 mm (20°) Bottom	12.7 mm
Turret	44.4 mm (11-13°) Turret front 50.8 mm (2-43°) Gun mantlet	31.75 mm (1°)	31.75 mm (1°)	12.7 mm

Notes:

• Suspension wheels, bogies, and tracks are 15 mm thick.
• An extra 12.7 mm RHA metal plate is present on the right side of the turret near the pintle 7.62 mm machine gun.
• A 4 mm Structural steel box is present, mounted on the vehicle rear turret.

The M41's armour is very light and practically useless. With some luck, a few shots may bounce off of the turret if at an angle but don't expect that to happen often. As for the rest of the tank, it has no real armour and will be penetrated by any tank cannons at its rank. However, this means that APDS rounds used by some contemporary tanks will not create much spalling, which limits the post-penetration damage of poorly aimed shots. The armour is thick enough to trigger the fuses on APHE rounds, so be wary of instant knockouts. The most vulnerable part of this tank is the large turret. Three crew members are located here and most shots to the right of the gun will immediately destroy the tank. The turret does have a lot of empty space on the left side of the gun causing most solid shots there to do no damage. Still, avoid keeping the turret exposed, it is an enticing target for APHE rounds and a single one of those can send the tank back to the hangar.

Compared to some other contemporary light tanks like the Ru 251 or T92, the M41 is at least immune to heavy machine guns from the front and sides. Watch out for autocannons, though, as they will knock out your vehicle quickly.

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB81 / 21 km/h

RB and SB73 / 19 km/h

Number of gears4 forward

2 back

Weight23.1 t

Engine power

AB954 hp

RB and SB500 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB41.3 hp/t

RB and SB21.6 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	81	21	23.1	775	954	33.55	41.3
Realistic	73	19		442	500	19.13	21.65

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB2 504 → 3 598

RB3 044 → 4 374

SB4 078 → 5 860

Total cost of modifications53 100

91 300

Talisman cost1 700

Crew training57 000

Experts200 000

Aces800

Research Aces520 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

110 / 150 / 190 %

172 / 172 / 172 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Research: 3 500 Cost: 6 000 220 Suspension Research: 2 400 Cost: 4 100 150 Brake System Research: 2 400 Cost: 4 100 150 Filters Research: 3 300 Cost: 5 700 210 Transmission Research: 2 900 Cost: 5 000 185 Engine Research: 2 900 Cost: 5 000 185	Improved Parts Research: 3 500 Cost: 6 000 220 Improved FPE Research: 2 400 Cost: 4 100 150 Crew Replenishment Research: 3 300 Cost: 5 700 210 Smoke grenade Research: 2 900 Cost: 5 000 185	Horizontal Drive Research: 3 500 Cost: 6 000 220 Adjustment of Fire Research: 2 400 Cost: 4 100 150 Airstrike Research: 2 400 Cost: 4 100 150 76mm_usa_M32_APDS_ammo_pack Research: 3 300 Cost: 5 700 210 Elevation Mechanism Research: 3 300 Cost: 5 700 210 76mm_usa_M32_HEAT_ammo_pack Research: 2 900 Cost: 5 000 185 Artillery Support Research: 2 900 Cost: 5 000 185 Improved optics Research: 2 900 Cost: 5 000 185

Armaments

Main armament

76 mm M32 cannon

Ammunition65 rounds

First-order11 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

7.6 → 5.9 s

Vertical guidance-10° / 20°

76 mm M32					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	65	-10°/+20°	±180°	-	22.8	31.6	38.4	42.5	45.2	7.67	6.79	6.25	5.90
Realistic					14.3	16.8	20.4	22.6	24.0

Ammunition

The leKPz M41 has the same ammunition types as the T92. Unlike the original US M41A1, the stock round is the M319 APCR, which has poor angled penetration, low post-penetration damage, and is generally painful to use. Unfortunately, APCR is the only anti-tank round available until Tier 3 of upgrades. If forced to use it, aim for very flat armour, with the hope that this ends up causing some damage, and allow a teammate to finish the job.

The APCR should be replaced as soon as possible by the unlockable M331A2 APDS, which is superior in all aspects. The APDS has high muzzle velocity and penetration, being decent against angled armour as well. It will penetrate the frontal armour of a M26 Pershing or Centurion Mk 3 with ease and can penetrate the turrets of most Soviet tanks. However, the upper glacis of the T-44 and IS-2 (1944) are immune to it, and US heavy tanks like the T34 can be tough customers. The best usage of APDS is for crippling targets. In frontal engagements, try to take out the enemy gunner or cannon breech first, and from the side, shoot for the engine or driver. Additional follow-up shots can be made as necessary to prevent return fire. Once the target is immobilized and neutered, the APDS can be fired at ammo racks or remaining crew members to deliver the coup de grace. This might take a few tries, and it's not uncommon for teammates to swoop in and secure the kill.

The unlockable M496 HEATFS round is one of the main selling points of the LeKPz. It has a lower muzzle velocity than the APDS and can be interrupted by bushes or fences, but it does offer slightly better flat penetration and significantly better angled penetration at any distance, which can help against hard targets. It is also more helpful against light targets as the explosive content may inflict overpressure damage to SPAAs and other light tanks. The post-penetration damage is otherwise nothing special. While inferior overall to the Ru 251's HEATFS, it is still worth taking.

The stock M352 HE shell can inflict overpressure damage, but is otherwise useless. Once the HEATFS is unlocked, the HE should be avoided as it has significantly worse ballistics and utility in return for only slightly more explosive content.

The leKPz M41 does not have the M339 AP shot or the M361 smoke round from the US M41A1, which makes it more difficult to finish off crippled targets and blind enemies from afar.

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
M319 shot	APCR	206	200	174	146	122	103
M352 shell	HE	15	15	14	12	12	12
M331A2 shot	APDS	300	296	278	256	237	219
M496 shell	HEATFS	254	254	254	254	254	254

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
M319 shot	APCR	1,234	3.2	-	-	-	66°	70°	72°
M352 shell	HE	732	6.8	0.2	0.1	867.22	79°	80°	81°
M331A2 shot	APDS	1,257	2.81	-	-	-	75°	78°	80°
M496 shell	HEATFS	1,082	3.2	0.05	0.1	653.69	65°	72°	77°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the LeKPz M41

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	Visual discrepancy
65	45 (+20)	12 (+53)	1 (+64)	No

Notes:

• Shells are modeled individually and disappear after having been shot or loaded.
• Rack 3 is a first stage ammo rack. It totals 11 shells and gets filled first when loading up the tank.
• This rack is also emptied early: the rack depletion order at full capacity is: 3 - 1 - 2.
• If you pack 15 (+40) shells, it will keep most of the hull empty of ammo.
• Full reload speed will be realized as long as shells are available in the ready rack 3. If the ready rack is empty, a penalty to reload speed will occur.
• Simply not firing when the gun is loaded will move ammo from racks 1-3 into rack 3. Firing will interrupt the restocking of the ready rack.

The ammo racks of the leKPz M41 are the same as the original M41A1. Ammunition tends to be stored initially in the fighting compartment and there is an enormous ammo rack to the right of the driver which would normally be a large survivability issue. However, since this is a light tank with little expectation of survivability to begin with, in practice this is not a huge problem. It is still recommended to take less ammo so that the fighting compartment is mostly empty. This way, penetrating rounds with punctual damage are less likely to blow the tank sky-high from shots aimed at the side or at the driver.

Keep in mind that due to the limited post-penetration damage of its ammunition, the M41 goes through its APDS and HEATFS rounds quickly. Keep a reasonable number of them in stock to avoid having to run to capture points frequently. The recommended ammunition load is three fourths (3/4) APDS and one fourth (1/4) HEATFS for cities and other CQC maps, and vice versa for long-range maps.

Machine guns

12.7 mm M2HB machine gun

Ammunition2 200 rounds

Belt capacity200 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate575 shots/min

Vertical guidance-10° / 70°

Horizontal guidance-60° / 60°

7.62 mm M1919A4 machine gun (coaxial)

Ammunition5 000 rounds

Belt capacity250 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate500 shots/min

12.7 mm M2HB
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Pintle	2,200 (200)	575	-10°/+70°	±60°

7.62 mm M1919A4
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	5,000 (250)	500	-	-

Usage in battles

The leKPz M41 is best used as a support tank, covering teammate advances and scouting enemies from afar. While it can be used for brawling, the terrible armour, bouncy gun handling, and inability to destroy enemies quickly mean that this role should be left to other tanks if possible.

At the start of the match, use the mobility to move up and find a good vantage point. Stick close to cover and watch carefully for enemies. When they appear, scout them and wait for an opportune time to attack, perhaps when they have been distracted by teammates or are not looking in the M41's direction. As mentioned earlier, it is important to cripple enemies quickly and efficiently to avoid return fire, at which point they can be dismantled at one's leisure or left for teammates to clean up. A good M41 user can keep multiple tanks disabled at the same time, turning the tide of battle.

Move up or otherwise switch positions every once in a while to avoid retaliatory flanks or bomb deliveries, and keep a comfortable distance away from where enemy tanks are expected to appear. Only advance to capture points if the coast is clear, and again, this job is better left to heavier tanks. Note that unlike the Ru 251, the M41's large profile and comparatively worse mobility make long flanks and aggressive pushes more risky, and these tactics are not preferred.

The good optics, decent gun depression, and high velocity APDS/HEATFS make the M41 a good sniper. Most enemies that it will encounter do not require precise aiming to penetrate unless the tank has been uptiered. Just be prepared to reverse into cover or pop smoke if the target only sustains superficial damage. Watch out for other light tanks like the T92, M56 Scorpion, and Type 63-I. They are capable of dispatching the M41 with ease and their high mobility makes them difficult to account for when wrangling multiple opponents. The best tools against these are HEATFS and the M2 Browning machine gun. Thankfully, as a German tank, the M41 will usually not face the Ru 251 in realistic battles.

Stick close to trees or tall buildings if aircraft are around. The M41's size and bulbous turret makes it easy to spot and even aircraft armed with heavy machine guns can penetrate the roof easily. It should go without saying that bombs and rockets are also very lethal.

Remember to scout enemies as often as possible. This makes it much easier for your teammates to stay alive and dispatch them, and when the latter happens a reward is given and the SP cost of aircraft is reduced. A successful run can result in very cheap aircraft spawns, which is a good consolation if the M41's career ends with a revenge bomb or untimely snipe from a camping opponent. Do not fret if not many kills are achieved, it is common to rack up lots of assists and still contribute a lot to the team - definitely nice considering the difficult stock grind.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Agile tank, has good reverse speed and can turn in place
• Good top speed 72 km/h (average speed is more around 35-40 km/h)
• Fast turret traverse
• Has access to the same HEATFS shell as the T92
• .50 cal AA machine gun with good coverage, for use against aircraft and light targets
• Equipped with smoke grenade launchers
• Can fulfill the role of the Ru 251 for players that don't have it

Cons:

• Large profile for a light tank
• Bad armour, can be ripped to shreds by all the AA guns at the tier
• Armour is thick enough to fuse APHE rounds
• All ammo types cause punctual post-penetration damage
• Painful stock grind that begins with an APCR stock shell
• HEATFS is mediocre

History

Usage by the Bundeswehr (leKPz M41)

The leKPz M41 (short for leichter Kampfpanzer M41 (light MBT M41) was the Bundeswehr variant, serving in the West German Army from 1956 to 1969. The leKPz M41's served in Panzeraufklärungsbatallione (tank reconnaissance batallions) and Panzerjägerbataillione (tank destroyer batallions). Very few served in Panzergrenadierbataillione (tank grenadier bataillions). From 1969, the leKPz M41 was replaced by the Leopard 1 in reconnaissance bataillions and by tank destroyers like the JPz 4-5 and the RakJPz 2 in tank destroyer bataillions. Variants with a slightly modified chassis of the M41 remained in service in the form of SPAA (Flakpanzer M42) as well as in the form of tank howitzers (lePzH M52 and mPzH M44).

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the LeKPz M41 from live.warthunder.com.

Images

• 

  LePKz M41 firing its main gun

Videos

leKPz M41 - Tank Review - So Good - Napalmratte

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the vehicles;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.