Leopard

This page is about the German destroyer Leopard. For other uses, see Leopard (Disambiguation).

Leopard

Z15 Erich Steinbrinck

Leopard

Z15 Erich Steinbrinck

Germany

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
3.7	3.7	3.7

Class:

Destroyer

Research:Free

Purchase:Free

Show in game

Description

The Raubtier-class, Leopard, 1932 was a German Raubtier-class torpedo boat. The Leopard was built as fifth out of six ships built for the German navy in 1920s. She was laid down on 4th May 1927 and commissioned on 15th April 1929. Her main armament as built was made up of three single 10.5 cm SK C/28 cannons and two triple 500 mm torpedo tubes. After modernisation in 1932, the ship received three 12.8 cm SK C/34 cannons as replacement for the older 10.5 cm ones. Anti-aircraft protection was also added in the form of two 2 cm C/38 autocannons. The 500 mm torpedo tubes were removed and replaced by two triple 533 mm launchers amidships. During Spanish Civil War, the ship made multiple non-intervention patrols. After the outbreak of WWII, she patrolled around the Skagerrak inspecting neutral shipping. She took part in invading Norway, landing troops in Bergen. On 30th April, after escorting minelayers from laying a minefield in the Skagerrak, Leopard was accidentally rammed by minesweeper Preussen, and sunk.

The Leopard was introduced in Update 1.79 "Project X" as part of the fleet closed beta test. As a starter ship, the Leopard possesses the highest calibre cannons of all starter destroyers, coupled with very high fire rate. However, it also comes with its own drawbacks, such as only 100 rounds per gun and unprotected magazines located on the waterline. The turrets are protected by 8 mm thick antifragmentation armour making them immune only to low calibre machine gun fire. The Leopard is also one of the faster destroyers with a max speed of 63 km/h, her torpedo armament is made up of the G7a torpedoes which have 358.4 kg TNT eq explosive yield and speed of 81 km/h with 6 km range, making them overall a very versatile weapon.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armourfront / side / back

Hull16 mm (steel)

Superstructure4 mm (steel)

Number of section7

Displacement1 320 t

Crew120 people

With a construction made of steel and a crew of 120 sailors, the survivability of the vessel is normal, but not great. The ship may resist one or two destroyer shots, but quickly will be sunk if you do not do anything to evade.

Armour type:

• Antifragmentation armour

Armour	Bow (Slope angle)	Sides	Stern	Deck
Hull	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Armour	Front	Sides	Rear	Roof
Turrets	8 mm Front N/A Gun mantlet	8 mm	N/A	8 mm

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB77 / 31 km/h

RB63 / 26 km/h

Among the reserve bluewater ships Leopard is one of the slowest vessels, but it's also the most manoeuvrable. Due to its rather smaller size compared to other destroyers, the Leopard finds it very easy to navigate through narrow corridors, shallow waters, or between enemy torpedoes.

Mobility Characteristics
Game Mode	Upgrade Status	Maximum Speed (km/h)		Turn Time (s)	Turn Radius (m)
		Forward	Reverse
AB	Stock	57	23	~84.93	~150.19
	Upgraded	77	31	___	___
RB/SB	Stock	___	___	___	___
	Upgraded	63	26	___	___

Modifications and economy

Repair cost

ABfree

RBfree

Total cost of modifications3 430

158

Talisman cost190

Crew trainingfree

Experts1 000

Aces10

Research Aces80 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

20 / 30 / 100 %

100 / 100 / 100 %

Modifications

Seakeeping	Unsinkability	Firepower
Dry-Docking Research: 330 Cost: 15 50 Rudder Replacement Propeller Replacement Engine Maintenance	Damage Control Division Fire Division Smokescreen Research: 240 Cost: 11 35 Shrapnel Protection Research: 330 Cost: 15 50 Ventilation Research: 330 Cost: 15 50 New Pumps Ammo Wetting Research: 530 Cost: 25 75	20 mm HET magazines Research: 330 Cost: 15 50 128mm_ger_HE_naval_base_fuze_ammo_pack Research: 330 Cost: 15 50 Auxiliary Armament Targeting 20 mm APT magazines Research: 240 Cost: 11 35 128mm_ger_he_naval_dist_fuze_ammo_pack Research: 240 Cost: 11 35 Primary Armament Targeting Improved Rangefinder Torpedo Mode Research: 530 Cost: 25 75

Armament

Primary armament

3 х Turret12.8 cm/45 SK C/34 naval gun

Ammunition100 rounds

Vertical guidance-10° / 30°

The main armament of the Type 1924 Leopard consists in three 128 mm naval cannons, one at the front of the ship and the other two at the back. These cannons can shoot three types of ammunition. First, the Sprgr. Kpf.Z HE shell with 2 kg of TNT equivalent and a muzzle velocity of 830 m/s. This is the standard ammo for this destroyer. Next is the Sprgr. Bd.z, a base-fused HE shell with more penetration in most cases but with less explosive mass, only 1.4 kg of TNT equivalent and the same muzzle velocity. Finally, the Sprgr. Zt.Z comes with the same amount of TNT and muzzle velocity as the Sprgr. Bd.Z but with a time fuse, which can be useful when engaging enemy aircraft.

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		1,000 m	2,500 m	5,000 m	7,500 m	10,000 m	15,000 m
Sprgr. L/4.4 Kpf.Z	HE	24	24	24	24	24	24
Sprgr. L/4.4 Bd.Z	HE	59	50	38	30	24	18
Sprgr. L/4.4 Zt.Z	HE-TF	24	24	24	24	24	24

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (s)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
Sprgr. L/4.4 Kpf.Z	HE	830	28	0	0.1	1.91	79°	80°	81°
Sprgr. L/4.4 Bd.Z	HE	830	28	0.015	5	1.4	79°	80°	81°
Sprgr. L/4.4 Zt.Z	HE-TF	830	28	0	0.1	1.91	79°	80°	81°

Secondary armament

2 х Turret2 cm/65 C/38 automatic cannon

Ammunition2000 rounds

Belt capacity40 rounds

Fire rate480 shots/min

Leopard is equipped with two 20 mm guns as its secondary armament. These guns provide some protection against low flying aircraft and small torpedo boats, though the main battery will still do most of the damage. The guns are unlikely to instantly dispatch enemy planes, but against lightly armoured planes, and especially a slower one, they will do appreciable damage over time. Against torpedo boats they are mostly effective within 1 km, and only against very lightly armoured boats.

Leopard has 3 belts for its 20 mm:

• Universal: AP-T · AP · HEF-T · HEF
• 20 mm HET magazines: HEF · HEF-T · HEF · AP
• 20 mm APT magazines: AP · AP-T · AP · HEF

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
	10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
HEF-T	2	2	2	2	2	2
AP	36	35	27	20	15	11
AP-T	36	35	27	20	15	11
HEF	2	2	2	2	2	2

Shell details
Ammunition	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
						0%	50%	100%
HEF-T	835	0.12	0	0.1	10.54	79°	80°	81°
AP	785	0.15	-	-	-	47°	60°	65°
AP-T	785	0.15	-	-	-	47°	60°	65°
HEF	835	0.12	0	0.1	10.54	79°	80°	81°

Additional armament

Setup 16 x 533 mm G7a torpedo

Two triple G7a torpedo launch tubes were mounted on the ship. The G7a is very deadly against any opponents the Leopard might have face at its BR.

Usage in battles

Describe the technique of using this ship, the characteristics of her use in a team and tips on strategy. Abstain from writing an entire guide – don't try to provide a single point of view, but give the reader food for thought. Talk about the most dangerous opponents for this vehicle and provide recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of playing with this vehicle in various modes (AB, RB, SB).

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Good firepower and accuracy
• G7a torpedoes can knock out any ships at this BR with a few hits
• Good mobility and agility

Cons:

• Poor survivability
• Low crew count
• Lackluster secondary armaments

History

The Type 1924 "Leopard" was a heavy torpedo boat of the six-ship "Type 24" class. Built for the newly-established German Navy in the 1920s, the ships were extremely heavily-armed for a ship of their size. She sailed on several non-intervention patrols for the German Navy during the Spanish civil war, and saw some service in the German Norwegian campaign during World War II. Leopard's service came to an abrupt end in April of 1940, when she was accidentally rammed and sunk by a minelayer she was escorting.

Design and development

The "Type 24" class of 1924 were a class of six heavy torpedo boats built for the German navy. Despite them being extremely heavily armed and close to destroyer-size, they were classified as torpedo boats by the German navy. In War Thunder, these vessels are classified as destroyers. The ships displaced 1,300 tons full load and could make a top speed of 34 knots (63 km/h). They had a crew of 129 crew members, which was relatively small for a destroyer but large for a torpedo boat. Leopard carried three 10.5 cm (4 inch) naval guns, as well as six 500 mm torpedo tubes. Later on, she received two 2 cm Flakvierling anti-aircraft guns for air defence. She was also later refitted with new 12.7 cm (5 inch) naval guns to test their efficiency, and had her torpedo tubes replaced with 533 mm (21 inch) ones. Leopard was the 5th ship to be laid down, built in Wilhelmshaven like her sister ship Jaguar. She was completed by June 1929 and commissioned with the 4th torpedo boat flotilla.

Operational history

Leopard had a relatively uneventful early life, having seen little in terms of events in her first 5 years. During this time, she was refitted with the 2 cm Flakvierling guns, and received 12.7 cm guns to test their suitability for the new German destroyers that were then under construction. During the late 1930s, she made several non-intervention patrols in the seas off of Spain due to the Spanish Civil War.

At the start of the Second World War, Leopard was assigned to the 6th Torpedo Boat flotilla and promptly began minelaying operations in the North Sea. After the commencement of the German Norwegian Campaign, Leopard was one of the torpedo boats tasked with capturing Bergen Harbour. They entered the harbour and flagged themselves as British ships, but the Norwegians were not fooled and began firing at them. However, they failed to hit the force, which landed their troops and captured the harbour. On the way home, however, Leopard was escorting a group of minelayers when she was struck by the minelayer Preussen, and sank.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Leopard from live.warthunder.com.

See also

Related development

• Luchs
• Jaguar

External links

• [Wikipedia] German torpedo boat Leopard

References

• Naval Encyclopedia. (2020, May 22). German ww2 Destroyers. Retrieved January 04, 2021, from https://www.naval-encyclopedia.com/ww2/nazi-germany/german-destroyers-of-ww2
• NAVYPEDIA. (2007). 1924 Type Torpedo Boats. Retrieved January 04, 2021, from http://www.navypedia.org/ships/germany/ger_tb_1924.htm

Kriegsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven
Torpedo Boats
Raubtier-class	Jaguar · Leopard · Luchs
Light Cruisers
K-class	Köln
Leipzig-class	Leipzig
Unique Ships	Emden
Heavy Cruisers
Deutschland-class	Admiral Graf Spee
Battleships
Scharnhorst-class	Scharnhorst
See also	Kaiserliche Werft (1871 - 1918)