Leopard 2K
| This page is about the German medium tank Leopard 2K. For other versions, see Leopard 2 (Family). |
Contents
Description
The forerunner to the Leopard 2 was in many ways a return to form of what the Leopard 1 was designed as: the sacrifice of armour for incredible speed and firepower. The Leopard 2K started life as a project after the US-German MBT/KPz-70 program fell apart in 1970, as an urgent program to replace the now aging Leopard 1. There had been prior attempts at modernization and development, such as the "vergoldeter Leopard" (gilded Leopard) program in 1967 which aimed to install an autoloader and coaxial autocannon to the Leopard 1, and the Bundeswehr decided to re-use parts of this development in a series of vehicles nicknamed "Keiler", or "tusker". This resulted in two separate vehicles being prototyped and tested: The Leopard 2FK, which was armed with a gun/launcher system similar to the KPz-70's, and the Leopard 2K, armed with a smoothbore 105 mm cannon. The Bundeswehr declared the 2K as the superior design in 1971, and development of the 2FK was abandoned as a result.
There were 16 Leopard 2K prototypes produced (the 17th hull was cancelled), the first 10 equipped with the 105 mm smoothbore gun and the later 6 with the 120 mm smoothbore. These prototypes went through technical tests in between 1972 and 1975, but were ultimately held back due to development of the EMES-13 rangefinder stalling and the MLC 50 requirements (roughly 47.5 tons), which were insufficient in providing adequate protection against enemy tank fire. Unfortunately for the Leopard 2K, the lessons learned during the Yom Kippur War in 1973 alerted the Bundeswehr to the fact that armour was still very much relevant in tank engagements, which led to the easing of restrictions on weight to MLC 60 (55 tons). Coupled with the EMES-13 system finishing development, development moved on to produce what became the Leopard 2AV, while the Leopard 2K was rejected due to its perceived inadequate armour against potential threats, ending its development.
Introduced in Update 1.77 "Advancing Storm", the Leopard 2K is what the Leopard 2 could have been, following up on the Leopard 1's design choices in low armour in exchange for near unmatchable mobility and firepower. A titular glass cannon, the Leopard 2K is not heavily armoured and can be penetrated almost anywhere by contemporary tank rounds. However, what the 2K lacks in armour it more than makes up for in the other two areas; speed and firepower. The 120 mm smoothbore cannon has enough penetration to simply point and click at the upper plate of very common enemies at this BR such as the T-72AV (TURMS-T), and coupled with the laser rangefinder can accurately fire shells at extreme ranges with adequate zoom on its optics. The vehicle is also equipped with an Rh202 autocannon on the roof, which is operated by the gunner, which lets the vehicle still fire the gun even when on 2 crew. The autocannon has a high traverse rate and has a high rate of fire, and can engage both enemy light vehicles, barrels, tracks and aircraft ubiquitously. The mobility is the standout feature of this tank, with an eye-watering 30 hp/t power-to-weight ratio that lets it barrel across the map faster than almost anyone else. Even the extremely mobile XM-1 (GM) is just shy of 30 at 28.9 hp/t, and outside of vehicles such as the VT1-2 with its horrifying 50.6 hp/t it can outpace just about all MBTs it can face in the positioning game. This combination of the 20 mm autocannon, high damaging 120 mm smoothbore cannon and mobility that is almost unmatched by any other means the Leopard 2K is a beast of a tank that performs best when used to the extreme, going from firing position to firing position and always being unexpected.
General info
Survivability and armour
The Leopard 2K has what can mostly be described as superficial armour. It can stop some autocannon fire to the upper plate and some areas of the turret but most contemporary rounds be they autocannon or tank caliber will go straight through. The vehicle should be treated as having almost no armour, and taking any sort of enemy fire should ideally be avoided at all costs to increase survivability.
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 160 mm Upper 120 mm Lower |
65 / 95 mm* Top 35 / 110 mm* Bottom |
38 / 48 mm* | 20 mm |
| Turret | 160-350 / 220-500 mm* Turret front | 60 / 90 mm* | 46 / 96 mm* | 20 mm |
* Kinetic / Chemical
Notes:
- Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick, tracks are 20 mm thick, and torsion bars are 10 mm thick.
Mobility
| 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 | 81 | 50 | 2,032 | 2,862 | 40.64 | 57.24 |
| Realistic | 73 | 73 | 1,327 | 1,500 | 26.54 | 30 | |
The mobility of the Leopard 2K is astonishing, making it one of the most agile MBTs at its BR if not in the entire game. A HP/t of 30 means that it easily outruns the sluggish T-72s in the Soviet tree, and it can even give the XM1 (GM) a run for its money while being significantly up-armed in terms of firepower. You will almost always be the front of the vanguard on your team, and very few vehicles on either side will be able to compete with you to advantageous positions.
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Armaments
Main armament
The Leopard 2K's gun is a 120 mm Rheinmetall L44. It can be found on the later models of the tank, such as the Leopard 2A4 and Leopard 2A5, and shares round types with the Leopard 2A4 which are: DM12 HEATFS, DM13 APFSDS, and DM23 APFSDS. Being fitted with a 120 mm Rheinmetall gun, it is effective at all ranges, capable of penetrating tanks at range in tandem with the laser rangefinder.
| 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 | 41 | -9°/+20° | ±180° | Two-plane | 38.1 | 52.7 | 64.0 | 70.8 | 75.3 | 8.71 | 7.71 | 7.10 | 6.70 |
| Realistic | 23.8 | 28.0 | 34.0 | 37.6 | 40.0 | ||||||||
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 | 480 | 480 | 480 | 480 | 480 | 480 |
| DM13 | APFSDS | 393 | 390 | 384 | 376 | 367 | 359 |
| DM23 | APFSDS | 410 | 408 | 401 | 393 | 384 | 376 |
| 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 | 1,140 | 13.5 | 0.05 | 0.1 | 2.15 | 65° | 72° | 77° | |||
| DM13 | APFSDS | 1,650 | 4.44 | - | - | - | 78° | 80° | 81° | |||
| DM23 | APFSDS | 1,640 | 4.3 | - | - | - | 78° | 80° | 81° | |||
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 41 | 11 (+30) | 1 (+40) | No |
Note:
- The 2nd ammo rack is a first-stage ammo stowage and will refill from the 1st rack.
Machine guns
The tank has a 20 mm anti-aircraft gun situated on top of the turret which can fire over cover and be used to knock out gun barrels and tracks, light tanks, helicopters and planes. The belts are alternating HEFI-T/HVAP-T, with 57 mm of penetration at 0 degrees at 10 m. The 20 mm has quite good elevation, and rotates independently from the turret, able to surprise light tanks attempting to flank following turret ring immobilization.
| 20 mm Rh202 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Pintle | 750 (750) | 900 | -9°/+45° | ±180° |
| 7.62 mm MG3A1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Coaxial | 4,000 (1,000) | 1,200 | N/A | N/A |
Usage in battles
Stock gameplay:
As with any vehicle, the Leopard 2K finds itself at a serious disadvantage while stock. Without access to the APFSDS rounds, users will need to play more carefully. While the DM12 HEATFS round is powerful, it struggles against composite armour and ERA, as well as having lackluster post-penetration damage. Players will have to aim more carefully to deal effective damage with the DM12 HEAT round. As with every chemical shell, try to avoid shooting at tracks, spaced armor and the aforementioned composite armor/ERA. Your mobility is still ahead of the pack, so use it to get into advantageous positions so as to make up for your lack of firepower at the moment by flanking the sides of a map or being in unexpected crossfire positions.
Spaded gameplay:
The Leopard 2K is a powerful tank, arguably the strongest tank at its Battle Rating with few that rival its strengths. The DM23 APFSDS round has adequate penetration, and it should be easy to destroy most enemy vehicles - common enemies such as the T-72AV (TURMS-T) can be penetrated through even the upper front plate at closer distances, and your shells will easily go through all contemporary weakspots at the BR or higher. The Leopard 2K does, however, struggle in some regards against tanks in higher battle ratings, although this is not to say it's unable to contend with true top tier tanks. The most notable weakness is its most obvious; the lack of armor. None of your modules grant you extra protection against enemy fire, and as a result even vehicles with autocannons can very often shred your tank from even very mild side angles. While you can definitely still win in such an engagement either by using the main gun or the Rh202 autocannon, it can severely damage your vehicle or you may end up simply trading kills.
The other, more subtle downside is the lack of thermal vision. As Night Battles are completely optional now and are also BR gated to 10.0+, this is a downside that's only applicable should you want to bring the Leopard 2K up to higher BRs. You may ask why you would bring the Leo 2K up to say, 10.7 (the 2A4's BR) or higher, but there is definitely an argument for it due to its glass cannon nature. The Leopard 2K is an incredibly mobile vehicle, with the same 1,500HP output engine as the 2A4 with less weight and a higher top speed, making it noticeably more mobile than the 2A4 overall. The 2K can act as a great backup or flanking vehicle all around, as its firepower is still lethal even up to top tier and its mobility equally so. In these situations, if you have Night Battles active or get a large map like Red Desert or Fields of Poland / Eastern Europe, finding targets can be a bit of a hassle due to the excessive shrubbery and long distances as you cannot simply find the white heat signatures in a field of black. Assuming you can find your targets, however, this is at best a minor annoyance, and the 2K still offers a very high-risk high-reward flanker playstyle at any BR it's at.
Long range engagements:
The Leopard 2K is capable at long range, but is outclassed by many other vehicles. The cannon is powerful, but not especially so compared to its adversaries. The biggest issues the Leopard 2K will face in regards to long range engagements is the thin turret armour and lack of thermals. While the DM13 APFSDS round will fail to penetrate the turret cheeks of vehicles like the Challenger Mk.2 and T-64B, their rounds will have no such trouble with the Leopard 2K. The lack of thermals makes it difficult to scout for enemies through foliage, meaning trying to snipe is not an effective strategy against any enemies equipped with thermals, as they will almost certainly spot you first. You can use flank routes hidden from long range sightlines to get closer to identify your targets easier, or aim for the weakspots (including the sides and rear if you've flanked them, but front-on this would be the LFP on carousel autoloader designs as well as the turret ring/gun mantlet) on those enemy vehicles to counter-snipe them if need be.
Gameplay summary:
Although the Leopard 2K is somewhat weak when stock as all tanks are, it is a strong frontline tank while spaded. The good APFSDS round and 20 mm give it a strong position in the German high tier lineup. However, Leopard 2K tank commanders should play around the lack of armor, avoiding direct confrontations and fair fights for a flank-heavy playstyle, catching people off guard from unexpected angles. Your biggest strength is your mobility, the most proactive strength possible in the game, while your weakness is armor, something that matters relatively less at higher BRs than at lower BRs due to the introduction of darts - and also something you can negate entirely by using your mobility to avoid being in predictable sightlines altogether. The Leopard 2K is an exceptionally capable vehicle, and the only limiting factor will be your map awareness and positioning skills.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- 120 mm gun with good performance
- Most manueuvrable Leopard model with very high torque
- Extremely good mobility
- Reverse gearbox allows fast retreats
- Has excellent optics with 8x-16x zoom level
- 20 mm Rh202 autocannon is also stabilized
Cons:
- Requires the player to utilize its strengths proactively at all times
- Armor is inadequate against autocannon fire
- Reload is slower than other Leopard 2 models
- Lacks thermal vision
- The 20mm has mediocre penetration, often failing to penetrate light tanks unless on their sides
- The 20 mm has HVAP-T(APCR) as ammo, having poor post-penetration damage
History
In the 1960s, Germany and the United States were jointly-developing the MBT-70, and Germany was contractually prevented from developing any new MBTs independently until the joint project with the US was completed.
But development problems plagued the MBT-70 project, and it appeared that the vehicle would not be finished within an acceptable time frame—so Germany found a way to bypass contractual limitations for the MBT-70 development.
Instead of ordering the development of a new tank, the German government issued an order to the Porsche company to research ways to improve the Leopard I tank already in service with the German army. This enabled Germany to research a more advanced fighting vehicle without breaching the contract signed with the US.
Porsche's first study of the Leopard I revealed a lot of room for improvement, and second study focusing on upgrading the Leopard I to match the MBT-70's firepower was launched almost immediately. This eventually resulted in the construction of two prototype vehicles: one in 1969, and one in 1970 nicknamed Keiler (tusker).
In the early 1970s, Germany was able to back out of the MBT-70 project due to spiraling development costs. Instead, they continued work on the development of the Keiler, which was renamed to Leopard 2.
The Leopard 2 project was expected to yield two versions: the Leopard 2K armed with a cannon, and the Leopard 2FK armed with a gun/launcher similar to the MBT-70. In 1971, ten prototypes were ordered, and seven more orders followed shortly thereafter.
To get the most out of their prototypes, German engineers equipped each one with different components to determine what worked best. Some Leopard 2 versions were equipped with a 105 mm smoothbore cannon, whereas others were fitted with 120 mm smoothbore cannons. Some prototypes received a hydraulic suspension while others didn't, and there was even a version equipped with the 20 mm anti-air mount on the turret (similar to the one found on the Kpz-70).
Sixteen out of seventeen Leopard 2 prototypes were built and tested, yielding many refinements to the Leopard 2 design. Subsequent models further increased the Leopard 2's capabilities, with each variant making it more powerful—and ultimately into the Leopard 2 known today.
- From Devblog
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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
| 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 2A4M · 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 |
