Leclerc S2

Leclerc S2

Leclerc

Leclerc SXXI

Leclerc S2

Leclerc

Leclerc SXXI

France

VIII Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
12.0	12.0	12.0

Class:

Medium tank

Research:200 000

Purchase:1 100 000

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Description

The Leclerc Serie 2 is a rank VIII French medium tank with a battle rating of 12.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "New Power".

General info

Survivability and armour

The Leclerc S2 is virtually the same inside as the S1, excluding a few upgrades not functional in-game such as a new NBC protection system and air conditioner. The turret cheeks (>600mm KE) are well protected, with the middle glacis plate providing 720mm chemical and 550mm kinetic protection. The flat plate below the gunner's thermal optic provides 500mm of protection against KE, and

Armour	Front	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	Upper Glacis: 140-300mm APFSDS sloped at 77 degrees	30-65 mm Front 20-55 mm Back	10-20mm	5-25mm
Turret	600-800mm APFSDS Turret cheeks 500mm APFSDS / 570mm HEAT Gunner's optic	180+mm APFSDS, 230+mm HEAT	Ammo storage: 45mm APFSDS, 270mm HEAT (with integrated ERA blocks) Turret back: 20mm	20-40mm
Cannon	90-460mm against APFSDS	N/A	N/A	N/A

Notes:

Mobility

The Leclerc S2 is powered by the same engine as the S1, the Wärtsilä V8X-1500. Outputting 1475hp and using a special gas turbine turbocharger (which can also act as the vehicle's APU, and eliminating turbo lag), the Leclerc S2 has great mobility for its class at 26.25hp/ton. However, it weighs 2.5t more than the S1 which makes for noticable sluggishness without engine upgrades.

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	80	42	56.2	2285	2,862	40.66	50.93
Realistic	72	38		1304	1,500	23.2	26.69

Armaments

Main armament

Like its predecessor, the Leclerc S2 is equipped with the CN120-26 F1 L/52 cannon. It can fire three shells: a stock HEAT-FS round, and two APFSDS shells. The OFL 120 F1, which shares the same penetrator as the DM43, slices through over 550mm of armor past 1km. Although this isn't as competitive as the new DM53 round that the Leopard 2A6 fires (which penetrates 10mm more than CL3143), it still performs very well against enemy MBT's. The 120 F1 shell also has a velocity of 1790m/s which makes for very good ballistics and low bullet drop. Although powerful, the 120 F1 round is a Tier IV modification; like most other MBT's, the Leclerc starts out with a stock HEAT-FS shell. Although powerful against light vehicles and SPAA, the HEAT-FS is redundant against your opponents. You have an APFSDS shell as a Tier I modification, however, one must note that it penetrates only 390mm of armor even at close range.

Unlike most of its Western contemporaries (excluding the Type 90 and the CV 90120), the Leclerc S2 is equipped with an autoloader. This gives it a flat firing rate of 6 seconds, tied with an aced crew level of the M1A2 Abrams and the Leopard 2. This gives it great follow-up shot potential out of the box without the need for crew upgrading. Also equipped with powerful thermals for gunner and commander, the Leclerc can pick off unsuspecting targets with great efficiency.

120 mm GIAT CN120-26 F1					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Autoloader (crew skill redundant)
Arcade	40	-8°/+20°	±180°	Two-plane	28.6	39.5	__._	__._	__._	6.00, 22+1 rounds in autoloader
Realistic					17.9	21.0	__._	__._	__._

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
OCC 120 G1	HEATFS	480	480	480	480	480	480
OFL 120 G1	APFSDS	394	393	388	382	376	370
OFL 120 F1	APFSDS	575	573	565	557	547	537

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%
OCC 120 G1	HEATFS	1,100	14.4	0.0	0.1	2,148	65°	72°	77°
OFL 120 G1	APFSDS	1,650	3.8	N/A	N/A	N/A	78°	80°	81°
OFL 120 F1	APFSDS	1,790	3.8	N/A	N/A	N/A	78°	80°	81°

Ammo racks

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	Reccomended	Visual discrepancy
40	23 (+17)	1 (+39)	Hull stowage empty: 23 (+17)	No

Machine guns

12.7 mm M2HB
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	800 (200)	576	-8 / +20	±180

Usage in battles

With great mobility and an autoloading 120mm cannon, the Leclerc can be exploited to fulfill a number of roles on the battlefield. Mobility enables it to get into competitive spots for sniping or ambushing, and the gun's performance enables quick response and follow-up shots to any enemy that appears. Its survivability is best while hull down or poking out from a hill, as most of its vulnerable areas excluding the cannon breech (and sometimes the LFP when poking out from cover) are hidden well enough. Try to avoid CQC as the Leclerc's numerous hull weak spots can be easily seen and targeted in urban environments. However, at longer ranges, the commander's thermal sight allows for "leap frog" tactics — acquiring a target, poking out of cover to take a shot, and retreating back into cover. If CQC is inevitable (i.e. Rhine, Sweden, Novorossiysk), then the Leclerc can be used to ambush distracted tanks and poke out of cover. When shot at or damaged, use your smoke grenades to retreat into cover. 14 smoke grenades give two separate discharges, or if discharged all at once, provide 360 degrees of smoke for you to retreat from.

Modules

Tier	Mobility		Protection	Firepower
I	Tracks		Parts	Horizontal Drive	OFL 120 G1
II	Suspension	Brake System	FPE	Adjustment of Fire
III	Filters		Crew Replenishment	Elevation Mechanism	Laser rangefinder	Smoke grenade
IV	Transmission	Engine		Artillery Support	OFL 120 F1	NVD

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Excellent gun performance, handling, and reload
• Competitive mobility and great reverse speed
• Thermal optics (Gen2) for both gunner and commander
• 22 rounds in first-stage ammo stowage — highest of any Western MBT
• Lower profile compared to its contemporaries

Cons:

• Noticeable weakspots at close range or when not hull down
• Cannon breech is easy to hit at any range\
• 10mm armor protection for the engine; 12.7mm rounds can set afire and immobilize you
• Three crew members like the Type 90; their survivability is worse than other tanks at its BR (excluding Russian MBT) when shot in weakspots
• Abysmal performance when stock — researching critical modifications such as APFSDS rounds, engine upgrades and NVD/rangefinder is a priority.

History

The Leclerc S2 was the first upgrade of the Leclerc by the French Army. Upgrades included:

• new NBC system with hybrid air conditioning
• Independent air conditioning unit installed on the back roof behind the gunner's hatch.
• In order to balance the turret since the adding of the air conditioner, the turret frontal armor is thickened a few centimeters ahead of the commander's station.
• Revised sprocket cooling fins.
• Splash guard added to the front hull.
• Remote operated hydraulic track tensioner.
• Bolt-on appliqué armor on hull sponsons. Modeled on the Leclerc in-game, not functional.
• Athos thermal camera on the gunner's sight is replaced by the new Iris thermal camera since production block 9. Not on the Leclerc in-game.
• SIT ICONE battlefield management system added in 2009

Data from Wikipedia

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See also

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• reference to the series of the vehicles;
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