Leopard 2A4

Leopard 2A4

Leopard 1A5

Leopard 2A5

Leopard 2A4

Leopard 1A5

Leopard 2A5

Germany

VII Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
10.3	10.3	10.3

Class:

Medium tank

Research:300 000

Purchase:830 000

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Description

The Leopard 2A4 is a Rank VII German medium tank with a battle rating of 10.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.79 "Project X".

General info

Survivability and armour

The armor protection on the Leopard 2A4 can be described as "decent" with the essential areas covered but not much more. While the turret cheeks are well protected against both kinetic(~400mm equivalent, sloped) and chemical(~620mm equivalent, sloped) rounds, the upper frontal plate of the chassis will generally not stop an APDSFS(~150mm equivalent, sloped) round from any of it's competitors but will prevent most chemical rounds from penetrating(~520mm equivalent, sloped) and the lower front plate is even more vulnerable(280mm equivalent vs HEAT and , 150mm equivalent vs kinetic projectiles, both sloped). Like in the case of it's competitors, the turret ring is unprotected, and so are the sides of the hull, while the cannon breech is also lacking in protection but it is not completely absent. The 4 crew members are tightly packed with the driver, gunner and commander all forming a line on the right hand side of the tank, making them easy to eliminate in one hit, thus knocking out the tank, if the Leopard 2A4 is facing the enemy with it's hull and turret aligned towards it. The ammo rack of the tank is positioned in front, on the left hand side, and makes for an easy target though the disadvantage can be easily negated by simply using cover to engage in a hull-down position. There is also a ready-rack a the back of the turret, with blow-out panels to prevent the detonation of the ready-rack from destroying the vehicle(note that FPE must be researched in order for the ammo burnout to be put out). The armor protection is generally enough if you wish to engage in a long range style of combat as shells will deviate ever so slightly from their predicted path, giving your armor a chance of absorbing them without much damage to be received, though the same can not be said if you wish to engage in fast paced urban combat where shells will land precisely where aimed and enemies will generally attack your sides.

Mobility

Mobility characteristic
Weight (tons)	Add-on Armour weight (tons)	Max speed (km/h)
56.0	N/A	79 (AB)
		72 (RB/SB)
Engine power (horsepower)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	2,032	____
Realistic/Simulator	1,327	____
Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	36.29	__.__
Realistic/Simulator	23.70	__.__

Armaments

Main armament

120 mm Rheinmetall L44
Capacity			Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance	Stabilizer
42			-9°/+20°	±180°	Two-plane
Turret rotation speed (°/s)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
Arcade	38.08	52.71	64.00	__.__	75.29
Realistic	23.8	28.0	34.0	37.6	40.0
Reloading rate (seconds)
Stock	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
7.80	6.9	6.4	__.__

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration in mm @ 0° Angle of Attack
		10m	100m	500m	1000m	1500m	2000m
DM12	HEATFS	650	650	650	650	650	650
DM13	APFSDS	417	414	410	400	395	390
DM23	APFSDS	410	408	401	393	384	376

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity in m/s	Projectile Mass in kg	Fuse delay in m:	Fuse sensitivity in mm:	Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):	Normalization At 30° from horizontal:	Ricochet:
								0%	50%	100%
DM12	HEATFS	1,140	14	0.0	0.1	1,640	+0°	65°	72°	75°
DM13	APFSDS	1650	3	N/A	N/A	N/A	+1.5°	76°	77°	78°
DM23	APFSDS	1640	4.3	N/A	N/A	N/A	+1.5°	78°	80°	81°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Leopard 2A4.

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	Visual discrepancy
42	16 (+26)	1 (+41)	no

1st rack empty: 16 (+26)

2nd rack has blowout panels

Machine guns

7.62 mm MG 3A1
Pintle mount
Capacity (Belt capacity)				Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
2,000 (1,000)				1,200	-8°/+20°	±120°
Coaxial mount
Capacity (Belt capacity)				Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
4,500 (1,000)				1,200	N/A	N/A

Usage in the battles

When stock, the heat round will help you pick enemies from a distance, thus avoiding taking damage as you will have no parts nor FPE but will not be enough against some tanks like the M1 Abrams and the T-80B; T-64B when these tanks are equipped with add-on ERA, but that becomes less of a problem once you have unlocked kinetic shells. The vehicle , like most of it's own league can be played as a sniper tank due to it's excellent optics, or in an urban environment thanks to it's powerful engine, high top speed and acceleration and potent top shell which allows quick but deadly snapshots. Notable enemies are, on one hand the IPM1 and M1 Abrams which are almost completely immune to your stock HEAT round but have a weak turret ring and the russian MBTs which can equip add-on armor in order to negate the effects of an initial HEAT shell, subsequent penetration is generally possible after the ERA blocks have been detonated; ERA blocks are negated by the use of APDSFS ammunition, notably the DM23 vs T-80B while the DM13 will be enough for all of the others, given a chassis hit.

Modules

Tier	Mobility	Protection	Firepower
I	Tracks	Parts	Horizontal drive, DM13
II	Suspension, Brake System	FPE	Adjustment of Fire
III	Filters	Crew replenishment	Elevation mechanism, Smoke grenade
IV	Transmission, Engine		Artillery support, DM23, Laser rangefinder

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Powerful engine, high top speed and acceleration
• High scope magnification for long range operations
• Potent selection of ammunition
• Effective turret armor

Cons:

• Hull armor leaves much to be desired
• Can be easily ammo racked
• Difficult stock grind
• Next to no AA capability, can not reliably eliminate attacking helicopters

History

The vehicle has a long development history, more that can be possibly fit into this article and can not be summarized without omitting details.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopard_2#History

Media

[1]

Read also

• Leopard 2K

Sources

• www.wikipedia.com
• War Thunder