- Yes
- No
German Ingenuity - i
Suggestion made in collaboration with @NER055
It was the early 1980s, and the Cold war was only looming over the skies of the East and West alike more and more. The Leopard 1 system had gone through a wide list of upgrades, ranging from major upgrades like the 1A1-A5 series, giving the leopard cast and welded turrets that would change its whole appearance. To smaller upgrades such as the A1A1-A3 across many of the major ones.
One specific upgrade however, never caught the attention of the public eye. Perhaps, just like the M-48 Super (with which you will find the 1A6 to have some striking resemblances with), the Leopard 1A6 program died as a young but more or less unneeded upgrade path to an old platform. With the rise of the promising new Leopard 2, the move to upgrade and up-gun the Leopard 1 was deemed largely uneconomical and what some would call excessive. Despite that, the Bundesamt für Wehrtechnik und Beschaffung (Federal Office of Defence Technology and Procurement) put the Leopard 1 for combat efficiency testing in 1986 with the 120mm Rheinmetall L/44 gun of the Leopard 2.
Despite the 1A6 proving itself in the trials at Munster, the project was cancelled with only the two prototypes ever made. A Leopard 1A1A1 was used, with a modified gun mantlet and turret interior.
The VT-2 and VT-5 prototypes had some differences though. Firstly they were both upgraded Leopard 1 variants with the Rh-120mm L/44 cannon paired to an EMES-18 FCS, an automatic fire extinguishing system for the crew compartment and both were equipped with armoured Lexan panels on the turret and hull.
However an IR suppression system for the engine exhaust and tracks to reduce heat radiation, complete with exhaust grilles fitted with gas boxes was mounted on VT-2. It also had additional turret roof armour. The armour of VT-2 was of a different category as well, TZP-2 type package which, along with all the other upgrades, increased its weight by 4.6 tons.
You can read my article for its brother, the VT-5 here
Something i was not aware of before is that there were actually three prototypes for the Leopard 1A6 two based on the Leopard 1A1 and one based on the Leopard 1A4. (However i am not fully convinced on this claim by my sources as it is entirely possible that they can have mistaken the either of the Leopard 1A1A1 (1A6 testbeds) with the EMES-18 upgrade to have been a Leopard 1A4).
Testing
Just like most, if not all of the German Armed forces vehicles, the Leopard 1A6 prototypes were tested at the Munster proving grounds, however not really anything beyond that is known to me. there exist little details about the tests but I can assume the standard, mobility, firepower and protection trials and maybe some communications tests with the new radio equipment. There also must have been tests of its thermal signature as pretty hefty IR-reducing measures were taken for the engine exhausts (at least for VT-2).
Technical Specifications
Crew: 4 (Commander, Gunner, Loader, Driver)
— Mobility —
Weight: 47.6t
Engine: MTU MB 838 CaM 500, 10-cylinder, 37.4 litres, multi-fuel engine
Power: 830hp
Top speed: ~60
Power/weight: 17.4 hp/t
Transmission: 4HP-250
Suspension: Torsion bar
— Armament —
Main gun: 120 mm (Rh-120 L/44)
Secondary gun(s): MG 3
Elevation: -9,+20
Traverse: 360 degrees
Gun sight: EMES-18 (gunner)
Laser range finder: Yes
Thermals: 1st generation (gunner only)
— Ammunition —
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120mm
Count: 42 shots, (30 to the left of the driver, 11 shots in turret and 2 shots - in a rotating foam-mount in the turret(possibly experimental)).
Types and performance:
-
7.62mm
Count: 200 (+4400 in storage)
Rate of fire: 1200 rpm
Types and performance:
Extra info here
The Leopard 1A6 project yielded two prototype tanks, called the VT-2 and VT-5. However what is interesting is that since the Leopard 1 system had gotten so outdated as a machine of war, that it could no longer be used, at least by a modern military such as the Bundeswehr, as a frontline and main battle tank.
Hence the vehicle was designated as the Panzer KampfWagen or even PanzerAbwehr KampfWagen 90 (PzAbwKpfW 90). This designation however cannot be backed by any sources of higher authority as i have only read this name on one website. More likely this is the designation of the study that took place for this specific upgrade program.
Visual References
