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Hello again! welcome to the first in my suggestions for the various vehicles equipped with the Experimental Royal Ordinance 105mm Improved Weapons System (IWS for short), these were a series of vehicles that were used to test the IWS gun,originally designed for the RO2004 Light Tank as well as to upgun other existing 105mm equipped tanks, unfortunately never progressing past the Prototype stage, I would like to shed light on these forgotten tanks, starting with the most well known; The Leopard C1.
History
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Development of the IWS began in the late 1980s as a private venture by Royal Ordinance in response to an anticipated need for an enhanced variant of the L7 gun, featured on almost all western tanks at the time. The Idea of the IWS was to be capable of being retrofitted to all 105mm tanks with relative ease, all whilst maintaining a power increase akin to the more modern 120mm Smoothbore guns beginning to come into service at the time without the need for Depleted Uranium shells and the implications that come with them. It had to fit into all existing L7 or M68 mountings whilst not presenting a considerable increase in Recoil or other factors.
The Result was an impressive feat, with the guns new shell, the T-2-series APFSDS shell, was made of a tungsten-nickel-iron alloy capable of penetrating up to 540mm of RHA at ranges of around 2000m (for reference that is equivalent to the British 120mm L27A1 shell found on the Challengers) all whilst retaining the calibre and being able to fit into all ammunition storage systems for the 105x617mm rounds the L7 was designed for. despite these impressive performances, there were some issues, such as the fact that there was so much recoil energy from the gun that the crew had to be buttoned down to fire, not ideal for a gun that was meant to present no large increase in Recoil. Due to these factors and the fact that, at the time, most of NATO and the West was far more favourable of the newer designed 120mm Tanks, such as the Leopard 2, M1A1, Challenger and others the gun never saw success, other than being fitted to the RO2004 light tank, however that never progressed past a separated hull and turret.
Now after that, lets get onto the specifics of the Leopard C1 this was to be fitted to, this tank was borrowed from the Canadian Army for testing, believe it or not, this was actually the second leopard to be fitted with the IWS (of 3), the first being a Series 0 leopard currently at Bovington Tank Museum, but that’s a story for another suggestion. Now back to the C1, it was fitted in either 1989 or 1990, and was used for Firing Trials in the UK, there are also unconfirmed reports of another C1 being modified in Canada in 1993, however there is no evidence to support Canada Evaluating the gun, nor is the source particularly Reliable.
The Most likely timeline would be that the Tank was borrowed from Canada in order to fit the Gun and for its Initial firing trials (independent of canadian involvement) and then removed before being returned to the Canadians following testing, It could have been tested by the canadians at a later date, but as for this specific conversion it is highly unlikely the canadians had much involvement in the testing.
Images
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An Image showing the C1 fitted with the IWS, note the distinct Muzzle break
Another image showing the full tank
The full excerpt the picture above is from
Various Information on the APFSDS Round itself
Specs/Armament
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General Characteristics
Length : 9.54 m
Width : 3.25 m
Height : 2.64 m
Weight : 42.400 kg
Armour : 25 - 70 mm
Engine : V10-cylinder MTU MB 838 Ca M500, 37.4 L, liquid cooled.
Horsepower : 830 hp at 2.200 rpm.
Transmission : 4-speed ZF Hydromedia 4 HP 250 gearbox with torque converter.
Electrical system : 24 volt, negative ground.
Fuel type : Multi-fuel.
Fuel capacity : 980 liter (215 gallons).
Range : 600 km (373 miles).
Crew : 4.
Armament
Main Gun
- 1 x Royal Ordinance 105mm IWS (T-2 (540mm@2000m) + all other standard 105×617mmR shells)
Secondary Armaments
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1 x Coaxial 7.62 mm FN MAG (C6) machine gun
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1 x Roof Mounted 7.62 mm FN MAG (C6) machine gun
Place in game
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Personally I feel this would be an interesting vehicle for High tier Britain, given that it provides a pretty significant upgrade over the standard L7 we have in game, and would offer british players a high penetration light tank, with a shell performing similarly to the L27 found on the Challengers. I think it would be a good candidate for either Tech Tree, premium, or event, given that it offers a significant upgrade in firepower over most other light tanks and would be able to hold its own even at quite high BRs like 11.0 or higher.
Sources
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Royal Ordnance L7 - Wikipedia
105×617mmR - Wikipedia
Royal Ordnance 105mm Improved Weapon System | Secret Projects Forum
Army Guide
Leopard 1 Family - Danish Army Vehicles Homepage
Janes Ammunition Handbook 2006-2007 (Page 347/348)
