Hi there,
As we all know, the Leopard 1A5BE was added to War Thunder in the latest patch, it’s met with quite a lot of controversy in-game, but that is not what I wish to focus this post on. Instead I would like to talk about the actual vehicle, its performance in-game and what all still needs to change on it.
I’m also hoping for your help, as there are a lot of open issues with the tank that we need more info on to get them fixed. I personally don’t own any of the correct sources right now to handle some of these, but you might.
First of all, we need to talk about the ammo that this vehicle has received. In-game it gets the standard DM23 and DM33 APFSDS rounds along with the German HEAT and HE shells. However, there is credible data to suggest that Belgium didn’t operate these shells at all, instead relying on domestic production by Mecar (now KNDS Belgium). The operated APFSDS rounds would range from M1001 through M1050 and potentially ending with M1060. Additionally, they likely would have operated with domestic M1010 HE ammo, M1061 HEAT ammo and M393A2 HESH. M1001 is a DM23 equivalent, M1060 is equivalent to the US M833 and M1050 is somewhere in-between. Further developments of M1060 exists also, stretching into M1060A4, the latter being an equivalent to US M900 ammo. Despite finding credible sources to point at M1001 - M1060 being very likely in service with Belgium, it has become somewhat hard to find a direct source mentioning it. So if anyone does have it, please present it so we can get the ammo fixed.
Another point of interest is the weight assigned to the Leopard 1A5BE. As it stands, the weight is set at 42.5 tons, the same as other Leopard 1A5 variants found throughout other trees. However, one key difference exists between those other Leopard and the Belgian one. The latter never received the Blohm & Voss add-on armor package for the turret, and as all Belgian Leopards were upgraded from the base Leopard 1, they also don’t have the heavier turrets. As a result, the weight of the Belgian Leopard 1A5BE cannot be 42.5 tons. It’s more than likely up to a ton lighter than other variants. Once again though, I have no sources on the actual weight of the armour package itself, making it difficult to bug report just how overweight the Belgian Leopard actually is. If any of you have some documentation of this topic, once again, please share it so we can get the Belgian tank to actually have the correct weight (with a small mobility buff as nice bonus).
The Leopard 1A5BE might not be the tank that the French tree needed, but let’s at least make sure that this vehicle has the correct traits to set it apart from its German counterpart, making it an ever so slightly unique addition after all.