So many, that they are still in service - with national and modernized variants - in certain countries to this day. Its biggest consumer was the Netherlands, with no less than 460 tanks imported, but Belgium, Australia, Brazil, Greece, Denmark, and even Italy - which was part of the original deal - also bought many of these tanks.
Equipped with a 105 mm rifled gun mounted on a cast and a welded turret, the Leopard 1 was offered to other countries in 1967. With a classical layout but a focus on firepower and mobility, the Leopard 1 would soon become the standard among European forces. The German efficiency was stronger than ever, and delivered this new vehicle in no time, thanks to experienced companies, such as Wegmannfrom Kassel, known for turning WWII vehicles into flamethrower tanks, or Krauss Maffei, which was building semi-tracked vehicles a few years before that. By September 1965, the Leopard 1 was handed over to the Bundeswehr. Leopard 1Įver since 1963, Germany wanted to produce a lot of vehicles: no less than 1,500 tanks were ordered. This program started in 1958 and involved French, German and Italian specialists, at least until the first two countries decided to go their own way - so much for the European entente. The idea was to create a mobile, quite compact and heavy-hitting tank, equipped with a 105 mm gun and designed to protect Western Europe. Moreover, with Europe now getting back on its feet, the idea of a common tank project became quite popular among the headquarters of the French, German and Italian armies. The tank of the future would surely carry less armour, and with a thinner skin came a smaller silhouette, which was also one of the tanking trends at the time. New guided missiles and other shaped-charge munitions could now penetrate almost any steel armour, without relying on their thickness.
You might know this great Japanese tank, but did you know it was one of the ancestors of the vehicles described as Main Battle Tanks, or MBTs? Let's dive into its story and that of those that preceded it! The First European Tank?īy the late fifties, the age of the heavy tanks was definitely over. This month, we're celebrating the STB-1 through our latest Top of the Tree.
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