Com-Central.net

Army Newspaper

Top Stories
Leopard’s last blast
By Lt Joseph Ternowetsky

Edition 1163, April 05, 2007

WITH a thunderous volley of 105mm main armament rounds, the Leopard tank has marked the end of a long and proud military career.

Exercise Southern Reach, held in Cultana from February to May, is the Leopard’s last show of duty after having served the Australian Army for 30 years.

The Leopard was brought into service on November 4, 1977, to replace the British Centurion. At the time the Army purchased 103 Leopards after choosing it over the American M60 tank.

Included in this total were five AVLB bridge layers and eight AVRM recovery vehicles.

CO 1 Armd Regt Lt-Col Duncan Hayward said the tanks – which are being replaced by the Abrams – had served the country well.

Although the tanks had never been deployed overseas, they offered fundamental firepower and support to the Australian military as a whole, he said.

“It has provided heavy hitting power to the Australian Army,� he said. “Lacking a viable tank would undermine a combined arms team.�

As a way of honouring the tanks, 1 Armd Regt Leopards formed up and fired in unison during a range practice in Cultana on March 14.

But this will be it for the 18 Leopards that took part in the exercise. The tanks officially end their service in three months when a final parade will be held to commemorate the changeover.

“We will run a parade on July 7 where the first operational Abrams squadron will replace the last operational Leopard squadron,� Lt-Col Hayward said.

From there, the majority of tanks will be sent to Bandiana, Victoria where they will be disposed of under a DMO plan.

“A small number of tanks have been earmarked for military museums. Two will remain in Darwin as a monument,� Lt-Col Hayward said.

The transition marks an exciting time for the Army, according to Col Damian Cantwell, who was CO 1 Armd Regt from 2003-04 and is now Director General Future Land Warfare. He said the Leopard tank had more than proved itself.

“It remains the best tank of its age, it’s just the technologies of protection and firepower have moved forward around it,� Col Cantwell said.

He paid tribute to the “energetic professionalism� of tank crews, RAEME tradesmen and support staff in maintaining and sustaining the Leopard fleet throughout its life.

“They often worked in very trying conditions in the demanding Top End climate, without the benefit of unit operational deployments. Without them the tank and our combined arms capability would have suffered a slow demise years ago,� Col Cantwell said.

During the Leopard’s time in service, 1 Armd Regt conducted training in places such as Mt Bundy, High Range Training Area, Shoalwater Bay, Cultana, Woomera and Puckapunyal.

After a decision to centralise 1 Bde in the Darwin region, 1 Armd Regt and the Leopard tanks made the move in 1995.

Col Cantwell said the tank did receive some minor upgrades such as improvements to firewall insulation, an electronic digital gunner’s aide and mobile camouflage systems.

Full coverage of Exercise Southern Reach will appear in the next edition of Army.

TANK FACTS

Armament: 105mm L7A3; Armour Piercing Discarding Sabot (APDS) travelling at 1478m/s with a range of 2500m; High Explosive Squash Head (HESH) travelling at 732m/s with a range of 400m direct, 8000m semi-indirect; Canister with a range of 400m; 2 Machine Gun 7.62mm MG3 Coax and AA.

Crew: Crew commander, loader/operator, gunner, driver.

Dimensions: Length – 9.54m gun front; Width – 3.37m; Height – 2.62m; Weight – 42,400kg combat weight.

Engine: MTU MB 838 Cam-500 37.4L four-stroke, multifuel, twin mechanical supercharged engine; 610 kW at 2200rpm and 2860nm at 1500rpm; Fuel consumption – 165L/100km

Performance: Max Speed – 70km/h forward, 24km/h in reverse; 60% climb, 30% sideslope; Vertical step – 1.15m; Trench – 3m; Fording – 1.2m or 2.25m with minimal preparation, 4m with a tower.

- Neil_Baumgardner

You gotta realize the Australian army active force is little bigger than 1 division.

Neil

- A2_Prius

The Jagdpanzer Kanone was armed with a 90mm gun mounted in a mantlet. The vehicle's over all appearance recalled that of the Sturmgeschutz.

- bsmart

I think the ATGM version was based on a different chassis. If I recall correctly the Jagdpanzer Rackete ( I think that was spelling) was based on the Marder APC/IFV chassis.

- Roy_A_Lingle

The 90mm cannon, the SS11 ATGM, followed by the HOT and TOW ATGM vehicles are all based on the HS.30 APC.

- JimWeb

- Roy_A_Lingle

The 90mm cannon, the SS11 ATGM, followed by the HOT and TOW ATGM vehicles are all based on the HS.30 APC.

Roy you may like to go read that page again...