Ukrainian soldiers talk about their experience on the 'worst armored tank'

Ukrainian soldiers are satisfied with the Leopard 1A5, even though they are considered the "worst armored tank" in the war between this country and Russia.

“We took part in several engagements,” Grigorii, a crew member of a Ukrainian Leopard 1A5 tank, said on November 27. Grigorii appears to be a soldier from Ukraine’s 44th brigade, which operates several Leopard 1s and BMP-1 armored vehicles.

Ukrainian soldiers expressed satisfaction with the Leopard 1A5, a modernized variant of the Leopard 1 introduced in the 1980s, despite the German-made main battle tank being considered "the worst-armored tank of the Russian-Ukrainian war".

The Leopard 1A5 is a tank developed by German luxury car manufacturer Porsche. The tank focused on mobility and firepower, as its designers believed that high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) rounds would make heavily armored tanks obsolete.

With that philosophy, the Leopard 1A5's 70mm steel armor is only slightly thicker than that of an armored vehicle, making it very vulnerable to anti-tank fire on the modern battlefield. The Leopard 1A5 appeared on the Ukrainian battlefield in its most basic combat configuration, without any additional defense measures such as explosive reactive armor and cage armor, to deal with the anti-tank missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that are widely used by Russia.

"Even the 1950s-era T-55s deployed by Russian forces, as well as the M-55S model upgraded by Slovenia and transferred to Ukraine, have better defense capabilities than the Leopard 1A5," Forbes military expert David Axe commented.

However, Ukrainian soldiers believe that the Leopard 1A5's strength lies not in its defensive capabilities. "It can detect targets at a distance of 3.5-5 km," said a Ukrainian soldier named Vitalii. "The technology on Russian tanks does not allow them to engage us in long-range artillery fire."

Ukrainian Leopard 1A5 tanks operate in Kharkov province on November 27. Photo: AFP — Ukrainian Leopard 1A5 tanks operate in Kharkov province on November 27. Photo: *AFP*

The Leopard 1 is equipped with a 105 mm L7A3 L/52 rifled main gun with a maximum range of 4 km. The L7A3 is less powerful than the 120 mm guns on modern Western tanks such as the Leopard 2 and M1 Abrams, but is still an effective weapon on the battlefield.

The Leopard 1 tank is rated as having good combat capabilities thanks to its integrated combat system, including a gun and barrel stabilization system, an optical sight for the gunner and a computerized fire control system.

Some German and Danish Leopard 1A5s use the EMES-18 fire control system similar to the Leopard 2 tank. This system allows the gunner to aim through a telescopic sight, use a joystick to mark the target, activate a laser beam so that the computer can calculate the range and fire.

With the EMES-18 system, the gun barrel will be automatically raised and lowered according to computer data, without the gunner having to adjust the firing angle. Due to the computer's very fast calculation speed, the Leopard 1A5 tank only takes one second to adjust the firing angle after reading the parameters from the laser beam.

According to Grigorii, the Ukrainian Leopard 1A5 crew could fire a few rounds from a distance and then accelerate away from their position before the Russian forces could respond. The soldier even believed they could carry out a lightning attack with a Leopard 1A5 tank. "We could escape with a tank," Grigorii said.

Eastern Ukraine is experiencing snow, wet and cold weather. The 44th Ukrainian Brigade, one of the first Ukrainian units to operate Leopard 1A5 tanks, is mainly defending against Russian attacks.

Tank driver Rouslan said that with its ability to reverse quickly, the Leopard 1A5 performed well in these weather conditions. "The tank is very easy to control," said Rouslan, a former tractor driver.

High mobility is considered one of the advantages of the Leopard 1A5 crew. If the tank is not flexible on the battlefield, they are very vulnerable to Russian firepower, because the tank's armor is very thin.

Ukrainian soldiers during a Leopard 1 tank training session in Germany on May 3. Photo: Reuters — Ukrainian soldiers during a Leopard 1 tank training session in Germany on May 3. Photo: *Reuters*

Danish instructors who have trained Ukrainian Leopard 1 tank crews have repeatedly stressed the importance of rapid and frequent maneuvers to avoid enemy fire. "The Leopard 1 is built to run and shoot," one instructor said.

Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands announced in February that they would provide at least 135 Leopard 1A5 tanks to Ukraine, as well as training soldiers to operate them, providing logistics, spare parts and ammunition.

The Leopard 1 tank was developed by Germany in the 1950s and 1960s, and began production and service in 1965. The Leopard 1A5 variant was an upgrade of the first model and is now nearly 60 years old. Germany later retired the Leopard 1 and replaced it with the Leopard 2 main battle tank.

Many German officials believe that the Leopard 1A5 could be a useful alternative to the Leopard 2A6, a much more expensive main battle tank with limited availability.

Some Western experts also said that Leopard 1 is still more powerful than Soviet-era main battle tanks such as Russia's T-72, adding that they will be more effective after being refurbished.

Nguyen Tien (According to AFP, Forbes )

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