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Revell: 1:72 Leopard 2 A5/A5 NL
Price
21.99€
- Availability:
- In Stock
- Product Code:
- REVE03187
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The Leopard 2 is a modern German 3rd generation main battle tank. The first prototypes of the vehicle were built in 1973 and serial production began in 1979 and continues to this day. To date (2018) 3,480 tanks of this type have been produced. The Leopard 2 is powered by the 1500 HP MTU MB 873 Ka 501 engine. The vehicle is armed with a 120 mm Rheinmetall Rh-M-120 cannon and two 7.62 mm MG3 machine guns.
The Leopard 2 was developed in response to a request for a new Main Battle Tank announced by the Bundeswehr already in the early 1960s. The new vehicle was to replace the Leopard 1 main battle tanks in the West German army. Initially, cooperation with American companies (e.g. Chrysler) was undertaken on a project designated as MBT-70. However, after a few years, the cooperation was terminated and further work was focused exclusively on German companies. Despite a very long process of analytical, study and experimental work that lasted almost 15 years, the Leopard 2 presented to the line in 1979 proved to be revolutionary and surpassed the then Soviet designs. Many analysts consider it to be the first third-generation tank in history, including the M1 Abrams, the French Leclerc or the much later Russian T-90 tank. The Leopard 2 is characterized primarily by unprecedented -before 1979- mobility and maneuverability in tanks of this class, thanks to the use of a powerful 1500 HP engine. It also has very good armor, using composite materials and SKO (fire control system). It was also armed with the Rh-M-120 large-caliber gun, which in the 1980s and 1990s became the standard for many NATO countries. During serial production, several versions of the Leopard 2 tank were created, two of which deserve special attention: A 4 and A 6. The A 4 version, which first appeared in 1985, has a much more advanced and improved SKO version compared to the previous versions, as well as an improved turret and frontal armored hull. It is also the most widely exported version. At the beginning of the 21st century, the A 6 version was created, which mainly received the Rh-M-120 gun with a significantly longer barrel (L / 55), which significantly improved its penetration ability. The latest development version of the Leopard 2 tank is the A 7 version, which entered service with the Bundeswehr in 2014. Due to its very high combat value, the Leopard 2 was exported to many countries, such as: Austria, Chile, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway or Poland, which has 247 tanks of this type in the A 4 and A 5 versions.