Armour in Canada: Leopard Tank

Leopard tank

(Author Photo)

Leopard A6, "Care Bear", C Tp, RCD, Armour in service with the RCD at the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps School (RCACS), 5 Canadian Division Support Base Gagetown, New Brunswick, 12 June 2023.

(Author Photo)

Leopard C1 in the Field, Cbt Team Commanders Course, CFB Gagetown, New Brunswick, Spring 1996.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4728086)

Leopard tank, Fall Ex, Sep 1977.

I had the extraordinary privilege of serving as the Deputy G2 (Intelligence Officer) working in the back of an M577 Command Post with 4 CMBG based at CFB Lahr, Germany from 1989 to 1992.  I therefore have an interest in the origins of the tanks and armoured fighting vehicles found in Canada.  In an effort to help maintain the record of Canada's armour history and artefacts, I have documented some of the preserved equipment on display in Canada and overseas with details, photos and research in the pages you will find on this website.  This page is for those with an interest inLeopard tanks.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4728097)

Leopard tanks, Ex Certain Sentinel, Germany, Feb 1979.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4849073)

Leopard and M113, Ex Certain Sentinel, Germany, Feb 1979.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4849075)

Leopard, 4 CMBG, Ex Certain Sentinel, Bavaria, Germany, Feb 1979.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4849069).

Leopard tank, Reforger 86, Ex Certain Sentinel, Germany, Jan 1986.  

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4886183)

Bell CH-136 Kiowa, 444 Sqn, over 4 CMBG Leopard, Ex Reforger 79, Germany, 5 June 1979.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4922171)

Leopards and M113, 4 CMBG, Ex Reforger 80, Sep 1980.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4822604)

Leopard tank crew, Ex Certain Rampart, Sep 1980, Germany.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4730766)

Leopard with mine rollers, Langenhard training area, Germany, (possibly 32B, cc'd by Sgt Eugene Stairs), Oct 1987.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4976261)

Leopards, Fallex 85, Hohenfels, Germany, Ex Rebel Saddle, 28 Aug 1985.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4920757)

Leopard, RCD, Hohenfels, Germany, 26 Aug 1984.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4868478)

Leopard, Fallex 84, Germany, 4 Sep 1984.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4868481)

Leopards, C Sqn RCD, Fallex 84, Germany, 4 Sep 1984.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4876352)

Leopard dozer, RCD, Fallex 82, Germany, 21 Sep 1982.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4876332)

Leopard, RCD, Schweinfurt, Germany, 7 Sep 1982.

(Author Photo)

Leopard C1 Main Battle Tank, 105-mm Gun, “Nixon”, West of Bldg J-7,at the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps School (RCACS), 5 Canadian Division Support Base Gagetown, New Brunswick.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4730771)

Leopard C-1 tank crosses the Mainz river on a french amphibian bridge during exercise Royal Sword.  Oct 1987.

(Author Photo)

Leopard C-1 tank, CMR, St. Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec.

(Author Photo)

Leopard C1 Main Battle Tank, Base Borden Military Museum, CFB Borden, Ontario.

The Leopard (or Leopard C1) is a main battle tank designed and produced in Germany that first entered service in 1965.  Developed in an era when HEAT warheads were thought to make conventional heavy armour of limited value, the Leopard focussed on firepower in the form of the German-built version of the British L7 105-mm gun, and improved cross-country performance that was unmatched by other designs of the era.

The design started as a collaborative project between Germany and France in the 1950s, but the partnership ended and the final design was ordered by the Bundeswehr, production starting in 1965.  In total 6,485 Leopard tanks have been built, of which 4,744 were battle tanks and 1741 were utility and anti-aircraft variants, not including eighty prototypes and pre-series vehicles.

The Leopard quickly became a standard of European forces, and eventually served as the main battle tank in over a dozen countries worldwide.  Since 1990, the Leopard 1 has gradually been relegated to secondary roles in most armies.  In the German Army, the Leopard 1 MBTs have been phased out in 2003 while Leopard 1 derived vehicles are still widely used.  The Leopard 2 MBTs have taken over the MBT role. Leopard hulls have been re-used in a wide variety of roles.

Canada acquired 127 Leopard C1 tanks (equivalent to Leopard 1A3 with laser rangefinder), in 1978–79 for its Land Forces, with 114 being put into service.  Most of these tanks were stationed in Germany during the Cold War, with a few retained at CFB Gagetown, New Brunswick for training.

While investigating the possibilities of increasing the Leopards’ armour prior to a refit, turret armour upon close-up inspection was 1.5” + turret wall cast .75” steel, ‘belly’ armour was approx. 2.25” + cast frame steel 0.75” steel, skirt covering treads (tracks) was 1” rubber - not steel, but additional armour was applied on the forward half of the skirt during the refit - although only a small handful of C1s received a complete refit.  The refit also included adding thermal night-vision equipment, five or six Leopard C1 tanks had an extremely thick MEXAS appliqué armour kit applied, made by German firm IBD Deisenroth Engineering.  These tanks, designated Leopard C1A1, served with Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians) in the 1999 KFOR mission in Kosovo.  They were later upgraded with the same sights and fire-control system as the Leopard C2.

(Author Photo)

Leopard C2, 1 Canadian Division Headquarters, CFB Kingston, Ontario.

Starting in 2000, the 114 Leopard C1 tanks in service were upgraded to C2 standard at a cost of CAD $139 million.  The turrets of 123 surplus Leopard 1A5 tanks purchased from the German Defence Ministry were fitted into the existing hulls (nine turrets were reserved for spare parts and training), and the German tank hulls sold back to the upgrade contractor.  The Leopard C2 is also equipped with thermal sights and EMES 18 fire-control system.  Eighteen Leopard Crew Gunnery Trainers were purchased at the same time.

Canada also operates the Leopard 1-based Beaver Bridgelayer and Taurus Armoured Recovery Vehicle, bought with the original Leopard C1, and the Badger Armoured Engineer Vehicle with a dozer blade and excavator bucket, which entered service in 1990.

A number of the Canadian Leopard tanks were pulled out of service during the 2000s in anticipation of replacing them with the eight-wheeled Mobile Gun System, but these plans were put on hold.  Of the obsolescent tanks, 23 were sold to companies in North America, 4 put in Museums or used as monuments (including two at the Bovington Tank Museum), and 21 used as hard targets on ranges.  The Canadian Army web site list indicates that 66 Leopard C2 remain in service.

(Master Sgt. Mitch Gettle, USAF Photo)

Canadian Leopard C2 tank being driven onto a  USAF Boeing C-17 Globemaster III named the "Spirit of McChord" for the transport 7 Oct 2006, from Manas Air Base, Kyrgyzstan, to Kandahar Air Base, Afghanistan.

(Hellopple Photo)

Canadian Leopard C2, LdSH, Kandahar, Afghanistan, 3 Dec 2006.

Canada sent a squadron of Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians) to Afghanistan in the fall of 2006, equipped with fifteen Leopard C2 tanks with add-on armour, as well as two recovery vehicles and two engineering vehicles.  The armoured squadron is intended to provide convoy protection, supporting Canada’s Provincial Reconstruction Teams and other organizations equipped with lighter vehicles.  The first tanks arrived in Kandahar in mid-October 2006.  On 2 December 2006 the Leopards stationed in Kandahar entered the field, marking the first time since the Korean War that a Canadian armoured squadron had sent tanks into an active war zone, and fired their guns in combat for the first time in as many years on the following day in response to a Taliban rocket attack.

After an initial assessment of the performance of the Leopard C2 in Afghanistan, Canada decided to invest in Leopard 2 tanks.  It was determined that the lack of adequate air conditioning (essential in the searing heat of Afghanistan,) was degrading the tank crew’s war fighting ability.  The Army later downplayed this factor, citing increased armour protection and the main gun armament as reasons for upgrading to the Leopard 2.  After some public speculation, Canadian Defence minister Hon. Gordon O’Connor clarified the situation on Thursday, 12 April 12, 2007.

(Author Photo)

Leopard 2A6 Main Battle Tank, Combat Training Centre (CTC) Armour School, 5 Canadian Division Support Base Gagetown, New Brunswick.

To meet immediate needs in Afghanistan, twenty of the Bundeswehr’s stock of Leopard 2A6s were upgraded to 2A6M standard and loaned to Canada at no cost by the German government.  Two Leopard 2 Büffel Armoured Recovery Vehicles were acquired at the same time.  These vehicles were shipped from Germany to Afghanistan, with the first arriving on 16 August 2007.

For the long term, Canada plans to replace the borrowed Leopard 2 tanks with a purchase of 100 surplus vehicles from the Netherlands, including 40 Leopard 2A6Ms for combat service, 40 Leopard 2A4s for training, and 20 support vehicles, such as Armoured Recovery Vehicles, Bridge-Layers and Armoured Engineer vehicles.

The older Leopard C2 tanks are considered to become completely obsolete by 2015, but specific plans for them have not yet been announced.  Up until deployment with the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan the Leopard 1 C2 had never seen active combat.  Wikipedia.

(Author Photo)

Leopard A4, C Tp, RCD, Armour in service with the RCD at the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps School (RCACS), 5 Canadian Division Support Base Gagetown, New Brunswick, 2016.

(Author Photo)

Leopard A4M, C Tp, RCD, Armour in service with the RCD at the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps School (RCACS), 5 Canadian Division Support Base Gagetown, New Brunswick, 2016.

(Author Photo)

Leopard A6, C Tp, RCD, Armour in service with the RCD at the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps School (RCACS), 5 Canadian Division Support Base Gagetown, New Brunswick, 2016.

‍