Hi it’s me Logan, and this time I’m going to do another tank showcase. This time I am going to talk about the French Main Battle Tank (MBT), Leclerc, which is one of my favorite tanks to study. I will also be going a little bit more in depth about the Leclerc, talking about some of its cool systems, things it can do, and where it came from.
History
The Leclerc MBT is a tank designed in 1983-1989 and was meant to replace the AMX 30 in the MBT role. It was named after the French commander, Marshal Philippe Leclerc de Hautecloque, who led the 2nd Armored Division during World War 2. The Leclerc is manufactured by Nexter Systems, which is France’s government weapons and armor manufacturer. The Leclerc was put into service in 1992 and is still in service today.
Weapons
The Leclerc is armed with a 120 millimeter (mm) smoothbore gun. The 120 mm gun is 45 calibers long, which gives the projectile a higher velocity when fired. The Leclerc also features two machine guns. The coaxial machine gun is a 50 caliber, meant for clearing infantry and light armored vehicles. And the second machine gun, which is a 30 caliber, is mounted near a hatch on the roof of the turret.
Special Systems
The Leclerc has had many modifications over the years. The modern systems on the Leclerc include a hard-kill system for detecting incoming projectiles; an automatic loading device to replace having an additional person to load, as well as being able to put out 9 rounds per minute; advanced sensors, for detecting surrounding objects; and targeting sensors, allowing the tank to be able to detect the range and speed at which an object is moving, making the Leclerc more accurate.
Crew
The Leclerc has been modified a lot, which also has affected the crew of the tank. There have been special heating and air conditioning devices installed for maximum crew comfort. The automatic loading system replaces the role of a loader, bringing the crew count to only 3 people. However, the autoloading mechanism can malfunction when a person normally wouldn’t. If the Leclerc got hit, the autoloading mechanism can be damaged and may not work. If a person would be loading, the Leclerc could still protect the loader and the gun will still be able to be loaded as if the gun or loader was never damaged.
Mobility
The Leclerc is one of the fastest MBTs of the century. The top speed of the Leclerc is around 70 kilometers per hour but testing speeds have been recorded above 80 kilometers per hour. The MBTs in NATO have been tested together by their gun accuracy and mobility. The Leclerc outperformed most of the tanks at the testing grounds. The Leclerc outperformed the American M1A2 Abrams, which is a rare thing. Not many tanks outperform an Abrams in mobility, but the Leclerc can.
Thank you so much for reading my article, this is one of my favorite things to do. If anybody has any suggestions for a vehicle discussion, please email Emerald Press advisor Mrs. Greenway: [email protected]
