Leopard 2A4 (Italy)

Description

The ◔Leopard 2A4 is a rank Hungarian medium tank with a battle rating of (AB), (RB), and (SB) in the Italian research tree. It was introduced in Update "Sons of Attila" as part of the Hungarian branch of the Italian tech tree.

General info

Survivability and armour

Leopard 2A4 Protection Density Visualisation

The Leopard 2A4's kinetic protection is reasonable, with the turret cheeks near-invulnerable to all but the most powerful rounds (e.g. CL3143) and the upper front plate capable of protecting against less powerful rounds (e.g. M735) - however besides these sections the remainder of the vehicle is largely vulnerable to high-powered kinetic rounds; of note are the weak lower front plate and the gun mantlet, both of which are reasonably visible targets, as well as the gunner's optics.

The vehicle sports significantly better all-round chemical protection, with an upper hull and turret essentially immune to all but the most powerful ATGMs frontally, with upwards of 800mm worth of equivalent protection in places. Despite this, it's advisable to be wary of incoming ATGMs as a well-placed round may sneak past the heavily protected areas - and some missiles such as those of the ADATS will slice straight through even the turret cheeks.

As with most other MBTs, the 2A4 is particularly vulnerable from the sides and back.

The Leopard 2A4 is reasonably survivable, with some degree of crew spacing. However, from certain angles, the crew are placed in a straight line and successful penetration may impact three of the four crew members, resulting in a crew knock-out. In addition, well-placed side shots may impact all three turret crew members.

Ammunition is stored in the primary ammunition storage in the rear of the turret, or in the secondary storage next to the driver. The primary rack provides crew protection through the use of blow-out panels, however only has space for 15 rounds. When more than 16 rounds are taken to battle, ammunition will be stored in the significantly more vulnerable hull rack.

The Leopard 2A4's protection proves acceptable for long-range combat, although it's ill-advised to remain in one location for any extended period of time to avoid opposing vehicles being able to hone their shots onto your weak spots. The 2A4's protection should not be relied upon in urban or other close-range environments.

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour (hull sides, rear, and roof, turret sides, rear, and roof)
• High hardness rolled armour (hull front, turret front, gun mantlet)
• Cast homogeneous armour (gun mantlet frame)
• Composite screen (front side skirts)
• Structural stell (rear side skirts)

Notes:

• Suspension wheels, tracks, and torsion bars are 20 mm thick.

Mobility

The Leopard 2A4 (Italy) is powered by an MTU MB 873 Ka-501 engine which produces a whopping 1,500 hp (1,100 KW), resulting in a power-to-weight ratio of slightly over 27 hp per tonne, compared to the ratio of the early Abrams and identical to the T-80U. As such, the Leopard 2A4 (Italy) is quite mobile despite weighing over 55 tonnes, comfortably able to reach 72 km/h on-road and well capable of keeping up with its competitors. This allows for an active, aggressive playstyle, using the Leopard's high speed and good acceleration characteristics to get into an early flanking position or take early cap points - though it is important to keep in mind that opposition forces might attempt the same.

The Leopard 2A4 (Italy) has a maximum reverse speed of 31 km/h which it reaches easily, allowing for a quick retreat in sub-optimal situations.

Modifications and economy

The first modifications to research should be Parts, FPE, and the DM13 round. After that, aim for the NVD, DM23, Laser rangefinder, or mobility upgrades, depending on the desired playstyle.

Armaments

Main armament

The famous Rheinmetall L/44 120 mm cannon is mounted as the primary armament on the Leopard 2A4, offering a balance of firepower, accuracy and sustained rate of fire. The 2A4 has three rounds available to it: DM12 HEATFS, DM13 APFSDS and DM23 APFSDS. Of these, only DM12 is available when the vehicle is stock, with DM13 a tier 1 and DM23 a tier 4 modification. The L/44 is reasonably accurate at long range with any ammunition, however minor round deviation may be evident at extreme ranges (over 2,000 m).

It's advisable to primarily rely on the best available APFSDS round for engaging other MBTs, however, retaining a couple of DM12 rounds can prove valuable against lighter vehicles such as the ADATS.

Ammunition

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Leopard 2A4 (Italy)

Notes:

• Shells are modeled individually and disappear after having been shot or loaded.
• Rack 2 is a first stage ammo rack located within a blow-out containment
• It totals 15 shells and gets filled first when loading up the tank and emptied first when firing.
• If you pack 16 (+26) shells, it will keep the hull empty of ammo.
• Full reload speed will be realized as long as shells are available in the ready rack 2. If the ready rack is empty, a penalty to reload speed will occur.
• Simply not firing when the gun is loaded will move ammo from rack 1 into rack 2. Firing will interrupt the restocking of the ready rack.

Machine guns

The 2A4 is equipped with one pintle-mounted machine gun and one coaxial machine gun. These can be used as an anti-air deterrent or for clearing out light obstacles and crew from open vehicles.

Usage in battles

The Leopard 2A4 may feel somewhat sluggish when stock, and the DM12 HEATFS round may appear to be relatively ineffective. Prior to researching improved rounds and engine modifications, it may be wise to play conservatively.

Once the vehicle's modifications are all researched, however, the 2A4 becomes significantly more mobile and has a competitive, albeit not impressive round in the DM23 APFSDS. The 2A4 can be used comfortably in both urban and rural environments, providing the vehicle's weaknesses are kept in mind. While it is capable in most forms of engagement, it does lack the precision of the British Challenger MBTs or the extreme round velocities of the Soviet T-64/T-80 series. The 2A4 also has a particularly large and blocky profile, making for a particularly visible target in many situations.

Considering the above, a Leopard 2A4 player should utilise its great mobility and competitive gun to get into early positions to pick off unsuspecting targets, rather than attempting to engage opposing forces head-on.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Powerful engine, high top speed and acceleration
• Good neutral steering system
• Good gunner sight magnification for long-range engagements
• Reasonably high-velocity kinetic rounds
• Competent DM23 APFSDS
• Turret armour is mostly effective for hull-down engagements
• Primary ammunition is contained within a storage unit with blow-out panels
• Generation 1 thermals in the gunner sight

Cons:

• Hull armour is mediocre, particularly against kinetic rounds
• The stock DM12 HEATFS round can prove relatively ineffectual when compared to DM13/DM23, particularly against targets with ERA
• The gunner's optics are a weak spot, enemies who know how to aim can cripple your gun and kill your crew
• The gun mantlet is relatively weak while being quite prominent, penetration can disable the gun or knock turret crew out
• The turret cheeks can be penetrated by most APFSDS rounds when hit at the right angle
• Secondary ammunition storage is extremely vulnerable, although this is avoidable by carrying no more than 16 rounds
• Both machine guns are relatively light calibre, suffer from mediocre gun elevation and will not prove to be much more an annoyance to aircraft, particularly helicopters
• Blowout panels are unreliable and have a low capacity

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Leopard 2A4 (Italy) from live.warthunder.com.

See also

Related development

• Leopard 2 (Family)

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.