Tank origin

The rearmament of the Bundeswehr in 1955 immediately created the need for a Main Battle Tank (MBT). After purchasing M47 and M48 Pattons from the US, a program to develop a modern, competitive tank was undertaken. After several waves of an intensive design competition prototypes, the new vehicle, designated the Leopard, was approved for mass production. The first production models of the Leopard 1 rolled off the production line in 1965. The Leopard 1 featured a British L7A3 105 mm gun, overpressure Nuclear Biological Chemical (NBC) protection, gun stabilization and IR illumination night vision. As a testament to the solid design of the Leopard 1, it was exported to Belgium, The Netherlands, Norway, Italy, Denmark, Australia, Canada, Turkey and Greece becoming what many consider to be the standard MBT of Western Europe. Manufactured by Germany