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Canadians train on the Leopard 2A6M
Canadian Forces Army News ^ | 2007-07-10 | Sgt Brad Phillips

Posted on 07/11/2007 4:38:26 PM PDT by Clive

MUNSTER, Germany – "I think this is the best tank in the world," states Master Corporal Patrick Lepage, of 12e Régiment blindé du Canada (12 RBC). He shares his sentiments on the Leopard 2A6M tank that Canada has leased from Germany echoing the thoughts of all the troops at the training centre in Munster Germany.

Capt Pascal Croteau (on right) and WO Yves Curadeau both from 12 RBC measure the distance between the 120mm holes to ensure that the tank that fired the rounds is functioning correctly.

MCpl Lepage is the crew commander of 32C; his crew is comprised of soldiers from 12 RBC. But the soldiers training in Munster are a diverse group and have come from all of the Regular Force Armoured units, Lord Strathcona Horse (Royal Canadians) (LdSH(RC)), Royal Canadian Dragoons (RCD) and 12 RBC and

Army News caught up with the troops near the end of their training and all of them were itching to get on the range and fire the powerful 120mm gun.

To begin their training crews were split up as the drivers went off to the German driving school while the rest of the crews spent time in classrooms and simulators. The Canadians were very appreciative of the knowledge and skill level of their German instructors, although at times the lessons could be challenging, as they were conducted through translators.

The German Army takes a very structured approach to instruction and they wanted to make sure that the Canadian soldiers fully understood each stage of instruction before moving on. While this proved to be a little frustrating to the Canadians it was fully understood. The troops doing the training now will be deploying to Afghanistan later this summer and will be using the Leopard 2A6M's in theatre.

A Leopard 2A6M fires a round down range during work up training held near Munster Germany.

Once the dry training had been completed crews were all reunited and the tanks taken on a 50km road move to the training area where the live fire portion of the training would commence. The tanks thundering down the back roads of the Munster area was a very impressive sight and sound. With the weight of the tank at 62,000kg and 6 of them thundering down the road each with 1500 horse power propelling them it caused the ground to shake and prompted one nervous photographer to move well away from the road.

One reason for the extreme weight is the added armour under the belly of the vehicle. The extra armour adds protection for the crew compartment of the vehicle should there be a landmine or IED strike directly under the vehicle.

According to Warrant Officer John Harju of the RCD the Leopard 2A6M is "probably the best protected tank in the world."

Once at the range the Canadians were lead through their paces by their very experienced Germany Army instructors. They went through their bore sighting, zeroing, static shooting with both the 120mm smooth bore gun and the German MG3 machine guns. Once the guns were sited and the static training was completed, the crews started with stab runs during the day and night and culminated their training with troop battle runs.

Cpl Eric Leduc the gunner on 32C has this message for those who would challenge the Leopard 2A6M in Afghanistan, "Be prepared, we will rock!"

Article and photos by Sergeant Brad Phillips.


TOPICS: Canada; Extended News; Foreign Affairs; Germany; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: armor; tankers; training
Box photos:


The crew of 32C prepare their Leopard 2A6M for live fire drills


Capt Pascal Croteau (on right) and WO Yves Curadeau both from 12 RBC measure the distance between the 120mm holes to ensure that the tank that fired the rounds is functioning correctly.


A Leopard 2A6M fires a round down range during work up training held near Munster Germany.

1 posted on 07/11/2007 4:38:26 PM PDT by Clive
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To: All
In addition to the 22 tanks leased from Germany, Canada is buying 100 from the Netherlands.

The lease was necessary in order to equip the next rotation to take place next month.

The tanks currently deployed are Leopard C2, effectively a Leopard C1 turret modified to C2 level. The lack of air conditioning in the C2 is problematic for summer operations in Afghanistan.

2 posted on 07/11/2007 4:42:53 PM PDT by Clive
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To: Clive

LOL! Gotta love the targets with the *huge* holes in them!


3 posted on 07/11/2007 4:43:52 PM PDT by Riley (The Fourth Estate is the Fifth Column.)
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To: Alberta's Child; albertabound; AntiKev; backhoe; Byron_the_Aussie; Cannoneer No. 4; ...

-


4 posted on 07/11/2007 4:44:10 PM PDT by Clive
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To: SandRat

-


5 posted on 07/11/2007 4:44:58 PM PDT by Clive
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To: Clive

Co Canandian Tankers!


6 posted on 07/11/2007 4:46:42 PM PDT by SandRat (Duty, Honor, Country. What else needs to be said?)
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To: Clive

Why did the Canuks chose the Leopard 2 over the British Challenger 2 or the US M1 A2 Abrams?


7 posted on 07/11/2007 5:06:39 PM PDT by rmlew (Build a wall, attrit the illegals, end the anchor babies, Americanize Immigrants)
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To: Clive
YEA!






8 posted on 07/11/2007 5:09:01 PM PDT by TLI ( ITINERIS IMPENDEO VALHALLA)
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To: rmlew

I’m guessing to leverage off of our experience with our existing Leapard tanks.


9 posted on 07/11/2007 5:21:32 PM PDT by -YYZ- (Strong like bull, smart like ox.)
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To: TLI

D’oh, but I can see the DNA of the WW2 Tiger tanks in the Leopards design, specifically the flat-front of the turret.


10 posted on 07/11/2007 5:49:11 PM PDT by ExcursionGuy84 ("Jesus, Your Love takes my breath away.")
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To: rmlew

Because we already use Leopard 1’s and the Leo 2 A6 is hands down the best tank in the world. All Canadian tankers have been dreaming about Leo 2’s for years.


11 posted on 07/11/2007 8:00:22 PM PDT by recce guy
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To: Clive
A couple of the pics later on in this thread are wrong. The link below has almost 40 pics of our guys and the tanks they are training on. Leo 2A6M

Leo2A6M Pics

12 posted on 07/11/2007 8:49:53 PM PDT by free_life
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To: archy; Gringo1; Matthew James; Fred Mertz; Squantos; colorado tanker; The Shrew; SLB; Darksheare; ..

Treadhead ping


13 posted on 07/11/2007 9:23:19 PM PDT by Cannoneer No. 4 (Civilian Irregular Information Defense Group http://cannoneerno4.wordpress.com)
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To: Cannoneer No. 4

Yes, but can it power slide?


14 posted on 07/12/2007 5:32:36 AM PDT by Darksheare ("Bah weep graaagnah wheep ni ni bong.")
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To: Clive

Congrats to the Canadian tankers - that’s a nice piece of machinery.


15 posted on 07/12/2007 10:34:05 AM PDT by colorado tanker
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