The Leclerc crew is protected via an advanced modular armor system, which can be tailored to the threat. The commander is provided with a panoramic sight that incorporates a laser rangefinder and an image intensifier, while the gunner’s sight also features a thermal range finder. The normal ammunition load is 22 ready-use rounds in the turret, with an additional 18 stored with the hull. The autoloader can also quickly switch between APFSDS and HEAT rounds, the two principal types of projectiles carried in the vehicle.
The aforementioned autoloader enables the Leclerc to sustain a rate of fire of upwards to 12 rounds per minute. The gun is fully stabilized to allow for firing on the move, even cross country. The French third-generation tank is armed with a 120mm (4.7-inch) smoothbore main gun that is actually longer in size than the guns on either the German-made Leopard 2 or the American-built M1 Abrams, yet fires largely the same ammunition. Generally considered an excellent vehicle, the Leclerc is equipped with an automatic loading system or the main armament, while remote-control machine guns allow the crew to be reduced to just three, including a commander, driver, and gunner. How the Leclerc Was Bornĭesigned to replace the French Army’s fleet of AMX-30 tanks, development of the Leclerc began nearly four decades ago, while the first production models first rolled into service in 1991. While less successful designs, notably the Char B, are now remembered in the modern era, the French also developed the highly successful Leclerc, a third-generation main battle tank (MBT) named in honor of Marshal Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque, a commander of the Free French Forces, who led the 2nd Armored Division in World War II.
Though the British were the early pioneers of these “land ships,” it should be remembered that it was the French Army that developed the now classic design with the Renault FT light tank, which was the first to feature a top-mounted turret.Īfter the war, the French military continued to improve upon the concept.
It was during that conflict too that the first tanks were developed and roll across the battlefields of the Western Front. Expert Analysis: Meet the Leclerc Tank: The French military is all too often the brunt of a joke – despite the fact that its soldiers were among the true victors in the First World War.
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