Flugabwehrkanonenpanzer Gepard
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| Flugabwehrkanonenpanzer Gepard | |
|---|---|
| General characteristics | |
| Crew | 3 (driver, gunner, commander) |
| Length | (guns forward) 7.68 m |
| Width | 3.71 m |
| Height | (radar lowered) 3.29 m |
| Weight | 47 t |
| Armour and armament | |
| Armour | |
| Main armament | 2 x 35 mm autocannon
320 rounds |
| Secondary armament | 8 x smoke grenade dischargers |
| Mobility | |
| Power plant | 10-cylinder, 37.4 litre MTU multi-fuel engine 820 hp (610 kW) |
| Suspension | torsion bar |
| Road speed | 65 km/h |
| Power/weight | |
| Range | 550 km |
For the WW2 German self-propelled anti-aircraft gun see Flakpanzer 38(t)
The Flakpanzer (shortened form of the German Flugabwehrkanonenpanzer or "anti-aircraft cannon tank") Gepard (engl. Cheetah) is an autonomous, all-weather-capable German self propelled anti-aircraft gun (SPAAG).
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[edit] Description
It is based on the Leopard 1 tank hull with a large fully rotating turret carrying the armament—a pair of 35 mm Oerlikon KDA autocannons and the two radar dishes—a general search radar at the rear of the turret and the tracking radar at the front between the guns.
The guns are 90 calibres (3.15 m) long, with a muzzle velocity of 1,400 m/s (FAPDS rounds), giving an effective range of 5,500 m. The KDA autocannon can take two different ammunition types, and the usual loading is a mix of 320 AA and 20 AP rounds per gun. Combined rate of fire is 1,100 rounds/min.
The electrically driven turret is powered by a 40 kW generator driven by a 4-cylinder, 3.8 litre Mercedes-Benz OM 314 multi-fuel engine.
A missile system upgrade, which mounts the U.S. Stinger surface-to-air missile to the autocannon is in development; since the eighties it had already been common for Stinger teams to accompany the Gepard units, so that they could take advantage of their long-range scanning capacity.
The Gepard was developed from 1963 onwards. In 1969 construction began of four A prototypes testing both 30 and 35 mm guns. On 25 June 1970 it was decided to use the 35 mm type. In 1971 twelve second phase B prototypes were ordered; the same year the Dutch army ordered a CA preseries of five vehicles based on a parallel development that had used a German 0-series Leopard 1 vehicle made available by the German government in March 1970 as the C-prototype. The Germans made a small preseries of both the B1and B2R. On 5 February 1973 the political decision was made to produce the type; in September 1973 the contract was signed with Krauss-Maffei for 432 B2 turrets and 420 hulls with a total value of DM1,200,000,000. Each vehicle would thus be about three times more expensive than a normal Leopard 1. The first was delivered in December 1976. Belgium ordered 55 vehicles, identical to the German version. The Dutch ordered three batches, the CA1, CA2 and CA3 with in total 95 vehicles, equipped with Philips radar systems.
[edit] Variants
There are two variants of Gepard in service; the Dutch has a different radar installation.
Germany
- Search radar: S band, 15 km range
- Tracking radar: Ku band, 15 km range
- Laser range finder
The Netherlands
The Dutch version was officially called the PRTL (PantserRupsTegenLuchtdoelen or "Armoured Tracked Anti-Aircraft"), pronounced as "pruttle" by the soldiers. The Dutch series version was made public through a photograph of a vehicle from a C-Company, the first to be equipped with the new weapon. Traditionally all Dutch vehicles in a company have names beginning with the company designation letter and this vehicle happened to have the individual name Cheetah painted in bold type on its turret. Inevitably the international press assumed "Cheetah" was the Dutch name for their Gepard version and this mistake found its way into most armour publications on the subject. In 2000 the Dutch military authorities, tired of constantly having to explain all this and considering "pruttle" was hardly a martial name anyway, confirmed themselves to common error and made "Cheetah" the official designation, when the system was upgraded.
[edit] Users
Germany (377)
The Netherlands (60)
Belgium (55)
Romania (43, ex-German Bundeswehr)
Chile (60)
