Sehenswertes
Flakpanzer Gepard
Twin anti-aircraft guns mounted on a modified Leopard 1 chassis.
Inhaltssprache
The Gepard is a self-propelled anti-aircraft system built on a modified Leopard 1 tank chassis. Two 35 mm Oerlikon KDA guns were mounted on either side of its turret. The vehicle had a crew of three and weighed 47.5 tonnes. Its ten-cylinder MTU engine produced 830 metric horsepower, allowing a maximum speed of 65 km/h.
Production took place at Krauss-Maffei between 1976 and 1980. A total of 420 vehicles were built for the Bundeswehr, 55 for Belgium and 95 for the Netherlands; the Dutch variant used different radars. Guns mounted on either side of the turret and radar equipment define the Gepard’s silhouette. It demonstrates how a tank chassis could be used for a different task: protection against threats from the air. The construction has two distinct parts to consider: a base for travelling across terrain and extensive equipment for detecting targets and delivering anti-aircraft fire.
Für Kinder
Gepard has an animal’s name, but here it refers to an anti-aircraft vehicle. Its job was to protect against threats from the air. Two 35-millimetre guns were fitted, one on each side of the turret. Its equipment also included radars, devices that help detect objects at a distance.
The lower part of the vehicle was based on a modified Leopard 1 tank chassis. This shows how a similar foundation could be used to build a machine with a different job. The chassis allowed it to move, while the turret equipment was used for air defence.
The Gepard weighed 47.5 tonnes and had a crew of three. It was powered by an engine with ten cylinders. These vehicles were built between 1976 and 1980 for Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. The Dutch version had different radars. Two machines can therefore look similar at first glance while having different equipment.
Frage 1 von 2
Which tank chassis formed the basis of the Gepard?
- military technology