A nostalgic exercise in Germany using old Leopard 1A5 tanks of Danish origin

In 1965, just 20 years after the end of World War II, West Germany began receiving Leopard 1 tanks.

The almost unrecognizable appearance of the Ukrainian Army's Leopard 1A5 tanks
Flakpanzer Gepard, the German vehicle that fights against Russian drones in Ukraine

This model was the first tank manufactured in Germany after that bloody war. The German Army operated almost 2,500 Leopard 1s out of the 4,700 units manufactured. It was a very advanced tank for its time and replaced the American M-47 and M-48 Patton models in Germany. The Leopard 1 remained in service with the German Army until 2003, when the last ones were retired from active service and replaced by the more modern Leopard 2.

However, 23 years later, the German Army is seeing Leopard 1 tanks again at one of its training grounds, and not because they have returned to service, at least not in Germany. In fact, they aren't even tanks used by the German Army: they are Leopard 1A5DKs of Danish origin, a country whose army operated 230 armored vehicles of this type for a relatively short period, between 1995 and 2005, when they were replaced by the Leopard 2.

These tanks are being used by the European Union Military Assistance Mission in Support of Ukraine (EUMAM UA) to train Ukrainian crews of Leopard 1 tanks provided by several countries as military aid against the Russian invasion. As we saw here in 2024, the Leopard 1 is a tank highly valued by Ukrainians, who consider it far superior to its Soviet-era counterparts. As is customary in Ukraine, Ukrainian Leopard 1s have been covered with Kontakt-1 reactive armor blocks to provide them with additional protection.

Yesterday, the Bundeswehr released a video showing this training exercise at an undisclosed location. This training will surely have stirred up nostalgia among veteran members of the German Army. Ukrainian tank crews are being trained by personnel from the German and Dutch armed forces. The video is in German; you can activate automatic English subtitles in the player's bottom bar:

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Main image: Bundeswehr.