You can't ignore a tank.
Sure, you can try to hold a conversation whilst one is slowly and implacably rolling up behind you, but it just roars louder. Eventually, you've no choice but to shut up, turn around, and watch the 62.5-tonne death machine stroll into its new home.
About 14 newly refurbished Leopard 2A4M tanks rolled into the Edmonton Garrison last month. Troops from the Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) have spent the last several weeks getting to know the mean machines, which are meant to replace their old Leopard 1 models.
Sgt. Edward Morley says there's a world of difference between them. "I'd take these [new ones] any day."
Leopards change spots
Pistons growling and exhaust snorting out its rear, one of the new Leopards rolls to a stop inside the giant hangar that locals call the White Whale (due to its colour). With some more ornery snorts, the tank spins 90 degrees in place before squeezing in between its brethren lined up against one wall. Facing them is a line of Leopard 1s, known as C2s in Canada.
When Canada first sent its Leopard 1s into Afghanistan in 2006 it soon became clear that the almost 40-year-old hulks weren't up for the job, says Jim Fergusson, director of the Centre for Defence and Security Studies at the University of Manitoba.
These tanks were already creeping into museums when Canada got them around 1978, says Morley, a Hamilton, Ont., native with 10 years in the army. The troops kept them running, but it became harder and harder to get parts.
The problems really started to show when the tanks hit Afghanistan.
"Because they weren't built for desert warfare," Morley says, "the personnel inside, the crewmen, had a lot of problems with the heat."
With no air conditioning or cooling systems, the insides of these tanks would often get up to 10 degrees hotter than the air outside — air that often hovered around 40 C. "The guys just started sweating."
Around 2007, Fergusson says, Canada announced that it would buy up to 100 refurbished Leopard 2s from the Netherlands to replace its tank fleet at a cost of about $1.3 billion. It would also lease 20 of them from Germany so troops could use them in Afghanistan.
Tanks have proved very useful in Afghanistan, Fergusson says.
"Main battle tanks have a way of capturing everyone's attention," he explains, and just parking one in a village can deter enemies and stabilize a situation. "Insurgents simply don't have the capability to deal with a tank."
Tanks gave the troops mobility and firepower, says Morley, as well as almost complete protection during gun battles for anyone inside them. "[The insurgents] couldn't really penetrate the hull." It also protected them from all but the biggest roadside bombs.
The Leopard 2s are considerably more advanced than the 1s, says Morley, who used both in Afghanistan.
"We're looking at about a 35-to-40-year advance in technology."
Visually, the Leopard 2s are more angular and about half a metre wider than their predecessors. They're a little faster, Morley says, a little more manoeuvrable, and better armed and armoured. Each has a 120-millimetre main gun, he notes, which is about two centimetres wider than the ones on their old tanks.
"Two centimetres is a big difference," he says, as it means bigger shells for bigger booms.
A close look at the outside reveals boxy night-vision cameras on the front and back of the Leopard 2 for better visibility. Up top, on the massive picnic-table-sized turret, is a specialized targeting scope that can, at the push of a button, aim the main gun at whatever it's pointed at. The turret itself is also electric instead of hydraulic, moving with eerie silence as it swivels back and forth.
The inside is a lot roomier than the old Leopard, Morley says, which makes it easier for its four-person crew to work. The tanks also have water-filled cooling vests for the crew, which are extremely useful in hot conditions.
Rolling ahead
It's hard to say how useful the Leopards will be now that Canada's out of Afghanistan, Fergusson says.
"They're becoming less and less useful in the modern, advanced battlefields of today," he notes, as they're big, slow targets for bombers, but should still be useful in insurgency-type conflicts like Afghanistan.
Canada still has about 48 old Leopards in its fleet, says Capt. Robert Cooper, which it plans to use for gun training next year. About five will be kept around to act as mine-clearers until 2014. The old tanks should be completely out of service by 2015.
Some of the troops might get a little nostalgic about the old tanks, Morley says, but most are pumped about the new ones and hope to take them on field exercises this spring.
Note: the photo caption information in this story has been corrected. The tanks were initially identified as Leopard C2 tanks.
