Editing Leopard 1 (section)

=== Leopard 1A3 ===
[[File:BW 1984 HamburgUebung 020.jpg|thumb|right|The Leopard 1A3 received a new, welded turret which can be distinguished by its angular shape. Seen here is a vehicle of 	PzGrenBtl 301 in 1984.]]
The next 110 vehicles in the fifth production batch were fitted with a new type of welded turret designed by Blohm & Voss, which was equipped with spaced armour (consisting of two steel plates with a plastic filling between them), and a wedge-shaped gun mantlet, resulting in the '''Leopard 1A3'''. Although the level of armour protection was equivalent to the cast turrets of the prior A2, the internal volume was increased by 1.5 m<sup>3</sup> and the effective protection level was increased. The commander was given an improved TRP 2A independent observation periscope and both of the loader's fixed periscopes were replaced with a single unit with tilt and traverse adjustment. Most of the vehicles of this batch were allocated to the [[10th Panzer Division (Bundeswehr)|10th]] and [[12th Panzer Division (Bundeswehr)|12th Panzer Divisions]]. Henceforth, all newly manufactured Leopard 1 tanks from Krauss-Maffei and MaK would use this welded turret, as casting large parts such as tank turrets was overly complex and the welded design carried greater upgrade potential.

Subsequent upgrades were parallel to the 1A2 models: the '''Leopard 1A3A1''' with improved night sights, '''Leopard 1A3A2''' with the new radios, and the '''Leopard 1A3A3''' with both.