Leopard isn't in line

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It's not a performance show, it's a day-to-day event at the Undate Service Center and Repair of Leopard Tanks. And at the same time a fresh phase for the Zagan 34th Armored Cavalry Brigade and the full 11th Lublin Armored Cavalry Division. Until recently, specified a tank, if it required more serious interference, was on its way to the Military Motorization Plant in Poznań. Now the device doesn't even leave the garrison.

Leopards in Żagań are not new. It was here that the skills for their operation were built, crews and mechanics trained, procedures developed. But erstwhile the wagons were moved to another units in the east of the country, the strategy was by no means scattered. But now the communicative has circled. – After respective years Leopard tanks returned to 34th Brigade – says General Piotr Fajkowski, commander of 11 DKPanc. – Earlier, after handing most of them over to the east wall, the brigade switched mainly to T-72 operation. Now we had to recreate the possible of Leopards and prepare a service and repair base for them.

Out of the power pack – engine and gearbox

But this is more than rebuilding the ability of a peculiar individual. The Centre in Żagań is not a workshop “at the brigade”. It is to operate Leopardy of both armored pillars of the division – 34 and 10th Armored Cavalry Brigade. “The focus of people and infrastructure in 1 place clearly increases our service and repair capabilities,” stresses the commander of Lubuskie battleships. – And importantly reduces the dimension of time the car is out of service.

Leopard is not a car that you can just put in a workshop. It is simply a 64-ton colossus that moves on caterpillars all day and, even if it is full functional, should not decision on public roads without appropriate preparation. “The organisation of specified transport requires the engagement of many people,” points out Lieutenant Agnieszka Sierko, the press officer of the 11th Logistics Regiment, on the basis of which the Żagań centre was established. Until now, it looked like this: going to Poznań meant travelling on a tow truck in a convoy. Due to the size of the carts and the mass of the set, it was essential to get the approval of the General Directorate of National Roads and Motorways for the journey, to draw up a way taking into account the burden capacity of bridges and viaducts and to approve the convoy's plan – with a precisely defined time of departure and stops. specified transport could not have left the designated road.

And then the second phase started. Poznań betting operates equipment from many units in the country. The tank got in line and waited. At that time, it was not utilized to train crew and method personnel. It could take respective months.

Mechanical engineering and armaments

Leopardy is not subject to the classic, known for handling post-Soviet equipment, division into mediate or main repairs. In their case, a German strategy of ‘F’-marked reviews applies. From quarterly F1 to half-year F2, yearly F3, two-year F4 to ten-year F6 – the most advanced, including tower lifting and distribution of most components of the car (the F5 level is not available). - F1 and F2 make crew. We start with F3 – explains Paweł Lewandowski, squad leader and workshop manager. Each level is simply a different number of man-hours and a different scope of work. F3 is about 120 man-hours. F4 – 200 – reads Lewandowski. “This is serious service,” he adds.

It is within the "four" that pulls the power pack from the hull – for example, to find the sources of leaks. – Sometimes the oil will flow through the housing and it looks like the leak is in a completely different place. – Sławomir Council is active in the discussion. We request to divided up the drive and look inside. Only then can you see where the problem truly is. This takes time – emphasizes the mechanic with more than 20 years of experience. Operation power pack depuration precedes, among others, the release of fluids from it. Then the engine and the box hit a peculiar table with guides, the expansion of which allows to separate both parts. Only then is it possible to control seals and connections accurately. After the responsibility has been removed, the assembly is folded, the systems are re-filled with liquids, filters are replaced and a stationary test begins. If the parameters are normal, the power pack returns to the hull.

How long does it take to operate F3 and F4? - About a month. That's all it takes to get through all stages – says Lewandowski. A period is simply a lot, but inactive much little than would take transport, waiting in line and returning from the Poznań plant. This difference – calculated in weeks – stands behind the next step. Today, the possibilities of a Żagań hotel end in F4. However, the divisional command wants to go further and gain independency besides at F6.

But Leopard is not only a mechanical vehicle – equally crucial is what is in the tower. due to the fact that the tank has to shoot, too. Therefore, a “fleet” is besides needed, as the personnel of the Saiyan centre calls arms handling. “We are checking the full system,” said Wojciech Kerc, the weapons engineer. In the case of F3 the service includes, among others, the replacement of dryers and the blowing of optics. “We usage nitrogen to get free of moisture,” Kerc explains.

The mechanics besides check the cannon with peculiar attention – the condition of the barrel and its housing, control the side drive, replace oil, measure the condition of ammunition tanks. They take the resistors and returnors under the mirror – elements liable for the behaviour of the cannon at the time of the shot. If the back door isn't working, the cannon can go back besides far. Then there would be serious harm to the tower – explains the weapons mechanic.

Uncountable experience

The decision that circumstantial Leopard will pass the service is made much earlier. – Planning takes place in a two-year cycle. Based on the needs of the brigade and the possibilities of the 11th Regiment refurbishment battalion, a plan of maintenance and repair tasks for a given year is being created – explains Major Tomasz Wieczych from the Faculty of Logistics G4 11th Division. Although the agenda makes tanks not accidentally enter the hall, derogations are necessary. – If any equipment fails, it is improved first. Only later is planned service performed – emphasizes Major Wieszach.

Previously, any of these tasks had to be transferred outside the division – to repair facilities, manufacturers, logistics structures at the operational level. Today, the vast majority of them are implemented in the Żagań. As a result, the battalion commander does not wait for information erstwhile the outside plant finds the open window. He sees on the agenda erstwhile his tank enters the hall and erstwhile he should leave it.

Everything is so counted: man-hours, F1–F6 cycles, time forks. It is besides time essential to get basic powers. – The Leopard chassis mechanics course takes about 450 hours. This is not a short training on paper, but a demanding discipline that translates into real skills, says Lt Agnieszka Sierko. The courses are held at the Leopard Training Centre in Świętszow – a place that has been the competence base of the armory for years. Not only the commander, gunman or driver, but besides the chassis and armament mechanics.

But there is 1 thing that cannot be written in the table – it is experience. I've been in Leopards since 2002. I went to courses in Germany, specialist training – says Paweł Lewandowski. But the most crucial thing is the regular work. A man acquires experience in practice – he points out. Leopard is credited with a grateful design. Access to components is better than in older post-Soviet tanks. A good diagnostic strategy tells us where to find the problem. but even the best strategy can't replace a mechanic who can admit the oil spill. It's frequently said in the army about equipment. little people who care about this equipment. Meanwhile, even the best tank without specialists is only a part of dense metallic – sees Lt. Sierko.

Modernized Leopard 2PL.

In Aggressivity this dependence is visible as on the hand. The crane can lift 15 tons. The fishing table allows to separate the engine from the gearbox with a millimeter precision. The method documentation describes each screw. But it's up to man to decide if Leopard goes back to the sub-section full functional. The Leopard Maintenance and Tank Repair Centre does not execute miracles. It does not increase cannon caliber or armor thickness. It increases something else – predictability and the rate of recovery. And in modern armies, the pace of action can be as crucial as the power of fire.