![]() ![]() The running gear consists of 14 (2×7) rubber-rimmed double dished road wheels, two idler wheels (at the front of the hull), two drive sprockets (rear hull) and ten (2×5) return rollers supporting two tracks. The engine compartment also has an automatic fire-extinguishing system. The engine is liquid-cooled and further optimized for operation in arid environments with an automatic air-cooling system which detects overheating conditions and activates a cooling fan on the engine deck. The MB 838 Ca M500 is a four-stroke, super-charged, 10-cylinder multi-fuel engine with a 90° Vee configuration and is coupled to a ZF transmission system with a fluid torque converter and an epicyclic gearbox with four forward and two reverse gears. The OF-40 is powered by a German-made MTU MB 838 Ca M500 diesel motor which provides an output of approx. This sight is co-aligned with a Selenia VAQ-33 laser rangefinder which has an effective range from 400 to 10,000 m. The tank gunner uses an 8x C125 telescopic sight to lay fire from the main cannon and coaxial MG. The sight is housed in an armoured turret located in front of the commander's hatch. The commander's station was outfitted with an independently stabilized VS 580-B panoramic day/night sight with an 8x magnification, co-developed with SFIM of France. The tank uses an advanced fire-control system developed by Officine Galileo. Two 7.62 mm machine guns make up the secondary armament: an electrically fired coaxial machine gun slaved to the main cannon and a second gun on an anti-aircraft pintle installed next to the loader's hatch on the turret. The cannon uses NATO-standard 105 mm ammunition with APDS (1470 m/s muzzle velocity), HEAT (1170 m/s), HESH (730 m/s), incendiary and smoke rounds. The cannon is equipped with a thermal sleeve, fume extractor and a semi-automatic breech mechanism and is aimed in both vertical and horizontal axes with an electro-hydraulic drive system. The armament consists of a 105 mm main gun with a rifled, 52-calibre barrel, developed by OTO Melara exclusively for this vehicle but very similar to the M68 gun (OTO also produced the M60 tank under licence), more compact and simpler than the L7 gun (especially the recoil system). The turret is located toward the middle of the tank, with the gunner and commander on the right side of the turret, and the loader on the left. The driver is located in the front-right of the hull, with ammunition storage and NBC overpressure system located to the driver's left. The engine, transmission and tracks are the same and the crew and ammunition layout too. The OF-40 follows the same layout of the Leopard, especially in the hull. The OF-40 does use the main mechanical components already produced for the Leopard 1, which had also been produced under license by OTO Melara since 1974. ![]() So they produced this new tank called OF-40, that actually was a further evolution of the Leopard/Lion lineage. Germany pulled out from this development and Italian industries could not sell the Lion without German permission. It is not a coincidence, as Oto Melara produced the Leopard under licence, and later worked with German industries to make the Lion/Leone tank, a tropicalized version of the Leopard, in order to freely sell it in the Middle East. Superficially, the OF-40 appears very similar to versions of the German Leopard 1 with welded turrets (Leopard 1A3 & 1A4). Initial design work was started by OTO Melara in 1977, with the first prototypes ready by 1980. OTO Melara would develop and produce the hulls, and automotive components would be provided by Fiat (the designation of the vehicle comes from the initials of the two companies, whereas "40" refers to the planned mass of the tank). ![]() The OF-40 is an Italian main battle tank developed as a joint venture between OTO Melara and Fiat, and intended primarily for export sales. ![]()
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