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Leopard II model painted enamel Forest Green, dry brushed in Tan. Innovative elongated turret shape held crew compartment upfront and ammuntion storage in rear (contrast with traditional tank layout of storing ammunition within crew compartment). In event of being stricken by enemy fire, blast wall exist between the storage and crew compartment, hence if munition bins exploded its direction would be vented upwards and away from crew quarters. This design concept was also adopted by US M1 Abrams tank design. Leopard 2 - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopard_2
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Inset 1 : Up-armored Canadian Leopard I tan during NATO deployment to anti-terrorist operations in Afghanistan in early 2000s. Given the country's mountainous terrain, tanks used in static defense role rather than mobility warfare. Threat mainly comes from roadside Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) rather than outright man-portable anti-armor ambushes seen during the decades-long Soviet occupation in 1970-1980s. Improvised explosive device - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ied
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Leopard II tank project originated from failed 1970s US-Germany MBT-70 / XM-803 tank design venture to counter Soviet T-72 tanks. Leading culprit for this collaborative failure was excessive cost overruns resulted from world oil shortage shocking the industrial economies, coupled by runaway global inflation (in late-1970s, US suffered nearly 20% inflation and unemployment rate nearing 10%). Nevertheless, Germans took the design specs to create the Leopard II, while US took their portion to design the M1 Abrams. MBT-70 and XM-803 - johnsmilitaryhistory.com/mbt70page.html
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Initial West German Bundeswehr Leopard 2 batch had overall European forest green camouflage, though by mid-1980s Germans introduced the 3-tone NATO-Flecktarnanstrich, consisting of Bronzegrün (RAL 6031), Teerschwarz (RAL 9021), Lederbraun (RAL 8027). German RAL prefix stands for Reichsausschuß für Lieferbedingungen (und Gütesicherung) or "Commission for Delivery Terms and Quality Assurance" : German color space industrial standard, instituted since 1927 with only 40 color definitions, expanded to 1,900 colors in modern era. Kampfpanzer Leopard 2 (Bw) - www.panzerbaer.de/colours/a_relaunch/bw_kpz_leopard_2.htm
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All German combat camouflage conforms to RAL standard. RAL institute name was changed to Deutsches Institut für Gütesicherung und Kennzeichnung (German Institute for Quality Assurance and Certification), but its color standard prefix was retained. RAL Deutsches Institut für Gütesicherung und Kennzeichnung - www.ral.de
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Inset 1 : With Leopard 2 weight at over 60 tons, any accident is going to  magnify such as this Leopard 2 toppling over when a military support bridge gave way. Only way to get crew out was emergency escape hatch underneath vehicle. Military bridges come in various forms to span specific lengths and support traffic weight, such as Girder, Support, Ferry bridges. WFEL - Military Bridges - www.army-technology.com/contractors/engineering/wfel/
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Rollover : Leopard IA1-A1 Turmverkleidung model, painted in dapple 3-tone European camouflage, similiar to NATO-Flecktarnanstrich color. Note that American nomenclature calls Leopard tank by its fullname, but British tend to shorten title to "Leo". KAMPFPANZER LEOPARD 1A1 (NO) - www.panzerbaer.de/colours/no_kpz_leopard_1a1.htm
- Inset 2 : Jagdleopard prototype (tank destroyer on Leopard tank chassis), following
 German WW2 tradition of mounting tank guns directly into vehicle superstructure, hence lower its silhouette to setup armor ambushes. Armed with twin 120mm guns, intention was to knock-out Soviet / Warsaw pact armor with one salvo.
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Though formidable in appearance, extra gun increased vehicle weight and reduced number shells that could be carried per gun. Musee des Blindes, Saumur - Photos German Cold War tanks - www.peachmountain.com/5star/Museum_Tanks_Musee_des_Blindes_Saumur_German_Cold_War.asp
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