Ostergaard, K. Danish Leopard 1A5DK1

The fourth in our series of Model Foto Focus reference books includes colour full-view and walkaround captioned photos of a Leopard 1 that spent many years on peace-keeping duties with IFOR, KFOR and SFOR. From February 1976, Denmark started to receive their first Leopard 1A3DKs, and by 1978 all had been supplied. Towards the end of the 1980s, the Danish Army had to realise that an upgrade of the Leopards could no longer be postponed and a programme to upgrade to 1A5DK standard was started. Whereas the 1A3 version had lived a relatively unchanged life during its fifteen years, the 1A5 version was to have fifteen years with many changes. The main reason for this was a change in the operation for the Danish Army. In the lifetime of the 1A3 version, the task of the army was to participate in the defence of the country and NATO. In the lifetime of the 1A5DK version, the army had an increasing number of international assignments, largely peace-keeping missions, in the Balkans. This is one of the most thorough books of its type ever published. Written by Kenneth Ostergaard with many of his own photographs of a preserved vehicle (belonging to a preservation society he is a keen member of), the book is compiled into an attractive album. This Model Foto Focus includes colour full-view In-the Field and a large number of walkaround captioned photographs, making for a compelling collection of images.

In contrast to the old "Leopard" 1A3DK, which had remained relatively unchanged, the 1A5DK had to undergo various changes during its 15 years of service. The reason for this lay in the changing tasks of the Danish army. In the 1A3DK era, the defence of NATO countries was the top priority and there were practically no foreign missions. At the time of the "Leopard" 1A5DK, missions abroad, e.g. in the Balkans, were no longer a rarity. The author offers a large number of photos from his own archive, and thus presents one of the most detailed pictorial depictions of this battle tank of the Danish army.