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The Australian Defence Force has donated an Australian Army Leopard AS1 tank to The Tank Museum at Bovington in the United Kingdom.
The AS1 had previously been on display at the Australian Army Tank Museum in Puckapunyal and will now become part of the UK collection of armoured vehicles.
It was presented at TANKFEST 2025 on 27 June by Colonel Michael King, Australian Army adviser in London, and Australian Army Liaison Officer Lieutenant Colonel Michael Henderson to The Tank Museum’s chairman, Lieutenant General Sir William Rollo, and director Chris Price.
“It is a great pleasure to see this important piece of Australia’s contemporary military history donated to the museum as a reflection of how our armoured forces fighting alongside each other in conflicts over the past 100 years has contributed to our strong strategic bond,” Col King said.
The German-designed and built Leopard first entered service in 1965. It was small and light, marking a significant change in design from the heavy armour and guns of the Second World War to prioritise speed and mobility. Brilliantly engineered, the Leopard was extremely successful on the export market.
The Leopard AS1 was brought into Australian Army service in 1977, the “AS” in the model name comes from the NATO abbreviation for Australia. In 2007, the Leopard was officially withdrawn from Australian Army service, replaced by the M1A1 Abrams.
“We are very grateful to the Australian government for this kind gift, and to Colonel Michael King, the Australian Army adviser in London, and to the Australian team who have helped us bring this immaculate Leopard AS1 main battle tank to the UK; I don’t believe we have ever seen a tank arrive in better condition,” Lt Gen Sir William Rollo said.
The Leopard AS1 is currently housed in the Vehicle Conservation Centre and will run on special occasions.
