Historical Skins – Gepard 1A2 Bundeswehr

Commanders!

The German Unity Day celebrations are coming up and, as usual, we’ve prepared a couple of German-themed assets for you, chief amongst them being the Gepard 1A2 Bundeswehr skin for the Gepard Battle Path vehicle.

As the name suggests, the skin will paint your Gepards in classic German camouflage and insignias, including the Bundeswehr cross and the unit tactical emblem belonging to Flugabwehrregiment 12 (12th Air Defense Regiment). This unit existed between October 1979 and 2011 and was stationed at Hardheim in central Germany (Baden-Württemberg). After the German unification was complete, the unit served as a training unit for former NVA (East German military) soldiers who wished to serve in the Bundeswehr. The unit received its first Gepard 1A2 in 1998.

Needless to say, the unit never fired a shot in anger and was disbanded in 2011 for its troops to be incorporated into Sicherungsbataillon 12 (Security Battalion, a unit tasked with protecting divisional HQ). The 12th Security Battalion was disbanded only four years later, in 2015. As for the unit’s original location in Hardheim, the barracks was closed in 2011 and was used as a factory and a refugee center. It was reactivated in 2017 and in 2019 it became a home for a newly founded tank unit, Panzerbataillon 363.

This particular Gepard then ended as a monument and was restored to its current appearance around 2010 by a group of 12th Air Defense Regiment veterans.

There’s one more thing that’s interesting about this Gepard skin – using it unlocks the Battle Path progression modules right away. These include:

• Thermal Imager
• Flash Suppressor
• 35mm PELE Ammunition

In other words, you won’t have to unlock these using the Workshop Battle Path mechanic.

But that’s still not all. We’ll also have a German Expeditionary camouflage for you (used by the German contingent in Afghanistan) as well some decals, including:

• NATO Response Force Emblem
• Gebirgsjägerbrigade 23 Emblem
• Rapid Forces Division Emblem

We hope that you’ll enjoy this content, and, as always:

See you on the battlefield!