After the war, the Germans were given US equipment and the Panzerlehrbataillon armour forces established in April 1956. The Leopard tank project started in November 1956 in order to develop a modern German tank, the Standard-Panzer, to replace the Bundeswehr's United States-built M47 and M48 Patton tanks, which, though just delivered to West Germany's recently reconstituted army, were rapidly growing outdated.