Panzerjäger I

Panzerjäger I
A Panzerjäger I in North Africa
Type	Tank destroyer
Place of origin	Nazi Germany
Service history
In service	1940—43
Used by	Nazi Germany
Wars	World War II
Production history
Designer	Alkett
Designed	1939—40
Produced	1940—41
Number built	202
Specifications
Weight	6.4 tonnes (14,109 lbs)
Length	4.42 m (14 ft 6 in)
Width	2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)
Height
Crew	3
Elevation	-8° to +10°
Traverse	35°
Armor	6-14.5 mm
Main armament	4.7 cm (1.9 in) PaK(t)
Engine	3.8 litre (230 cu in) 6-cylinder, water-cooled Maybach NL 38 Tr 100 horsepower (75 kW)
Power/weight	15.6 hp/ton
Transmission	6 speed ZF F.G.31
Suspension	leaf-spring
Ground clearance	29.5 cm (1 ft 7 in)
Fuel capacity	146 L (39 US gal)
Operational range	140 km (87 mi)
Speed	40 km/h (25 mph)

The Panzerjäger I (German "Tank Hunter 1") was the first of the German tank destroyers to see service in the Second World War. It mounted a Czech Škoda 4.7 cm (1.9 in) cm PaK (t) anti-tank gun on a converted Panzer I Ausf. B chassis. It was intended to counter heavy French tanks like the Char B1 that were beyond the capabilities of the 3.7 cm PaK 36 anti-tank gun then in service and served to extend the usable lifetime of otherwise obsolete Panzer I tanks. 202 Panzer I's were converted to the Panzerjäger I in 1940 and 1941. They were employed in the Battle of France, in the North Africa Campaign and on the Eastern Front.

Design and production

The Panzer I's turret was removed and a fixed gun shield added to protect the armament and crew. The anti-tank gun was mounted on a pedestal in the fighting compartment with the wheels, axle and trails removed; it retained its original gun shield. It normally carried 74 anti-tank and 10 HE shells.

In total, 202 vehicles were produced. Alkett produced the first series of 132 in 1940. Ten of the second series of 70 were assembled by Alkett while the remainder were assembled by Klöckner-Humboldt-Deutz in 1940 and 1941. Vehicles in the second series are recognizable by their seven-sided gun shield while the first series had a five-sided shield.

The vehicle's formal name was 4.7 cm PaK(t) (Sf) auf Panzerkampfwagen I ohne Turm, translating as "4.7 cm anti-tank gun (Czech) on turretless Pz.Kpfw. I".

Armor: thickness/slope from vertical

	Front	Side	Rear	Top/Bottom
Gun Shield	14.5 mm (0.57 in)/27°	14.5 mm (0.57 in)/27°	none	none
Superstructure	13 mm (0.51 in)/22°	13 mm (0.51 in)/12°	13 mm (0.51 in)/0°	6 mm (0.24 in)
Hull	13 mm (0.51 in)/27°	13 mm (0.51 in)/0°	13 mm (0.51 in)/17°	6 mm (0.24 in)

Organization

The Panzerjäger I's were generally organized into nine-vehicle companies, with three companies per battalion. For the French Campaign (only) Anti-tank Battalion (Panzerjäger-Abteilung) 521 had only six vehicles per company. With two exceptions they were only used by independent anti-tank battalions during the war. However, after the Balkan Campaign, one company was assigned to the SS-Brigade Leibstandarte der SS Adolf Hitler and another to Panzerjäger-Abteilung 900 of Lehr-Brigade (mot.) 900 ("900th Motorized Training Brigade") in preparation for Operation Barbarossa.

Combat history

Ninety-nine vehicles equipped Anti-tank Battalions 521, 616, 643 and 670 in the battle for France. Only Anti-tank Battalion 521 participated in the campaign from the beginning as the other three were still training until a few days after the campaign began, but they were sent to the front as they finished their training.

Twenty-seven Panzerjäger I's equipped Anti-tank Battalion 605 in North Africa. It arrived in Tripoli, Libya between 18 and 21 March 1941. Five replacements were sent in September 1941, but only three arrived on 2 October as the others had been sunk on board the freighter Castellon. At the start of the British Operation Crusader the battalion was at full strength, but lost thirteen vehicles during the battles. Four more replacements were sent in January 1942 so that it mustered seventeen at the beginning of the Battle of Gazala. Despite the shipment of another three vehicles in September/October 1942 the battalion only had eleven by the beginning of the Second Battle of El Alamein. The last two replacements received by the battalion were in November 1942.

Anti-tank Battalions 521, 529, 616, 643 and 670 were equipped with 135 Panzerjäger I's for Operation Barbarossa. They were assigned as given below for the opening stages of the battle:

Abteilung	Corps	Army	Army Group
521	XXIV Corps	2nd Panzer Group	Army Group Center
529	VII Corps	4th Army	Army Group Center
616		4th Panzer Group	Army Group North
643	XXXIX Corps (mot.)	3rd Panzer Group	Army Group Center
670		1st Panzer Group	Army Group South

By 27 July 1941 Anti-tank Battalion 529 had lost four Panzerjäger I's. On 23 November 1941 it reported that it still had sixteen vehicles, although two were not operational. Most do not appear to have survived the Winter of 1941/42 as Anti-tank Battalion 521 reported only five on hand on 5 May 1942. Anti-tank Battalion 529 had only two on strength when it was disbanded on 30 June 1942. Anti-tank Battalion 616 seems to have been an exception as it reported all three companies had Panzerjäger I's through at least the Fall of 1942.

Combat assessments

File:PanzerjaegerIBack.jpg

Rear view of a Panzerjäger I from the second series.

File:Bundesarchiv Bild 169-0110, Russland, Panzerjäger 1.jpg

1941 colour photograph of a Panzerjäger I in western Ukraine

Anti-tank Battalion 643 25 July 1940

"The 4.7 cm armor-piercing shells (Panzergranaten) are very good against 45 to 50 millimetres (1.8 to 2.0 in) thick armor at ranges up to 500 metres (550 yd) - sufficient to 600 metres (660 yd). Observation is very bad. You have to look over the shield to observe to the front, resulting in head shots (Kopfschüsse)! In effect the crew are blind when attacking in villages or against street barricades, M.G. nests and individual tanks".

Anti-tank Battalion 521 July 1941

"The effective range of the 4.7 cm Pak(t) is 1,000 to 1,200 metres (1,100 to 1,300 yd) with a maximum range of 1,500 metres (1,600 yd). When attacking an enemy position equipped with anti-tank guns and artillery, as occurred near Mogilev and Rogachev, because of its high superstructure that presents a good target for artillery and anti-tank guns, the Panzerjäger is destroyed before it can get into action."

"When large shells explode close-by, fragments penetrate the thin armor, as occurred near Rogachev. Russian 4.5 cm (1.8 in) anti-tank guns already penetrate at 1,200 metres (1,300 yd) range. The 1. Kompanie lost 5 out of the 10 vehicles (Kampffahrzeuge) in such actions, of which only two could be repaired."

Anti-tank Battalion 605 July 1942

"The good accuracy of this weapon was especially commented on. Usually a hit is obtained with the first shot at ranges up to 1,000 metres (1,100 yd). Penetration ability is too low for the necessary combat ranges in the desert. The chassis is too weak. The engine is overtaxed. Springs in the suspension are continuously breaking."

"In one case, three Mk II (Matilda II infantry tanks) were penetrated at a range of 400 metres (440 yd) by 4.7 cm tungsten-core armor-piercing shell (Pz.Gr. 40). It usually penetrates 60 millimetres (2.4 in) of armor. Therefore, a small percentage of these rounds are desired. The 4.7 cm armor-piercing shell (Pz.Gr. 36(t)) will not penetrate a Mk.II at 600 to 800 metres (660 to 870 yd). But the crew will abandon the tank because fragments spall off the armor on the inside."

References

• Chamberlain, Peter, and Hilary L. Doyle. Thomas L. Jentz (Technical Editor). Encyclopedia of German Tanks of World War Two: A Complete Illustrated Directory of German Battle Tanks, Armoured Cars, Self-propelled Guns, and Semi-tracked Vehicles, 1933–1945. London: Arms and Armour Press, 1978 (revised edition 1993). ISBN 1-85409-214-6
• Jentz, Thomas L. Panzerjaeger (3.7 cm Tak to Pz.Sfl.Ic): Development and Employment from 1927 to 1941 (Panzer Tracts No. 7-1) Boyds, MD: Panzer Tracts, 2004. ISBN 0-9744862-3-X

External links

• Surviving Panzer I tanks - A PDF file presenting the Panzer I tanks (PzKpfw. I, VK1801, Panzerbefehlswagen, Panzerjäger I tanks) still existing in the world