Panzerjäger I

Panzerjäger I
Specifications
Mass	6.4 tonnes
Length	4.14 m
Width	2.01 m
Height	2.25 m
Crew	3

The Panzerjäger I ("tank hunter I") was the first of the Panzerjager designs for German tank destroyers in the Second World War. It was based on the converted chassis of the Panzer I Ausf. B and was armed with the Skoda 47 mm PaK L/43 anti-tank gun. The Panzerjäger proved to be a cheap and fairly effective solution to help counter Soviet tanks, and served to extend the useable lifetime of obsolete Panzer I tanks.

As with most tank destroyers, the crew was highly vulnerable, their only protection coming from a frontal gun shield; the gun also had a very limited traverse.

202 Panzer I tanks were converted, 132 by Alkett and 70 by Skoda. The Skoda conversion is recognizable by its seven-sided gun shield versus the Alkett model's five-sided shield.

They were first used in France, and continued to see action in North Africa and on the Eastern Front. After being replaced by better self-propelled guns in 1943, the Panzerjägers were relegated to policing activities such as anti-partisan operations in the Balkans.

The Panzerjägers formal name was 4.7cm PaK(t) (Sf) auf Panzerkampfwagen I. The (t) stands for "Tschechoslowakisch" (German for " Czechoslovakian") and the (Sf) stands for "Selbstfahrlafette" (German for "Self-propelled carriage").

External links

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