The Panzerjäger I was a tank destroyer used by the Wehrmacht during World War II. Objectively speaking, it was a self-propelled 47-mm anti-tank gun. In 1940, It had been mounted on the chassis of the Panzer I (PzKpfw I) and the Panzer 35t (Pz35t) tank, with Ausf B and Ausf C being their two variants respectively. It was powered by a Maybach, 6-cylinder, 100 HP gasoline engine.
During the Battle of France, the German Army saw the need of a mobile anti-tank gun which could run fast enough to accompany the mechanized infantry units in the spearhead advance. By mid-1940, the PzKpfw I had become obsolete, with almost 1,000 of them being left over as junk. However, seeing the effectiveness and power of the Czech 47-mm gun, they decided to mount it on its chassis. Thus, the Panzerjäger I entered service at the end of that year and first saw combat action during the German invasion of Greece (Operation Marita) in April 1941.
Below, the Panzerjager I Ausf A, in 1940, before it entered service.
Although it proofed to be effective against light tanks and reconnaissance armored vehicles, during Operation Marita, it could not destroy the Soviet KV-1/2 and the T-34 tanks at the end of 1941 in Operation Barbarossa. Therefore, the Panzerjäger I would be replaced by more powerful tank destroyers, such as the Marder II and III, which were fitted with a 75-mm gun L/48.
Specifications
Weight: 6 tons
Length: 4.14 m (13 ft, 7 in)
Width: 2 m (6 ft, 7.25 in)
Height: 2.1 m (6 ft, 10.7 in)
Maximum Speed: 40 km/h
Range: 140 km.
Armament: 4.7 cm kanone
Crew: 3
Panzerjäger I Ausf C
A Panzerjäger I in Greece in 1941
