Key facts
- Type
- Light tank
- Place of origin
- Germany
- In service
- 1934–1945
- Used by
- Nazi Germany , Bulgaria , Republic of China , Hungary , Francoist Spain
- Wars
- Spanish Civil War , World War II , Second Sino-Japanese War
- Designed
- 1932–1934
- Manufacturer
- Henschel , MAN , Krupp , Daimler
- Unit cost
- 38,000 ℛ ︁ ℳ ︁ (Ausf. B Without weapons)
- Produced
- 1934–1938, 1943
- Number span no built
- 1,659 as light tanks, 184 as command tanks, 445 as training tanks, 147 as special convertible chassis
- Mass
- 5.4 tonnes (6.0 short tons )
- Length
- 4.02 m (13 ft 2 in)
- Width
- 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)
- Height
- 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
- Crew
- 2: commander and driver
- Armor
- 7–13 mm
- Main armament
- 2 × 7.92 mm MG 13 machine guns
- Engine
- Ausf.A:Krupp M 305 four-cylinder air-cooled gasoline engine , Ausf.B: Maybach NL38 TR , Ausf.A:60 PS (59 hp , 44 kW) , Ausf.B:100 metric horsepower (74 kW)
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
The Panzer I was a light tank produced by Nazi Germany in the 1930s. Its name is short for Panzerkampfwagen I (German for "armored fighting vehicle mark I"), abbreviated as Pz.Kpfw. I. The tank's official German ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 101 ("special purpose vehicle 101").
Design of the Panzer I began in 1932 and mass production began in 1934. Intended only as a training tank to introduce the concept of armored warfare to the German Army, the Panzer I saw combat in Spain during the Spanish Civil War, in Poland, France, the Soviet Union and North Africa during the Second World War, and in China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Experiences with the Panzer I during the Spanish Civil War helped shape the German Panzerwaffe's invasion of Poland in 1939 and France in 1940. By 1941, the Panzer I chassis design was used as the basis of tank destroyers and assault guns. There were attempts to upgrade the Panzer I throughout its service history, including by foreign nations, to extend the design's lifespan. It continued to serve in the Spanish Armed Forces until 1954.