Panzerjäger I
The Panzerjäger I was the first German Panzerjäger to see service in the Second World War. It mounted the Czech 4.7 cm KPÚV vz. 38 anti-tank gun on a converted open-topped Panzer I Ausf. B chassis. It was intended to counter heavy French tanks like the Char B1 bis that were beyond the capabilities of the 3.7 cm Pak 36 anti-tank gun and extended the life of the obsolete Panzer I chassis. A total of 202 Panzer I chassis were converted to Panzerjäger I standard in 1940–41, and were employed in the Battle of France, in the North Africa campaign and on the Eastern Front.
Design and production
The Panzer I 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 after wheels, axle and trails were removed, but retained its original gun shield. It normally carried 74 antitank and 10 HE shells. Alkett and contractors built 202 vehicles, the first series of 132 by Alkett 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. The first series had a five-sided shield.; vehicles in the second series are recognizable by their seven-sided gun shield.The formal name was 4.7 cm PaK auf Panzerkampfwagen I ohne Turm, translating as "4.7 cm antitank gun on armoured combat vehicle I without turret".
| Front | Side | Rear | Top/bottom | |
| Gun shield | at 27° | at 27° | none | none |
| Superstructure | at 22° | at 12° | at 0° | |
| Hull | at 27° | at 0° | at 17° |
Organization
Panzerjägers were organized into companies of nine vehicles, with three companies per battalion, although for the French Campaign, anti-tank battalion Panzerjäger-Abteilung 521 had just six vehicles in each company. For the remainder of the war, they were used solely by independent antitank battalions, with two exceptions post the Balkans campaign, one company was assigned to the SS-Brigade Leibstandarte der SS Adolf Hitler and another to PanzerjägerAbteilung 900 of Lehr-Brigade (mot.) 900 in preparation for Operation Barbarossa.Combat history
Panzerjäger-Abteilung 521, 616, 643 and 670 had 99 vehicles in the Battle of France. Only Panzerjäger-Abteilung 521 participated in the campaign from the beginning; the other three were still training until a few days after the campaign began but were sent to the front as training finished.Twenty-seven Panzerjäger I equipped Panzerjäger-Abteilung 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, the others being lost when the freighter Castellon was sunk by the submarine HMS Perseus. 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 from September–October 1942, the battalion only had eleven by the beginning of the Second Battle of El Alamein. The last two replacements were received by the battalion in November 1942.
Abteilung 521, 529, 616, 643 and 670 were equipped with 135 Panzerjäger I 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 | 3rd Panzer Group | Army Group Center |
| 670 | 1st Panzer Group | Army Group South |
By 27 July 1941, Abteilung 529 had lost four Panzerjäger I vehicles. On 23 November 1941 it reported that it still had 16 vehicles, although two were not operational. On 5 May 1942, -Abteilung 521 reported that only five of those vehicles still existed. Abteilung 529 had only two on strength when it was disbanded on 30 June 1942. Abteilung 616 seems to have been an exception as it reported all three companies were equipped with the Panzerjäger I, during mid or late 1942.
Combat assessments
;Abteilung 643, 25 July 1940;Abteilung 521, July 1941
;Abteilung 605, July 1942