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Concept
Panzerjäger I
Summary
The Panzerjäger I ("English: tank hunter number 1") was the first German tank destroyer to see service in the Second World War. All mounted the Czech Škoda-built 4.7 cm KPÚV vz. 38 (German designation "4.7 cm Pak (t)") antitank gun on a converted 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.
The Panzer I turret was removed and a fixed gun shield added to protect the armament and crew. The antitank 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(t) (Sf) auf Panzerkampfwagen I ohne Turm, translating as "4.7 cm antitank gun (Czech) (self-propelled) on turretless Pz.Kpfw. I".
Panzerjägers were organized into companies of 9, with 3 companies per battalion, although for the French Campaign, anti-tank battalion Panzerjäger-Abteilung 521 had just 6 vehicles per company. For the remainder of the war, they were used solely by independent antitank battalions, with two exceptions post the Balkan Campaign, one company was assigned to the SS-Brigade Leibstandarte der SS Adolf Hitler and another to PanzerjägerAbteilung 900 of Lehr-Brigade (mot.) 900 ("900th Motorized Training Brigade") in preparation for Operation Barbarossa.
Antitank Battalions 521, 616, 643 and 670 had 99 vehicles in the Battle of France.
Official source
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