>Type Tank destroyer
>Place of origin Nazi Germany
>In service 1940—43
>Used by Nazi Germany
>Wars World War II
>Designer Alkett
>Designed 1939—40
>Produced 1940—41
>Number built 202
>Weight 6.4 tonnes (14,109 lbs)
>Length 4.42 m (14 ft 6 in)
>Width 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)
>Height 2.14 m (7 ft)
>Crew 3
>Elevation -8° to +10°
>Traverse 35°
>Armor 6-14.5 mm
>Main armament 4.7 cm (1.9 in) PaK(t)
>Engine 3.8 litre (230 cu in) 6-cylinder, water-cooled Maybach NL 38 Tr 100 horsepower (75 kW)
>Power/weight 15.6 hp/ton
>Transmission 6 speed ZF F.G.31
>Suspension leaf-spring
>Ground clearance 29.5 cm (1 ft 7 in)
>Fuel capacity 146 l (39 US gal)
>range 140 km (87 mi)
>Speed 40 km/h (25 mph)
The Panzerjäger I (German "Tank Hunter 1") was the first of the German tank destroyers to see service in the Second World War. It mounted a Czech Škoda 4.7 cm (1.9 in) cm PaK (t) anti-tank gun on a converted Panzer I Ausf. B chassis. It was intended to counter heavy French tanks like the Char B1 that were beyond the capabilities of the 3.7 cm PaK 36 anti-tank gun then in service and served to extend the usable lifetime of otherwise obsolete Panzer I tanks. 202 Panzer Is were converted to the Panzerjäger I in 1940 and 1941. They were employed in the Battle of France, in the North Africa Campaign and on the Eastern Front
Ninety-nine vehicles equipped Anti-tank Battalions 521, 616, 643 and 670 in the battle for France. Only Anti-tank Battalion 521 participated in the campaign from the beginning as the other three were still training until a few days after the campaign began, but they were sent to the front as they finished their training.
Twenty-seven Panzerjäger Is equipped Anti-tank Battalion 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 as the others had been sunk on board the freighter Castellon. 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 in September/October 1942 the battalion only had eleven by the beginning of the Second Battle of El Alamein. The last two replacements received by the battalion were in November 1942.
Anti-tank Battalions 521, 529, 616, 643 and 670 were equipped with one hundred thirty-five Panzerjäger Is for Operation Barbarossa.
By 27 July 1941 Anti-tank Battalion 529 had lost four Panzerjäger Is. On 23 November 1941 it reported that it still had sixteen vehicles, although two were not operational. Most do not appear to have survived the Winter of 1941/42 as Anti-tank Battalion 521 reported only five on hand on 5 May 1942. Anti-tank Battalion 529 had only two on strength when it was disbanded on 30 June 1942. Anti-tank Battalion 616 seems to have been an exception as it reported all three companies had Panzerjäger Is through at least the Autumn of 1942.