Panzer I

The Panzer I tank was a Nazi Germany light tank that was used during many wars of the 1930s as well as during World War II. The name of the tank is short for Panzerkampfwagen I ("armored fighting vehicle mark I") (abbreviated PzKpfw I).

Panzerkampfwagen I
A Panzerkampfwagen I Ausf. A being displayed at the Deutsches Panzermuseum Munster in Germany
Type	Light tank
Place of origin	Nazi Germany
Service history
In service	1934–1945 in Nazi Germany
Used by	Nazi Germany, Bulgaria, Republic of China, Hungary, Spain
Wars	Spanish Civil War Second World War Second Sino-Japanese War
Production history
Designed	1934
Manufacturer	Henschel, MAN, Krupp, Daimler
Produced	1934–1937
No. built	1493
Specifications
Mass	5.4 tonnes (6.0 short tons)
Length	4.02 m (13.2 ft)
Width	2.06 m (6.8 ft)
Height	1.72 m (5.6 ft)
Crew	2 (commander and driver)
Armor	7–13 mm
Main armament	2 × 7.92 mm MG13 machine guns
Engine	Krupp M 305 four-cylinder air-cooled gasoline engine 60 PS (59 hp, 44 kW)
Power/weight	11.1 PS/t
Suspension	leaf quarter-elliptic springs
Operational range	On-road: 200 km (120 mi) Off-road: 175 km (109 mi)
Maximum speed	On-road: 50 km/h (31 mph) Off-road: 37 km/h (23 mph)

The tank was only intended for use as a training tank to introduce the concept of armoured warfare to the German Army. The tank was used in combat in Spain during the Spanish Civil War,[1] in Poland,[2] France,[3] the Soviet Union and North Africa[4] during the Second World War, and in China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The tank had thin armor and light armament of two machine guns. It was weak in combat but was a large part of Germany's tank forces. The Panzer I was replaced by the Panzer IV, Panther, and Tiger later on.