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In 1933, as Germany began to rearm itself, the Heereswaffenamt (Army Weapons Department) saw a requirement for a tank in the five ton class. This was planned to be used for training until the introduction of heavier vehicles. The Department issued contracts for the development of a light armoured fighting vehicle with two machine-guns in an all-round traverse turret and protected by armour immune to small-arms fire. Five firms were invited to tender; MAN, Krupp, Henschel, Daimler-Benz and Rheinmetall-Borsig. The Krupp entry, the LKA 1, incorporating experience gained jointly with the Swedish Landsverk company during examination of a British Carden-Loyd chassis, was selected. Krupp was made responsible for the development of the chassis while Daimler-Benz was to construct the turret and hull.
The drawings and design of this vehicle, code named Landwirtschaftlicher Schlepper (agricultural tractor) or LaS, were finished in December 1933. By this time Hitler and the Nazi Party had assumed power and were about to overturn openly all the terms of the Versailles Treaty. Henschel was given orders to construct three LaS prototypes. These were completed in December 1933 and tested in February 1934.
Ausf A
An order was given for 150 machines of the LaS type, with production starting in July 1934. These vehicles were handed over to the Army under the designation Panzerkampfwagen (MG) Ausführung A (Armoured Fighting Vehicle MG Model A) and formed the nucleus of the vehicle strength of the armoured units. They were powered by Krupp M305 engines and troop trials soon proved that they were badly under powered for cross-country work.
1) Panzermuseum, Munster, Germany
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9035
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This PzKpfw I Ausf A was dug out of the ground by workmen building a new stretch of road at Bad Tölz in Southern Bavaria in April 1984. It had the serial number 9035 and was supposed to have attempted to stop the American advance into the town at the end of the War, before being scuttled in a nearby lake. It was apparently in good condition but became damaged in the recovery, and there were fears that it would be scrapped.
It has, instead, since become part of the collection of the Munster Panzermuseum, having come via temporary storage in the Koblenz collection. It is now known that it was built in the Krupp Gruson-Werk at Magdeburg in December 1934. In 1935 it was used as a driving school vehicle (without turret) at Kraftfahrlehr-Kommando Zossen (later Panzer Regiment 5). At the start of the War it was part of the PzErsu. Ausb. Abteilung at Bad Tölz. It was restored by the German Army Workshop 860 at St Wendel during 1987 and 1988 with the assistance of Kurt Fischer, a panzer veteran, who restored its transmission and other parts in his farmyard. It arrived at Kampftruppenschule 2, Munster, in 1988 and now carries the turret number “112”. It is in running order and has taken part in public displays.
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2) El Goloso Barracks, Madrid, Spain
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This is on display at the home of the Alcazar de Toledo Armoured Infantry Regiment. It is in a poor condition and is not fitted with its original suspension (source: F. Marin).
It appears to be fitted with fake machine guns.
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3) Pansarmuseet, Axvall, Sweden
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This Ausf A is missing its machine guns. It is believed to be in running order.
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4) Military Museum, Oslo, Norway
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This was one of a number of vehicles left behind after the German occupation of Norway during the Second World War.
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5) Military Vehicle Technology Foundation (MVTF), Portola Valley, USA
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Text in original Preserved German Tanks publication:
This Ausf A is in storage at the museum’s Vimy House facility. It is missing its machine-guns but otherwise appears to be in good condition.
Text in Preserved German Tanks Update:
This vehicle was previously part of the Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, Canada (source: P.-O. Buan/Surviving Pz I Tanks). It was at MVTF by 2004 so probably transferred direct from Vimy House.
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Ausf B
Improvements to the PzKpfw I produced the Ausf B which was fitted with a more powerful Maybach NL 38 TR engine and a new transmission (the ZF Aphon FG 31 replaced the earlier FG 35). To accommodate the larger engine it was necessary to increase the length of the engine compartment. An extra roadwheel was added to the lengthened hull, and so the idler wheels were raised off the ground in order not to affect the vehicle’s manoeuvrability. By 1939 about 1500 of these vehicles had been produced, although construction of the chassis continued until 1941.
Despite being planned as a training tank and being outclassed by enemy tanks the Panzerkampfwagen I fought in the Spanish Civil War, the invasion of Poland and the early campaigns in France. After this it was phased out and saw very little service as a fighting tank after 1941.
| Model Id: | 60 | | Manufacture: | Krupp-Gruson Werk AG, Magdeburg, Germany (Primary manufacturer 1935-1937)
Henschel und Sohn, Kassel, Nordhessen, Germany (Additional manufacturer from 1935)
Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg (MAN) AG, Nürnberg, Bavaria, Middle Franconia, Germany (Additional manufacturer from 1936)
Daimler-Benz AG, Marienfelde, Berlin, Germany (Additional manufacturer)
Wegmann & Co, Kassel, Nordhessen, Germany (Vehicles 1936-37 and chassis 1937-39)
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6) El Goloso Barracks, Madrid, Spain
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The PzKpfw I was used in Spanish units as the command vehicle of PzKpfw IV companies. This one is in a fairly good condition. It is carrying Spanish Civil War markings but these are not original.
(Information: F. Marin).
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7) San Clemente de Sasebas Recruit Centre, Gerona, Spain
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This PzKpfw I is in a very poor condition, little more than scrap, and its current status is not known (source: F. Marin).
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8) U.S. Army Ordnance Museum, Aberdeen Proving Ground, USA
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This example was captured in North Africa during the Second World War.
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9) Kubinka NIIBT Research Collection - Foreign Vehicles, Kubinka, Russia
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This Ausf B has had its headlamp replaced with a Russian one, and its machine guns with metal tubing.
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Ausf C / VK601
Development of the Panzerkampfwagen I chassis to produce a better armed and armoured tank for light reconnaissance produced the Ausf C. Forty of these vehicles, also known as VK601, were ordered in 1939 for delivery by 1942. They mounted a 2cm main armament and were fitted with overlapping roadwheels.
Ausf F / VK1801
In December 1939 a contract was issued by the Heereswaffenamt for a development of the PzKpfw I with the thickest possible armour for close infantry support. Krauss-Maffei and Daimler-Benz were appointed to do the development work and produced the first prototypes in June 1940. They completed an order for thirty vehicles, but a second one for a hundred more was cancelled.
Like the Ausf C, the Ausf F was fitted with overlapping roadwheels. It retained, however, the twin machine gun armament of the earlier models. It was known as neue Ausf verstärkt (new model strengthened). Most of the examples built were used for training; however a small number saw service in Russia and Yugoslavia.
10) National Museum of Military History, Kalemegdan Fortess, Serbia
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Some VK1801’s saw action on internal security duties in Yugoslavia during the war, a task for which they were well suited. This example was left behind after the war ended.
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11) Kubinka NIIBT Research Collection - Foreign Vehicles, Kubinka, Russia
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Eight examples of the VK1801 were sent to 1st Panzer Division for combat training in Russia in 1943. This example was apparently part of that batch and must have been captured by the Soviets.
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