Panzerjager I

Panzerjäger I

Sd.Kfz.221 (s.Pz.B.41)

Sd.Kfz.251/9

Panzerjäger I

Sd.Kfz.221 (s.Pz.B.41)

Sd.Kfz.251/9

Germany

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
1.3	1.3	1.3

Class:

Tank destroyer

Research:4 000

Purchase:2 100

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Description

The Panzerjäger I (4,7 cm Pak (t) (Sfl.) auf Pz.Kpfw.I (Sd.Kfz.101) ohne Turm) was the first self-propelled gun adopted by Nazi Germany. The SPG had a chassis from the obsolete Pz.I, from which the turret was removed and the hull partially cut down; onto this an open-topped, rear fighting compartment was mounted. The vehicle was armed with a 47 mm captured Czech Skoda gun, designed in 1937-1938, which received the designation 4,7 cm PaK(t) in the Wehrmacht. The Panzerjäger I was produced from 1940 to 1941, during which period 202 units of the self-propelled guns were manufactured. It actively participated in the French, North African and Eastern campaigns, where it was used for ambushing fire and proved effective against enemy light tanks, but was practically helpless against medium and heavy tanks. In addition, in autumn/winter 1941, the self-propelled gun showed complete unsuitability for the climate of the Soviet Union, where it constantly broke down or got bogged down in mud and snow. The Panzerjäger I participated in combat operations until mid-1943.

Introduced in Update 1.57 "Battle March", the Panzerjäger I has a sufficiently powerful gun for its battle rating, but also an open fighting compartment, which makes it quite vulnerable to HE shells, artillery, and enemy aircraft.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armourfront / side / back

Hull13 / 13 / 13

Turret14 / 5 / 5

Crew3 people

Visibility77 %

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides (Slope angle)	Rear	Roof
Hull	13 mm (18°) Front plate 13 mm (72-75°) Front glacis 13 mm (26°) Lower glacis	13 mm	13 mm	8 mm
Superstructure	14 mm (26°)	14 mm (15-18°)	N/A	N/A

Notes:

• Suspension wheels and bogies are 10 mm thick while the tracks are 15 mm thick.

Any enemies at this rank can pierce your armour. However, the biggest threats are the SPAA vehicles due to their higher rate of fire with effective weapons that will absolutely rip apart the vehicle. Airplanes too are a concern, and artillery is very deadly.

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB46 / 5 km/h

RB and SB43 / 5 km/h

Number of gears5 forward

1 back

Weight6.4 t

Engine power

AB191 hp

RB and SB100 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB29.8 hp/t

RB and SB15.6 hp/t

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	46	5	6.4	142	191	22.19	29.84
Realistic	43	5		88	100	13.75	15.63

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB200 → 247

RB219 → 270

SB253 → 312

Total cost of modifications4 450

2 680

Talisman cost300

Crew training600

Experts2 100

Aces45

Research Aces110 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

20 / 20 / 30 %

100 / 100 / 100 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Research: 300 Cost: 180 60 Suspension Research: 200 Cost: 120 40 Brake System Research: 200 Cost: 120 40 Filters Research: 370 Cost: 220 70 Transmission Research: 720 Cost: 440 140 Engine Research: 720 Cost: 440 140	Improved Parts Research: 300 Cost: 180 60 Improved FPE Research: 200 Cost: 120 40 Crew Replenishment Research: 370 Cost: 220 70	Horizontal Drive Research: 300 Cost: 180 60 Adjustment of Fire Research: 200 Cost: 120 40 47mm_ger_pak_t_sf_APCR_ammo_pack Research: 200 Cost: 120 40 Elevation Mechanism Research: 370 Cost: 220 70

Armaments

Main armament

4,7 cm PaK(t) L/43,4 (Sfl.) cannon

Ammunition86 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

3.9 → 3.0 s

Vertical guidance-8° / 10°

Horizontal guidance-15° / 15°

47 mm Pak.(t)(Sf.)					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	86	-8°/+10°	±15°	N/A	10.6	14.6	17.8	19.6	20.9	3.9	3.5	3.3	3.0
Realistic					7.1	8.4	10.2	11.3	12.0

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
Pzgr.36(t)	APC	87	82	66	50	38	29
Pzgr.40	APCR	119	110	77	50	32	21

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
Pzgr.36(t)	APC	775	1.65	1.2	9	15	48°	63°	71°
Pzgr.40	APCR	1,080	0.83	-	-	-	66°	70°	72°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Panzerjager I

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
86	76 (+10)	42 (+44)	27 (+59)	17 (+69)	0 (+86)	No

Notes:

• Racks disappear after you've fired all shells in the rack.
• Turret empty: 76 (+10) shells.
• Right flank empty: 17 (+69) shells.

Usage in battles

Although virtually unarmoured, the Panzerjäger I can be used in a head-on manner. However, this is not recommended. It is much better to snipe or ambush the enemy. Its gun may have a good Rate of Fire, but many other guns of its rank, such as the British 2-pounder, will reload faster than you. However, your gun is extremely powerful for its rank, which means you will go through almost anything, so there is no need to throw yourself in front of the enemy.

While the gun can be sufficient and one-shot many enemies from light to medium tanks, more heavily armoured tanks will be a problem unless using the APCR ammunition. The common enemies to be concerned about are the B1 bis, B1 ter, and Matilda Mk II if the Panzerjäger I is used as the highest-BR option in your line-up. The B1 bis is only frontally penetrable on the turret ring or the exposed breech of the hull-mounted 75 mm. The B1 ter is only penetrable in flank shots with APCR or a very lucky turret ring hit. The Matilda is only frontally penetrable on the turret ring or demands use of APCR.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Large ammo reserve of 86 rounds
• Agile vehicle, with a good power-to-weight ratio
• One of the best guns in Rank I, can penetrate most things it comes up against and destroy them in 1-2 penetrating hits due to HE filler
• Access to APCR ammunition for certain targets that the APC round cannot penetrate reliably
• Good ballistics for 47 mm, can be used effectively at long range
• Narrow, can fit in tight spaces
• Fast reload

Cons:

• Tall profile, bigger target
• Very thin armour, maximum of 15 mm
• Crew operating the gun have no armour protection in the top and rear of their position
• Not a lot of horsepower, poor for towing downed allied vehicles
• No defensive machine gun, open-topped SPAA can be a problem
• Gun quickly becomes obsolete in uptiers, it does not cope well with sloped armour
• Prone to flipping over when making turns at high speed (especially in arcade with upgrades to mobility)

History

Development

The heavily armoured tanks in Allied inventory was considered a threat to the German armoured forces, which consisted of mostly 3.7 cm gun that were ineffective. To counter these threats, the Germans sought for a vehicle able to mount a bigger gun able to fight these tanks. It was found that they could convert obsolete chassis designs like the Panzer I to mount the guns, thus saving the design process of developing a new vehicle for the role. The Czech 4.7 cm Pak(t) anti-tank gun was chosen for this task, and was mounted on a converted Panzer I chassis with the turret removed, a gun shield was used for the mount of the gun. Between 1940 to 1941, 202 Panzer Is were converted by Alkett and Deutz AG to these tank destroyers, designated the "Panzerjäger I", the first of its kind of tank destroyers in the war.

Combat usage

The Panzerjäger I were organised in anti-tank battalions, each having three companies with nine vehicles each. Five battalions in the war were equipped with the tank destroyer. The first usage of the Panzerjäger I was in the Battle of France, where four battalions were committed. Though, only Anti-Tank Battalion 521 saw service from the beginning to the end as the other four were still in training when the campaign started. The opinion of the crew of these vehicles were positive, saying that the weapon was adequate to distances up to 600 m if the enemy had 45 to 50 mm of armour. However, the crew also say that the ability to observe the battle in the vehicle was terrible, the crew had to look over the shield to see what is ahead, risking themselves to injury to the head.

After the Battle of France, the Panzerjäger I's in Anti-Tank Battalion 605 were sent to the North African Campaign, though only 3 of the 27 vehicles made it as the transport freighter Castellon carrying the rest was sunk. The battalion was in full strength during the British offensive in Operation Crusader in November 1941, to which they lost 13 vehicles in the battle. Battle experience praise the accuracy the vehicle provides, but state that the vehicles were too weak for the combat conditions and the gun didn't have enough penetration in long distance. With an APCR round, it was found it could destroy the venerable Matilda infantry tanks at distance of around 400 m. The battalion continued this battle of attrition with reinforcement and losses that during the Second Battle of El Alamein in October 1942, only 11 Panzerjäger Is were left in the battalion. The last two replacement vehicle were sent to the battalion in November 1942. In Operation Barbarossa, five anti-tank battalions were equipped with the Panzerjäger Is, which made up a total of 135 vehicles. The combat experience was subpar, while the Panzerjäger I had a good effective range of up to 1,000 to 1,200 m, but the high profile of the vehicle presented a big target to enemy anti-tank weapons and artillery, even shrapnel from high-explosive shells could penetrate the thin armour. Many Panzerjäger I's were destroyed and by the Fall of 1942, many battalions reported to be under equipped for further action and were disbanded. At this point, better anti-tank weaponry and vehicles were more accessible and replaced the Panzerjäger I in service, notably the Marder series.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Panzerjager I from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

PanzerJager 1. Nice little gun, on a nice Chassis! - Joseph 2000

The Panzerjager I, German Tier-1, Tank Destroyer / SPG - Angry Nerd Gaming

See also

Vehicles equipped with the same chassis

• Flakpanzer I

Similar German vehicles

• Marder III
• Marder III H

Other vehicles of similar configuration and role

• M3 GMC
• SU-5-1
• SU-57
• Ho-Ni I
• 47/32 L40
• Ikv 72

External links

• [Development] The Panzerjäger I, and announcing a branch of German SPGs with open cabins
• [Profile] Panzerjäger I - The first German Tank Hunter
• Wikipedia - Panzerjäger I
• Tanks Encyclopedia - 4,7 cm PaK (t) (Sfl) auf Pz.Kpfw.I (Sd.Kfz.101) ohne Turm, Panzerjäger I