![]() Although lacking in armoured combat as a tank, it formed a large part of Germany's mechanized forces and was used in all major campaigns between September 1939 and December 1941, where it still performed much useful service against entrenched infantry and other "soft" targets, which were unable to respond even against thin armor, and who were highly vulnerable to machine gun fire. As a design intended for training, the Panzer I was less capable than some other contemporary light tank designs, such as the Soviet T-26, although it was still relatively advanced compared to older designs, such as the Renault FT, still in service in several nations, and others. The Panzer I's performance in armored combat was limited by its thin armour and light armament of two machine guns, which were never intended for use against armoured targets, rather being ideal for infantry suppression, in line with inter-war doctrine. ![]() It continued to serve in the Spanish Armed Forces until 1954. ![]() There were attempts to upgrade the Panzer I throughout its service history, including by foreign nations, to extend the design's lifespan. ![]() By 1941, the Panzer I chassis design was used as the basis of tank destroyers and assault guns. Experiences with the Panzer I during the Spanish Civil War helped shape the German Panzerwaffe's invasion of Poland in 1939 and France in 1940. Intended only as a training tank to introduce the concept of armored warfare to the German Army, the Panzer I saw combat in Spain during the Spanish Civil War, in Poland, France, the Soviet Union and North Africa during the Second World War, and in China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. ĭesign of the Panzer I began in 1932 and mass production began in 1934. The tank's official German ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 101 ("special purpose vehicle 101"). Its name is short for Panzerkampfwagen I ( German for " armored fighting vehicle mark I"), abbreviated as PzKpfw I. ![]() The Panzer I was a light tank/ tankette produced in Nazi Germany in the 1930s. ![]()
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