Panzer I Ausf. F (VK 18.01)
In service 1942 - 1944
A Panzer I name on an 80 mm-armoured infantry-assault machine - the heaviest two-man tank ever fielded.
Built byKrauss-Maffei, Daimler-Benz
Photograph pending. No clearly licensed photograph of this vehicle was found.
Development history
Despite the designation the Ausf. F shared nothing with the 1934 Panzer I but its role. Built to break into fortified positions, it carried up to 80 mm of frontal armour on interleaved road wheels and kept only two machine guns, on the reasoning that bullets and protection were enough against entrenched infantry. Thirty were completed; they served in Army Group North around Leningrad and with anti-partisan units in the Balkans, where the lack of a cannon made them near-useless against any armoured opposition.
Notable actions
- Leningrad front
- Balkan anti-partisan operations