Panzer I Ausf.B
GAS50114


Complete Panzer I Ausf.B kit in 1/48 scale

Kit contains:

You can also contact us to have this model assembled and painted with the camouflage of your choice.

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History of Panzer I Ausf.B



The Panzer I prototype was completed by Krupp in February 1934. The tank was inexpensive to produce - over 2,000 units were delivered - so armored divisions were quickly and correctly equipped with an obsolete but very useful vehicle for training the Third Reich's armor.

The Pz. I Ausf. B entered service in 1935. The Maybach 6-cylinder NL 38 TR water-cooled engine developed 100 horsepower, powering the almost 6-ton tank and its two crew members at 40 km/h. However, the vehicle's military potential remained very limited. Indeed, the Pz. I Ausf. B was unable to take on enemy tanks, as its armament - two 7.92 mm MG 34 machine guns supplied with 2,250 rounds in turret - was not suited to the task. 

This lack of overall performance was also reflected in the weakness and poor overall design of the tank's maximum 13mm-thick armour, which at best stopped fire from individual weapons.

This tank enabled the Wehrmacht to gain valuable experience in the Spanish Civil War as early as 1936. Although outdated, it continued to be used in Poland, then in the West during the French campaign, and even in June 1941, during the attack on the USSR.