Ampersand's German Panzer I

The Panzer I was Germany's first modern tank and like much of their military equipment of the 1930s, was developed in secret or under cover, this tank originally being referred as a tractor. The real use of it was immediately apparent once the vehicle or drawings were seen. It was to be a light tank for use as infantry support or reconnaissance.

As with many military projects, the tank was improved as production went on. Initially the vehicle was underpowered, but such was the need that this version was produced. It would be fair to say that it was the most important tank available at the beginning of WWII and was used on all fronts despite its growing obsolescence. The A and B versions were the most widely produced, there being differences in the type that were often intermixed. The B variant had the better engine and transmission, but the A was still used quite a bit. One of its tasks that lasted until the end of hostilities was as a training tank. In this case the hull was like a regular tank, but it had a sheet steel superstructure with the forward part of the tank being open for the driver and instructor. If the need was there, these tanks were often returned to depots and the standard tank upper sections were added so they could be used in combat.

In line with other tanks, there were different versions built including a radio tank with a taller, open superstructure for use as a command tank. Most Panzer Is only had receivers while the command tank had a transmitter and a map table as well. There were recovery tanks, though these were actually of little use due to the lack of pulling power. Another interesting type was the explosives tank that had a large arm on which explosives were attached. This tank would back up to whatever needed destroyed (like a pillbox), the explosives set down and then after the tank hurriedly left the scene, the explosives were detonated.

The book is very much in line with others in their visual history series. There is a nice historical section on the production and variants produced and then we get into the photos. The vast majority of these images are period photos and thanks to the landscape format, these images fill the large pages. The photo captions provide a great deal of information and are great to browse. There is a small section at the end of the book where extant vehicles are available for detail photographs.

The book is very much a must have for anyone who likes to model the tank, so that one can be assured of the accuracy of their presentation. Fans of the tank who just like reading about it will be happy with this edition as well. I would have liked to have seen some color illustrations of the pre-war paint schemes, but I'm sure these are available elsewhere. Something for the publishers to think about, though. In all, it is a book from which I learned a lot and one that I can highly recommend to you.

March 2016

Review copy courtesy Ampersand Publishing. Get yours today at this link.

If you would like your product reviewed fairly and fairly quickly, please contact the editor or see other details in the Note to Contributors.