Panzer 1 Tank Turret

Intended for 3d print.

Tank turret for the early WW2 era Nazi German Panzer 1 tank.

Recommended scale

28mm. The models included in this product are also prescaled to 28mm. The turrets can probably be printed at as small a scale as 15mm, but I make no guarantees for this.

History

Constrained by the Treaty of Versailles, interwar Germany had to develop and test tanks in secret. Clandestine testing was done in Russia during the 1920s and early 1930s up until the nazis came to power in 1933. Though the tests had laid the groundwork for the development of a new generation of german tanks - the Panzer 3 and 4 - , these tanks would not be ready for production for another couple of years. The Panzer 1 was a stopgap measure, approved for production as a transitional model that could among other things be used as a training vehicle for the newly formed panzer corps. With light armor and no anti-tank armament (only twin MG13 machine guns), the Panzer 1s role was strictly anti-infantry. Nevertheless, the tank saw extensive combat in a number of different theatres of war. 122 Panzers were exported to Spain and used during the Spanish Civil War as early as 1936. Another 15 were exported to China in 1937 for the Sino-Japanese war, though military trade relations of this type with China would halt after Germany allied wth the Japanese. The Panzer 1 was also used by the nazis themselves during the invasions of both Poland and France, in North Africa and all the way up to the invasion of Soviet Russia during Operation Barbarossa. It took until 1941 before the decision was made to relegate the Panzer 1 to anti-partisan and towing duties. By this time it was considered hopelessly obsolete. The tank did remain in use in fascist Spain until 1954.

Operational period

1934-1954

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This model kit is part of an ongoing series, tentatively called Tank Turrets Through The Ages. The idea is to design era-defining tank turrets from their first inception up to modern day. The turrets will eventually be compiled into a megapack that provides a comprehensive and historically accurate set of turrets, for you to use in your tabletop miniature wargames. This product description will be updated with links to other turrets in the series as I design and publish them.