Panzerkampfwagen I Ausf C (PzKpfw IC)
An attempt
to redesign the PzKpfw I for use in the reconnaissance role and in airborne operations
was made through a full redesign of the suspension, using interleaved road wheels,
a new powerplant, and increased armor. Total weight was 8.0 tons, powered by a
Maybach HL45P engine driving a transmission with
8 forward gears plus two reverse gears. However, the vehicle was shorter (4.19
m) and narrower (1.92) while height was a bit greater (1.94 m). Speed was impressive
at 79 km/h and a range of 300 km was possible. Armament was significantly upgraded,
with one of the machine guns replaced by a 20 mm EW141 automatic cannon, while
the other was a coaxial MG34 7.92 mm machine gun. The guns could elevate to 20
° and down to -10 ° with full hand powered traverse. Armor was built up
to 30 mm front and 20 mm for the side and rear, with 10 mm top and bottom, with
almost no slope. Despite the improvements, the tank was still outclassed by the
time of its production from July through December 1942, during which 40 were built
by Krauss-Maffei, and most were issued to reserve units.
