Introduction

The book's full title is Panzer Tracts 1-2: Panzerkampfwagen I Kl.Pz.Bef.Wg to VK 18.01 and is assembled by Thomas Jentz with scale drawings by Hilary Louis Doyle and was originally published in 2002. This book is the second Volume of two on the Panzerkampfwagen I family of vehicles, a review of the 1st volume is available Here . This second Volume covers the Panzerbefehlswagen, Panzer I versions built with export in mind, and includes the operational history and camouflage/markings for the entire series. Note that these cover production models only, not variants that were built on top of the Panzer I. For those, you will have to consult the Panzer Tracts on those types of vehicles such as Volume 7-1 for the PanzerJaeger I as an example. Since the Panzerbefehlswagen was a production version, it is covered in this volume. All scale plans drawn specifically for this work are 1/24 and have left side, top, front, and rear views.

Book Contents

The book contents begin with an Introduction followed by individually numbered chapters, whose numbers are continued from the first Volume, something that could be confusing if you don't have it to compare to

Chapter 8: "Kleiner Panzerbefehlswagen (Sd.Kfz.265)" covers the radio and command variants built on the Panzer I chassis. For those with the Dragon '3 in 1' kit, there is no mention made of the frame antenna or extra armor. There is a picture of an extra-armored Sd.Kfz. 265 (now at the Tank Museum) in the "Colors and Markings" section but no mention is made of the extra armor. There are scale drawings of the Ausf.A Radio tank and of the Command series 1, 2, and 3. There are drawings of different commander’s hatches and cupolas as well as 2 interior photos and 20 exterior photos.

Chapter 9: "Schulfahrzeuge" covers training vehicles based on the Ausf.B chassis as well as Panzer I Ausf.A tanks modified as training tanks. There is a scale drawing of a production Schulfahrzeuge and 11 exterior photos.

Chapter 10: "Krupp's Leichte Kampfpanzer for Export" covers versions of the Panzer I designed specially for export despite the fact that none were actually exported. There are scale drawings for the LKA 1, LKA 2, LKB, and LKB w/2cm as well as 11 exterior photos.

Chapter 11: "Panzerkampfwagen I Ausfuehrung C VK 6.01" covers a Panzer I with a torsion bar suspension for higher speeds that was designed as a backup for the Panzer IIL. There was an initial pre-production run of 40 which were evaluated in combat. There are scale drawings for the VK6.01 and the Ausf.C, as well as 12 interior photos and 7 exterior photos.

Chapter 12: "Panzerkampfwagen I Ausfuehrung F VK 18.01" covers a heavily armored Panzer I using the torsion bar suspension developed for the Ausf.C. There were 30 made in a pre-production run and were evaluated in combat. There are scale drawings of the VK 18.01 and the Ausf.F as well as 8 interior photos and 6 exterior photos.

Chapter 13: "Operational History" covers the operational history of all production Panzer Is. It includes reports from pre-war use, the Spanish Civil War, of the 15 Ausf.A sent to China, and WW2 use. I was a bit disappointed that there was nothing on any combat evaluation for the Ausf.C or F, just who used them where and when. This section includes 14 photos.

Chapter 14: "Camouflage and Markings" covers the camouflage and markings of the Panzer I. This is a short but nice section with color plates for various camouflage and markings, covering both pre-war and war use. There are also color plates for the colors themselves.

Also included in the book is an erratum for volume 1-1. Last but not least, the rear cover has 1/35 scale left side profiles of the vehicles covered in this volume.