Mitteleuropaischer Standardpanzer I- As a worldbuilding exercise, I decided to build the faction-wide standard Panzer designs we used in my last HOI IV Coop game. These would also fit very well in the Kaiserreich universe.
Ausf A- The original production model from 1939, introduced to replace the existing Panzer III and IV with the same platform and build a standardized medium tank for Mitteleuropan member states. The MeStPz. I took the basic hull layout of the Panzer III and enlarged it to accommodate a larger HL 124 engine and, initially, the option to carry the short 75mm gun of the Panzer IV in an infantry-support variant. This model never came to fruition as the idea transformed into the MeStug/Stuh I platform, but the enlarged turret and reinforced ring would prove vital years later.
The original Ausf. A would roll off the production line at 27 tons, with a top speed of 30Mph, and a 5cm L/42 gun. It's solid balance of firepower, mobility, protection, and reliability would prove extremely effective during the invasion of Czechoslovakia and France in 1940.
Ausf A1- Introduced in late 1940, the Ausf A1 built on the experience of German, Austro-Hungarian, and Polish tank crews during the opening campaigns of the war. While this contained dozens of minor improvements to various systems, the most notable change was the replacement of the L/42 gun with a significantly higher velocity L/60. The original gun had proven quite effective against most French, British, and Czech models- however, it had notably struggled with heavier designs like the British Matilda and French Char B1. The A1 models also added the distinctive turret box that would be an instantly recognizable feature of Mitteleuropan armor for the rest of the war, and was even retrofitted onto many existing Ausf. As.
Ausf B- Introduced in early 1941, the Ausf B replaced the original HL124 with the HL126 (A mechanically supercharged improvement of the HL124), as well as additional armor, raising thickness to 80mm at the front and 40mm at the sides, remaining 30mm at the rear. This would remain the armor layout for the duration of MeStPz I production. These vehicles were prioritized for units deployed during Operation Sea Lion, and most units that responded to the Soviet invasion of Poland were forced to make do with older Ausf. A and Ausf. A1s during the brutal first months of fighting.
Ausf. C- The initial armored duels of Operation Venus (the Soviet invasion of Poland) confirmed that the MeStPz I was still a force to be reckoned with; however, it was still severely lacking in firepower. While the 5cm L/60 gun performed brilliantly against lighter soviet tanks like the T26 and BT series, it struggled with the more modern T-34s and was outright ineffective against the KV, even struggling to penetrate the sides from more than a few hundred meters, forcing German units to rely 88mm flak guns and the scant few MeStPz II heavy tanks that had entered service by this time. First appearing in Feburary 1942, the Ausf C took advantage of the space and weight accommodations initially made for the abandoned Ausf A-St to mount a high-velocity 7.5cm L/42 gun.
Ausf. D- Introduced in mid 1943, the Ausf. D's primary modification was the addition of spaced armor as a response to the effectiveness of British shaped charge warheads, and to prevent internal spall damage from side hits by Soviet AT rifles. The MeStPz I's replacement, the MeStPz III "Leopard" was introduced in this year, but
Ausf. E1/E2- Also introduced in 1943, the Ausf. E took mothballed Ausf. As, A1s, and Bs and refitted them with many minor improvements from later models, the most visually obvious being the spaced armor kits introduced by the Ausf. D. These were used in theaters where enemy armor threats were limited in either quantity or quality, most notably by the Ostasiatisches Expeditionskorps troops fighting alongside Nationalist China, who also received several hundred as military aid. In an issue of Signal from 1944, an Ausf. E commander asked how he felt about using the older tanks was quoted to have said "It is all about who you're fighting- against these Japanese tanks, the 5cm gun might as well be the finger of God!". Ausf E1 designates conversions of Ausf As and A1s, with E2s being conversions of Ausf Bs.
Ausf F- The final version, introducing new night-fighting equipment in late 1944. All but one MeStPz I factory had been converted to produce the MeStPz III by this point, and the vast majority of Ausf. Fs were refitted Ds. By this point in the war most MeStPz Is still in service were in independent tank battalions assigned to provide infantry support for Mechanized divisions and with K.u.K. and Polish forces, with MeStPz. IIIs having equipped most frontline German armored units.