Panzertruppenschule I (Armoured Troops School No.1) was the first of two major schools set up by the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Panzerwaffe ''Panzerwaffe'', later also ''Panzertruppe'' (German for "Armoured Force", "Armoured Arm" or "Tank Force". ''Waffe'': ombat"arm") refers to a command within the Heer of the German Wehrmacht, responsible for the affairs of panzer (tank) and ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

to train German armour officers to operate

Panzer This article deals with the tanks (german: panzer) serving in the German Army (''Deutsches Heer'') throughout history, such as the World War I tanks of the Imperial German Army, the interwar and World War II tanks of the Nazi German German Ar ...

s. It was based in

Munster, Lower Saxony Munster ( West Low German: ''Munste''), also called Munster (Örtze) or formerly Munsterlager, is a small town in the district of Heidekreis, in Lower Saxony, Germany almost equidistant from Hamburg and Hanover. The town is home to the Germa ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. The Panzertruppenschule was a 'branch school', where officer candidates were sent after 12–16 weeks spent in basic training, and having successfully undertaken an 8-week course at a Kriegsschule. Prospective

panzer This article deals with the tanks (german: panzer) serving in the German Army (''Deutsches Heer'') throughout history, such as the World War I tanks of the Imperial German Army, the interwar and World War II tanks of the Nazi German German Ar ...

troops in the rank of '' Fähnrich'' undertook a 16-week training course which aimed to familiarise the officer candidates with the nuances and workings of a Panzer, and also with the tactics to be used when commanding panzers in the field. Upon graduation, the recruit was promoted to '' Oberfähnrich'' and sent on field probation. In June 1943, the only known flame-throwing versions of the StuG III, designated StuG III (Flamm) were delivered to the school, but were shortly thereafter destroyed by a fire started by a faulty flamethrower. In late 1943, the school was stripped of its experienced instructors, who were used to form the élite Panzer-Lehr-Division.

See also