“Boys anti tank rifle .55"
”
L
ength, 63.5”, weight, 36lbs muzzle velocity, 3,250 feet per second. It is a British complaint to moan about anything we have ever had and the boys rifle is the perfect example. This was the soldiers dream before W.W.2, because it seemed to be a shoulder fired rifle that could stop a tank. When to everyone’s surprise, the Germans seemed to be re-arming in the 1930’s the need for a rifle capable of stopping a tank became somewhat urgent. For security reasons, this rifle was code named, the “stanchion” and it was capable of penetrating 25mm of chilled armour plate. The first few were in the hands of the infantry in 1937, but tank design had advanced and it became very clear that the boy’s rifle lacked tank stopping ability by the time of W.W.2.
“Boys anti tank rifle .55"
”
The Projector, Infantry, Anti-Tank (PIAT) replaced the Boys after 1942, a green painted open trough affair with a spring rather like the suspension spring on a car that re-arranged the position shoulders of soldiers but certainly did sterling work. So, was this the end of the boys? In theory yes in practice, no there are some splendid photographs taken of British Commandos at the end of the war cheering, jubilant, before returning to post war unemployment. One of them holds a boys rifle. In 1945 when 3 years of supposed obsolescent would have swept the thing into obsolete scrap bin, there were these incredible troops posing with this rifle well, the commando’s had quite a respect for this hard kicking thing. Why? According to research done with former Commando’s the boys was brilliant for blowing holes in walls without planning permission. To stop a car, semi-skinned armour, in fact anything between Bren, Vickers and the P.I.A.T. what else was there? .50” Browning? Fine perhaps if the equipment schedule included such a thing, but it must be remembered that during the war British troops were armed by the Q.M. and that was that. Serial number checks, inspections, the lot. No allocation for the .5” Browning? We got this out of a tank!! Well loose it!! I issued you with a Sten gun not a bloody big thing like that!! So, the .55” Boys lasted quite well. Just to round thing off. During 1943, there was a thought to introduce a short barrelled version of the Boys for use by the Airborne troops. The Muzzle blast from the standard arm is bad enough, shorten the barrel and fire it resulted in a blast that would destroy any ear drum!! But it was a very useful rifle against semi-skinned armour and building even Kynoch who seemed to be the sole manufacture of .55” armour piercing ammunition for this thing seemed to have ended production sometime in 1943.