Boys 0.55in

History Boy 0.55

In 1934, in view of the increasing reliance of world armies on armour on the eve of World War II (1939-1945), the British Army issued a requirement for a portable "light" anti-tank weapon - a tank weapon based on the concept of an oversized rifle, capable of firing Huge armor-piercing bullet. The German Army of World War I (1914-1918) attempted to use such a feat to counter the arrival of British and French tanks, but the design proved to be overall flawed, leading to the concept of an anti-tank/anti-material rifle. Designed by Captain H. C. Boys of the Royal Small Arms Works in Enfield, England, this heavy rifle has a 13.9 mm (0.55 in) cartridge at its center.

To protect its development from prying eyes, the weapon was known locally under the codename "Project Stanchion", although the rifle was eventually known as the "Boy Anti-Tank Rifle" after its designer.

Good progress was made with the design and subsequent testing proved encouraging as the projectile was able to penetrate 25mm of armor plate. The Boy Rifle is essentially a full-size version of a standard service rifle that can be carried almost in the field. This was facilitated by the use of spring-based dampers, muzzle brakes, and monopods (later changed to spike/foot bipods). The angled handle on the rear of the stock allows a second hand to hold when carrying a weapon.

The curved, detachable magazine is inserted into the top of the case before the action. The weapon is operated by a manual bolt-action mechanism, just like a traditional bolt-action rifle. This means that a bolt-action rifle ejects a spent case while inserting a new case into the chamber.

The trigger is mounted in a guard in front of the angled pistol grip. First model had 300 yd and 300 yd dual sight arrangement 500 yd w All subsequent models had fixed sights.

The weapon was introduced with British infantry elements in 1937. However, by the time of total war in Africa and Europe, the design of enemy tanks had improved, and it became increasingly apparent that the Boy Rifle was an open-minded breed.

The gun was effective in the early days of the war, as the enemy's armor was still light and medium. Against these targets, the Boy Rifle proved its effectiveness.

This weapon was especially popular with the Finnish army in Finland during the "Winter War" against the Soviet Union in 1940 - the rifle was capable of knocking out encounters with Soviet T-26 light tanks.

A shortened version was developed and released specifically for the Airborne Forces in 1942 and entered service in Tunisia, where it proved more or less ineffective due to the reduced speed of the shortened barrel (and no muzzle brake). The weapon was subsequently successfully banned from attacking bunkers, machine gun nests and lightly armored vehicles. In the Pacific theater, the Boy Rifle continued to be used as it remained effective against the fleet of light and medium main battle tanks used by the Imperial Japanese Army. Therefore, it was used until the end of the war in August 1945. Throughout Europe, the Boy Rifle was eventually replaced by another specialized anti-tank measure - the famous PIAT anti-tank rocket launcher (described in detail elsewhere on this site).

From 1943, PIAT began to appear in large numbers.

Most British and Commonwealth troops did not like the design of the Boys Rifle, mainly because of the massive recoil it created when firing such a large round. In addition, the muzzle blast is extremely powerful, and the sound of the shooting action can easily reveal the position of the shooter. The violent recoil caused many neck and shoulder injuries, as the rifle was firmly attached to the shoulder when fired. The weapon was also designed with many small screws, mounted in relatively soft steel, making field maintenance difficult. Nonetheless, the weapon continued to be used in British and Commonwealth armies, with some examples falling into the hands of German and Japanese armies just too eager to use the weapon against their former masters.

The use of special cartridges naturally limited the actions of the enemy against captured boy rifles.

Boys 0.55" Size

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