Boyes/ PTRD-41 AT Rifles

[Sh0rtbUs]

I didnt even know the brits had Anti-tank rifles in WW2, my question is has anyone actually seen one up close and personal, how effective they were and how much were they actually utilized? I've googled it, but for the most part either came up short, or came up with German sites.

Either way, its a very cool weapon.

EDIT: I just noticed the PPSH, I was always lead to believe these were British Weapons (at least the boyes), are they Soviet in actuality, or were they commonly used throughout the allies?

 

[foerestedwarrior]

definatly russin, look at the helmets, the uniforms, they are blatently russian

 

[a_majoor]

Many nations had "anti-tank" rifles from the end of WWI to about 1941, since tanks were rather thin skinned and an HMG to 20mm sized round could do some worthwhile damage. As a point of comparison, the most common anti-tank cannon at the start of WWII was 37mm.

Practical problems of size, weight and recoil limited how large an anti tank rifle could actually be. The Russian 20mm gun was probably about the maximum size such a weapon could get and still be "man portable" (Even a "New Soviet Man" would have difficulty humping that thing across the field).

By 1941, it was obvious that tank design was evolving to bigger, faster and better protected vehicles that were invulnerable to the sort of rounds any conceivable anti tank rifle could fire. Crew served anti-tank cannons were also growing at an astounding pace, moving from 37mm at the beginning of the war to truly monstrous 122mm designs by the wars end. Fortunately for the gunners, German 122 mm or British "32 pounders" were only experimental, and never reached the field.

The return of giant sized "anti-material" rifles was sparked in the mid 1980's or so with the introduction of the Barret "light .50" rifle. Although it is possible to kill a man at 2400+ m with a .50 cal rifle, the main use is to disable soft or semi soft targets, for example punching holes in parked aircraft, fuel tanks and the like.

I have held a Boys anti tank rifle, and it is not very well balanced or easy to use. For some quick links, try:
http://www.phoenixcommand.com/Boys55atr.htm
http://www.winterwar.com/Weapons/FinAT/FINantitank2.htm#boys
http://www.geocities.com/Augusta/8172/panzerfaust6.htm (a German counterpart)
http://www.rt66.com/~korteng/SmallArms/boysat.htm (WWII Russian)

Hope this helps

 

[Sh0rtbUs]

very helpful, thanks alot for the reply.

 

[Danjanou]

FYI, like a lot of other weapons and equipment that became obsolete in the ETO in WWII the venerable Boyes went on to see some later service in the Asia-Pacific theatre. The USMC Raiders were initially issued a few and one is credited with destroying a Japanese seaplane as it tried to take off during the Makin Island Raid.

 

[Michael Dorosh]

'Boyes were taken out of storage in Ortona, coincidentally enough, and used apparently to shoot locks off of doors.

 

[QORvanweert]

I wonder how many bodies one of those rounds could have passed through? I think that Boyes would still have held some defensive abilities like shooting through ramps of landing craft, through obstacles they were hiding behind and possibily pill boxes.?

 

[a_majoor]

Like almost anything invented, you could still find a use for a Boys rifle long after it was obsolete. You probably could find effective employment for mailed knights as well. The Boys and similar weapons were no longer effective at what they were supposed to do, and the number of "special" situations they could be used for was too small to justify the logistics burden of keeping another weapon, ammunition nature, special tools and training in place, especially when there were other more versatile tools available.

For a defender, there were lots of machine guns of various calibres, and to attack a pillbox, you could use a PIAT, flamethrower, or tank.