0.55 Inch Boyes

The 0.55 Inch Boyes is a British anti-tank rifle named for the Captain leading the development team. There were two main types, a early model which had circular muzzle brake and T shaped bipod, and a later model that had a square muzzle brake and a V shaped bipod. There were also different cartidges, with a later one offering better penetration.

Description

A bolt action rifle fed from a 5 shot magazine, the weapon was large and heavy with a bipod at the front and a separate grip below the padded butt. It was fitted with a muzzle brake intended to reduce the recoil from firing a 0.55 in (14 mm) round.

Effective to about 300 yards (300 m) as an anti-tank, anti-vehicle weapon. Effective range against unarmoured targets (eg infantry) would be much further. Although useful against the early tanks, the increase in armour during WW2 left it largely ineffective for anti-tank duties and it was replaced in service by the PIAT anti-tank device. It still saw some use against bunkers, machine gun nests, and lighter vehicles. It also continued to be used in the Pacific theater against Japanese tanks as the Japanese did not replace their older lightly armored tanks spread out across the pacific and south east asia, with newer ones until later in the war. The weapon had been designed with these lighter tanks in mind.

• Overall length: 1.6 m (5 ft 2 in)
• Weight: 16 kg (around 36 lb)
• Muzzle velocity: 990 m/s
• Armour penetration: 21 mm (approx 3/4 in) at up to 100 yards (100 m)

Usage

• Australian Forces – Nicknamed "Charlie the bastard" for its savage recoil.
• British Army
• Canadian Forces

The Boyes Rifle was sometimes mounted to a Universal Carrier ('Bren Gun Carrier') instead of a Bren Gun.

External link

• Digger History