
British Newsreel. February 15, 1940. The Rifle, Anti-Tank, .55in, Boys commonly known as the "Boys Anti-tank Rifle" was a British anti-tank rifle. There were two main types, an early model (MK I) which had a circular muzzle brake and T shaped bipod, and a later model (Mk II) that had a square muzzle brake and a V shaped bipod. There were also different cartridges, with a later one offering better penetration.The eponymous creator of this firearm was Captain Boys, who was a member of the British Small Arms Committee and a designer at the Royal Small Arms Factory, Enfield. It was initially called Stanchion but was renamed after HC Boys as a mark of respect when he died a few days before the rifle was approved for service in November 1937.A bolt action rifle fed from a five-shot magazine, the weapon was large and heavy with a bipod at the front and a separate grip below the padded butt. In order to combat the recoil caused by the large 0.55 inch (13.9 mm) round, the barrel was mounted on a slide, and a shock absorber was fitted to the bipod along with a muzzle brake on the barrel.The weapon was effective to about 300 yards (280 m) as an anti-tank and anti-vehicle weapon. There were two main service loads used during the Second World War, the W Mark 1 (60 g AP at 747 m/s) and the W Mark 2 ammunition (47.6 g AP projectile at 884 m/s). Later in the conflict, but too late for service use, a much more effective high velocity round was developed, this fired a tungsten cored Armour <b>...</b>
British
Anti-Tank
Rifle
Boys
.55in.
World
War
II
Tanks
Armour
Western
Front
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