Rifle, Anti-Tank, .55in, Boys
A very rare opportunity for someone is about to be had, Wolverine has just had a BSA ( Birmingham Small Arms ) Boys Anti Tank rifle walk through the door and it is up for sale. This is going to be on Consignment here, this is not available on the website ( yet ) and you will have to email or call if you are wanting more info or to purchase her. This unit not only is a historical piece but she is still in working order AND comes with 15rds of .55 Boys ammunition. Two dummy cartridges as well including ammunition bandoleers, an action cover, and a MK1 ammunition box. Roughly 62,000 units were produced within the small span of three years so they do not come by that often anymore, if you have ever had your sights on one now is the time to pull the trigger!
As she sits with all the goodies we are looking at SPF plus shipping and tax. Also a nice little side note she is all matching numbers aside from the Bipod.Feel free to give us a holler!
As always:
You can E-mail us at: sales@wolverineSupplies.com
You can Call us at: 204-748-2454
You can send at letter to: Box 729 , #1 River Valley Road, Virden, MB, R0M 2C0 , Canada
You can send a messenger to : Lattitude - 49.89617 | Longitude - 100.85384 NE ¼ 5-11-25
Operational use ( totally stolen directly from Wikipedia for info )
The Boys rifle was used in the early stages of the Second World War against lightly armoured German tanks and combat vehicles. Britain also supplied a large number of Boys anti-tank rifles to Finland in 1939 and 1940 during the Winter War with the Soviet Union. The weapon was popular with the Finns because it could deal with Soviet T-26 tanks, which the Finnish Army encountered in many engagements.
Although useful against early German and Italian tanks in France and North Africa, as well as in the Norwegian campaign, such as the Panzer I, Panzer II and early models of Panzer III, increases in vehicle armour during the Second World War left the Boys largely ineffectual as an anti-tank weapon. A shortened version was deployed in 1942 for issue to airborne forces and saw use in Tunisia, where it proved completely ineffective because of the reduced velocity caused by the shortened barrel. Another limitation was that the Boys rifle was relatively heavy and unwieldy to carry and set up.
The Boys' reputation after the Battle of France was such that the Canadian government, through the Directorate of Military Training, The Department of National Defence and National Film Board of Canada (NFB) commissioned a training film, Stop That Tank! (1942), from Walt Disney Studios to counter the rifle's "jinx" reputation.
Nonetheless, in the European theatre, it was soon replaced by the PIAT (Projector, Infantry, Anti-Tank) in 1943, which first saw service during the Allied invasion of Sicily. In other roles, the Boys saw some use against bunkers, machine gun nests and light-skinned vehicles but was rapidly replaced in British and Commonwealth service, as quantities of the latter weapon became available, by the U.S. .50 BMG calibre M2 Browning machine gun.
Using armour-piercing (AP), armour-piercing incendiary (API), and armour-piercing incendiary tracer (APIT) ammunition, the .50 Browning was just as capable in armour penetration and more devastating when igniting thin-skinned vehicles using incendiary rounds than the Boys, and could also serve as an effective anti-aircraft weapon. The heavier Browning, however, was not "man-portable" at 38 kg (84 lb) without tripod and 58 kg (128 lb) with tripod. Even the British Special Air Service, which made much use of captured or cast-off weapons for their jeeps and reconnaissance vehicles, quickly got rid of their Boys rifles in favour of M2 Brownings or the Italian 20mm Breda cannon.
The weapon was standard issue to British and Commonwealth forces which attempted to stem the Japanese onslaught through the Pacific theatre. At Milne Bay, the weapon proved completely ineffective. It also failed to stop Japanese tanks in Malaya. Some accounts claim that the 1/14th Punjabi Regiment knocked out two light Japanese tanks at a roadblock. During the Battle of Singapore, the 1st Bn Cambridgeshire Regiment claims the Boys was very useful in knocking holes through walls during street fighting.
The U.S. Marine Corps purchased Canadian Boys rifles prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor. They saw limited use by the Marine Raider Battalions against enemy bunkers and aided in shooting down two seaplanes off Makin Island. The U.S. Army's 1st Ranger Battalion was also equipped with Boys, but they were not used in combat. The other five Ranger battalions were authorized Boys, but were not equipped with them.
The Boys rifles were also used by the Chinese Nationalist Army during the late Second Sino-Japanese War in both China and Burma.
The Boys rifle was also equipped and used by the Philippine Army and Philippine Constabulary during the Second World War against the Japanese occupation and to aid the Allied liberation. Following the Post-Second World War era, it was operated during the Hukbalahap Rebellion against the Hukbalahap Communist fighters in Central Luzon and by the Philippine Expeditionary Forces to Korea (PEFTOK) against the North Korean and Chinese Communist forces.
In September 1965, members of the IRA hit the British fast-attack patrol boat HMS Brave Borderer with a Boys rifle, crippling one of her turbines while she was paying a visit to Waterford, Republic of Ireland.
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Originally Posted by johnamillertime
