Boys Anti-Tank Rifle

The Boys Anti-Tank rifle was a bolt-action .55-inch rifle that was the British Army’s platoon-level anti-tank weapon until replaced by the Projector, Infantry, Anti-Tank (PIAT) in 1943.

This page provides a compilation of information regarding the rifle and is unlikely to be a comprehensive collection, yet attempts to draw together the information found by our research.

Army Council Instructions

305. Magazines, Rifle, Boys, Mark I. – Springs, Platform. (March 1940).

1280. Damage to Deflector Recoil Reducer of Rifle, Boys, Mark I.

Damage to the think wall of metal at the rear of the front cone of the recoil reducer, Mark I, of the Boys rifle has occurred during firing.

Such damaged deflectors will be repaired locally by shortening the rear end of the front cone by 1/8-inch.

Army Council Instruction 1280 of October 1940.

Sources

  • The National Archives, WO 293/25 Army Council Instructions 1940.