"PIAT: An Odd Fellow " Topic
6 Posts
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Tango01  | 16 Apr 2018 8:55 p.m. PST |
"The British PIAT grenade launcher, a combination of a medieval crossbow and a modern HEAT grenade, became one of the more unusual examples in its class. Heavy and uncomfortable to use, the PIAT went through many fronts of the Second World War in the hands of Allied soldiers. However, its subsequent career was not long. The weapon did not survive competition from the simpler and more reliable RPG.
British infantry was armed with two types of anti-tank weapons at the start of WWII: the 13.97 mm Boys rifle and the No.68 rifle grenade. Experience in France showed that these weapons could defeat German light tanks, but were ineffective against the medium PzIII and PzIV. The army needed a new anti-tank weapon that was compact but still capable of sufficient penetration. In pursuit of this weapon, British engineers had to resort to some unusual methods…"
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| goragrad | 16 Apr 2018 9:49 p.m. PST |
All that detail on development and no penetration figures. |
| Andy ONeill | 17 Apr 2018 1:58 a.m. PST |
Crossbow????
It's a spigot mortar. |
| deephorse | 17 Apr 2018 8:37 a.m. PST |
Anyone reading the article will see why there is a crossbow reference. |
| Tango01 | 17 Apr 2018 10:51 a.m. PST |
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ScottWashburn  | 18 Apr 2018 9:51 a.m. PST |
Interesting that the British method of assigning Piat operators was identical to the US with its Bazookas: there were no dedicated operators, everyone was trained to use them and the company or platoon officers just gave them to whoever they wanted. |
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