John Kettler Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 Troops, There's some good footage of the M-10, M-18, Achilles and a few others in one segment of Mail Call tonight at the above time (check local listings). The segment is after the R. Lee races the Army dragster. Also, he talks about, shows and shoots the Boys ATR, which, I was fascinated to learn, served in the Pacific with the Marine Raiders and Marines when it couldn't hack the Panzers any more. Never knew that, and definitely had never seen footage of a U.S. Boys in the Pacific. Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pvt. Ryan Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 He also has an effective solution to SPAM. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted March 29, 2004 Author Share Posted March 29, 2004 Pvt. Ryan, Pulled up the wrong memory file initially, then laughed so hard I nearly choked. Thanks for that! Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanonier Reichmann Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 Well, it went over my head. :confused: Regards Jim R. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabidbvr Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 Hello one and all... Boys .55 cal (14mm) Anti-Tank Rifle Barrel Length: 36" (915mm) Weight: 36lb (16.3kg) unloaded Muzzle Velocity: 3250 fps (990m/s) Penetration: 21mm (.83") @ 300m (328yds) The British decided on a straight forward approach for their anti-tank rifle solution with a magazine fed (5-round) bolt action rifle, firing a high velocity steel core AP round. It was adopted in 1937 and issued to troops in the Pacific and later U.S. Marines and Army, where it was effective against Japanese tanks, but of limited practical use. The Boys was also provided to the Finns for the "Winter War" of 1939 in Europe. It was reported that it was "adequately effective" against the Russian T-26, provided the "soft" points of the tank were hit. By 1942 the Boys was ineffective and of no practical value and was replaced by the P.I.A.T.. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YankeeDog Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 Unfortunately, I don't remember where, but somewhere I read that US Marines and Rangers in the PTO used the Boys a lot to destroy equipment from range in raids on Japanese installations. I specificially remember something about disabling airplanes by putting 1-2 rounds through the engine block. Given the kind of hit and fade action that was fairly common in the PTO, I imagine the Boys came in very handy for this kind of thing. Cheers, YD 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted March 30, 2004 Author Share Posted March 30, 2004 KR, Am afraid that was something of an inside joke. In his Boys segment R. Lee Ermey forsook his customary watermelon target and instead did unspeakable things to a stack of full Spam cans. Rabidbvr, Nice distilled look at a weapon many don't know very well. YankeeDog, The use you describe is quite similar to the way the U.S. Special Forces used/use .50 cal. sniper rifles. Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YankeeDog Posted March 30, 2004 Share Posted March 30, 2004 Indeed. In fact, one wonders if the Boys wasn't where they got the idea for such a weapon. . . 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted March 30, 2004 Share Posted March 30, 2004 I saw a photo not so long ago purported to having been taken during the Guadalcanal battle of a Marine patrol, one of whose members is unmistakably carrying a Boys. Since it would have been a most unhandy weapon to lug around in a tropical jungle, they must have been confident of its usefulness. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
von Lucke Posted March 30, 2004 Share Posted March 30, 2004 If you moved the magazine to the underside, it would bear a passing resemblance to the Barrett M82. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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