PIAT
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| Projector, Infantry, Anti Tank | |
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| Type | Anti-tank weapon |
| Place of origin |  United Kingdom |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1942–1950 |
| Production history | |
| Designer | MD1 |
| Manufacturer | ICI Ltd., various others. |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 31.7 lb (14.4 kg) |
| Length | 39 in (990 mm) |
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| Muzzle velocity | 450 ft/s (137 m/s) |
| Effective range | 110 yd (100 m) |
| Maximum range | 350 yd (320 m) |
| Filling | HEAT |
| Filling weight | 3 lb (1.4 kg) |
| Detonation mechanism |
Impact |
The Projector, Infantry, Anti Tank (PIAT), was one of the earlier anti-tank weapons using a high explosive anti-tank projectile. It was developed by the British starting in 1941, reaching the field in time for the invasion of Sicily in 1943.
The PIAT was an unusual infantry anti-tank weapon. It was comparatively quiet and smokeless, with no backblast. This meant that, unlike the American bazooka or German Panzerfaust and Panzerschreck, it could be fired from an enclosed space, and would not give away its position as soon as the weapon was fired. However, it was more cumbersome than its counterparts, and in many circumstances it could be difficult to reload.
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[edit] History
At the start of World War II, all major armies were investing in research into HEAT projectiles to produce an infantry weapon capable of defeating modern tanks, which were essentially immune to the weapons carried by normal infantry. The Germans concentrated on recoilless weapons and the US on rockets, but in 1941 when the PIAT was being developed, rocket powered weapons were nowhere near ready for use.
The British instead turned to a prewar weapon known as the Blacker Bombard, a large mortar, known as a "spigot discharger" or spigot mortar, invented by Lieutenant Colonel Stewart Blacker, Royal Artillery. The Bombard consisted of a heavy barrel containing a large spring. The spring pushed against a 12 lb (5 kg) steel canister and rod that rode up the barrel and struck the rear of the bomb, igniting a small propulsion charge. The heavy bolt and rod, known as the spigot, was used primarily to damp out the recoil of the round leaving the barrel. The charge was also intended to reset the spring, meaning that the weapon had to be cocked only once, by pulling up on the tube while standing on a handle mounted at the rear.
The Blacker Bombard saw limited operational use, having been known to have destroyed only one tank, at the defence of Tobruk in June 1942. It was issued to the British Home Guard in large numbers. However, the design was suitable for modification as the launcher for a HEAT round. The drop in size of the warhead (an effective HEAT shell was 3 lb compared to the 20 lb HE used on the Bombard) meant that the PIAT would be much lighter and more manoeuvrable than the Bombard. A section of the barrel was cut away on the top to form a tray for the round, which could be reloaded with fresh rounds with the operator remaining prone. The charge on the shell was small enough that it caused no real smoke or backblast, a significant advantage over the bazooka. However, the heavy duty spring and spigot increased the weight, resulting in a weapon that weighed 34 lb (15 kg) unloaded. Furthermore, if the charge failed to reset the spigot, which happened often (especially when the firer could not take the recoil), the operator had to retire behind cover to re-cock the weapon. This required a 200 pound-force (900 N) pull requiring the user to stand up or lie on his back.[1]
In general use, the PIAT had a rated range of about 100 m, but that was considered extreme, and it was typically fired at much shorter ranges. According to some wartime British documents, the 3 lb (1.4 kg) HEAT warhead could penetrate 102 mm of armour at a 30 degree angle, although this was considered overly optimistic, and 4 inches (102 mm) at a 90 degree angle was considered to be a more realistic penetration figure. Indeed, there seems to be some disagreement between wartime sources on the PIAT's actual performance - earlier British documents often state a figure of 75 mm, whereas later, most often post-war documents state the figures of 100 mm or more. This was only just sufficient to defeat the frontal armour of the older German tanks, remaining more effective against their side and rear armour. The PIAT could also function in a mortar-like role, where the shell was fired in a parabolic arc up to 350 m. The PIAT was also widely used in the "house-breaking" role, being used to blast openings through walls to permit the entry of an assault team.
An attachment that allowed the PIAT to fire 2 inch mortar shells was produced in limited numbers.
[edit] Combat use
Early use in Sicily proved that a "perfect" hit was required or the round would not detonate, and the weapon soon garnered a poor reputation among the troops. The Army then instigated a rapid series of improvements, and the weapon had matured by the time of the invasion of the Italian mainland. The PIAT could then be found in all theatres.
One problem reported with the PIAT was that the bombs it fired were quite sensitive, due to the special firing mechanism, and if dropped could explode.[citation needed] Hence some bombs were given special caps over the ignition device to prevent this.[citation needed] Also, the bomb had to be positioned correctly or it would not fire and would have to be removed whilst the PIAT was re-cocked, taking time before it could be fired again.[citation needed]
On the morning of the D-Day landings, a single PIAT disrupted a German attempt to reach the invasion beaches.[2] British troops had landed by glider and had seized and held the vital bridges over the Caen Canal and the Orne River. Among the positions held was a T-junction on the main road from Benouville to Le Port which led on to the south to Caen. A German force of two half-tracks of which certainly the leading vehicle was armed with a gun[3] and who were followed by infantry support, approached the junction from the direction of Benouville around 01:30 at night, threatening to turn onto the D 514 road leading to the canal bridge and Ranville. Sergeant Charles "Wagger" Thornton (B Coy attached to D Company, 6th Platoon) Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, armed with the only working PIAT and two rounds, shot the leading half-track at short range. The sergeant lay unprotected and flat on his belly on the left side of the D 514 coastal road, near the town hall, and was accompanied by Private Eric Woods. The PIAT round scored a direct hit and the half-track blew up, while the surviving German grenadiers were shot at by Woods, armed with a Sten submachine gun. The other half-track beat a hasty retreat along with the rest of the troops. The burning half-track was now blocking the junction for other vehicles. The explosion of the wreck forced the remaining Germans to withdraw, and the commander of the vehicle behind the one destroyed by Thornton reported to his superior that the British were armed with 6-pounder anti-tank guns (he believed this due to the ferocity of the explosion). When Private Thomas ('Tommy') Clare went to have a closer look at the wreckage, after having heard a continuous moaning, he found a severely wounded officer in a black leather uniform who had half crawled out of the half-track, still alive, and rescued him. The German officer died a couple of hours later at the first-aid post of major dr. John (Jacob-) Vaughan.
Private Ernest Alvia "Smokey" Smith of the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada earned the Victoria Cross after crawling to within thirty feet of a Panther tank to destroy it with a PIAT.
In one of the most remarkable examples of bravery under fire, Major Robert Henry Cain also earned the Victoria Cross at Arnhem during Operation Market Garden. Using a PIAT (in addition to several other weapons) he destroyed or disabled six tanks, four of which were Tiger tanks, as well as a number of self-propelled guns. [4]
In another example of selfless bravery in the face of danger, on January 18, 1945 Lance-Sergeant John Taylor of The Leicestershire Regiment took up the PIAT himself, from a very exposed position, to defend his platoon H.Q. and score direct hits, silencing the bazooka and spandau fire of the enemy. This action was mainly responsible for beating off the attack of the enemy and giving time for the fire in the roof of H.Q. platoon to be checked. Lance-Sergeant Taylor was later awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal, in part, for his bravery in this action.
The PIAT remained the main British platoon-level anti-tank weapon until 1950, when it was replaced by the US M20 Super Bazooka, known as Launcher, Rocket, 3.5 inch UK (M20) in British service and then later by the ubiquitous Carl Gustav recoilless rifle.
The naval weapon Hedgehog was another application of the spigot discharger principle.
[edit] Specification
- Manufacturer : ICI Ltd., various others.
- Service: 1942–1950
- Overall length : 39 in (990 mm)
- Weight : 31.7 lb (14.4 kg)
- Projectile weight : 3 lb (1.35 kg)
- Muzzle velocity : 190 ft/s (30 m/s)
- Effective range : 110 yd (100 m) armour, 350 yd (320 m) "house-breaking"
- Penetration : 3.3 in (83 mm) of steel armour
- Range : 50 yd
- Ammunition
- Bomb HEAT; Infantry Projector, AT, Mk 3/L
- Weight - approx 2 3/4 lb (1.25 kg)
- Length - 16.6 in (422 mm)
- Colour - Service colour or brown, with red filling ring around forward portion of body, a blue band edged above and below with yellow and with "TNT3" in black on the blue band.
- Operation
From the 1943 British Army manual Projector, Infantry, Anti-Tank:
'Lie on the back and rest the projector on the chest, with the bomb support pointing over one shoulder and the shoulder piece flat on the ground. Keep the front support clear of the body and arms. Place the insteps on the shoulder piece, one foot on each side of the outer casing. Grasp the trigger guard firmly with one hand from underneath; with the other grasp any part of the projector that will give good leverage. Sit up or bend the knees if necessary, according to cover. Pull the outer casing away from the shoulder piece and turn it anticlockwise as far as it will go. Pulling with the hands and pushing with the feet, continue to pull on the outer casing until a click is heard. Considerable effort is required to overcome the resistance of the mainspring. The click denotes the action is cocked.'
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ Hogg, Ian (1996), Tank Killing, 46
- ^ S.E. Ambrose, Pegasus Bridge (New York, 1985; 1988)
- ^ Both S.E.Ambrose, other authors and many British airlanding veterans including D Coy-members and parachutists believed the German vehicles present this night at Benouville to have been 'tanks'. In Ambrose's 'Pegasus Bridge' sergeant Charles 'Wagger'Thornton stated explicitly the German vehicle to have been a Mark IV. That all were wrong is proven by other eye witness accounts that speak of the wreck of a German half-track destroyed by Thornton that night of 5/6 June 1944. They saw the wreck at daylight on June 6. See the after-battle report on sgt. Thornton's Military Medal-award; the report of 1 Spec. Service- commander the Lord Simon Lovat and the memoirs of both parachutist John Butler and Commando/secret agent Leslie ('Red') Wright, all published on the Internet. According to a French translation of British Commando Wright's wartime story, he was as a wounded man sheltering on the crossroads at Benouville in the morning of on June 6 behind 'un camion' which was destroyed that night. For this reason, I believe the leading German half-track might well have been a DEMAG-type vehicle armed with gun in the open backside, such as a DEMAG D7 SdKfz 10. The presence of German half-tracks has been confirmed as well by the director of the Musee Memorial Pegasus at Benouville, Marc Jacquinot to drs. Carles Wolterman (Amstelveen, Holland) who wrote these notes.
- ^ Jeremy Clarkson made the remark on the PIAT in a documentory about the major that "it was a botched piece of design" and "virtually useless against all known sorts of German armour".
[edit] External links
[edit] See also
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