Originally Posted by
etudiant
Does anyone have the actual specifications of the PIAT system? It seemed to me to be a reinvention of the rifle grenade, but with a dedicated launcher.
I don't think that it would have been impossible to attach a similar projectile to an SMLE and get a much more usable weapon.
PIAT was 39" long and weighed 32lbs. It fired 3.3" calibre munition containing a 2.5lb shaped charge warhead capable of penetrating 4" of armour plate.
It utilised the 'Spigot Mortar' principle, but using a sprung loaded moving spigot as opposed to a fixed spigot, thereby cutting down the recoil and also making the weapon lighter than a conventional mortar tube of the same calibre; if a fixed spigot had been used it would not have been possible to fire it from the shoulder.
The limitations were range (115yd Direct Fire / 350yd Indirect Fire), weight, and the fact that the sprung loaded spigot was difficult to cock (although my late Father who was a Glider Pilot and a mere 5'6" used the PIAT in anger on the Rhine Crossing with no problems).
The British rifle grenade of WWII was the No 68 AT. It was a shaped charge munition (likely the first ever shaped charge / HEAT munition) that had an effective range of upto 100yd with a maximum penetration of 2" of armour. So significantly worse than PIAT and with far less accuracy.
PIAT replaced the Boys Anti Tank Rifle in 1943. The Boys fired a .55" round capable of penetrating just under 1" of armour at 100yd (based on a 90 degree strike) and about 3/4" at 500yd. It weighed more than the PIAT at 39lbs with no 5 rnd magazine fitted and had a far more fearsome recoil (and muzzle blast) than did PIAT, leading to its use as mainly vehicle mounted.
BTW SMLE refers to the Short Magazine Lee Enfield rifle of WWI. During WW2 we were using the Lee Enfield No 4 rifle, a descendent of, but a somewhat different beast to the SMLE.