Original Item. Only One Available. This is a very nice Inert British WWII PIAT Anti-Tank Bomb Launcher HEAT (high explosive anti-tank) "Bomb" round. This example retains its original factory paint and stamps, with a date of 9/44, for September 1944. This example is missing the fuze cap but still displays very well without. Like all deactivated ordnance, this PIAT Round is Not Available for Export.
The tip of the PIAT has a red band painted on it, and the lower head has two yellow stripes with remnants of black or green paint between them. The round measures roughly 14⅝” in length. The shaft of the round is stamped in the metal BR.344. The PIAT round is stamped in two places very clearly on the warhead
9/44
LOT
1865
And
T.N.T.3.
I.C.I/C/FHE
The fin assembly is in rough shape but is stamped clearly BCL 7/44 for a production date of July 1944. The top of the round unscrews, allowing the nose cone to be removed. Some of the internal components are missing, so the nose cone can be pushed down into the warhead, but is usually held in place by the fiber padding near the top.
This is a very rare deactivated HEAT type PIAT round, one of only a few that we have ever had, and it is definitely a very nice example! Ready to display!
The Projector, Infantry, Anti Tank (PIAT) was a British anti-tank weapon developed during the Second World War. The PIAT was designed in response to the British Army's need for a more effective hand-held infantry anti-tank weapon. It consisted of a steel tube, a trigger mechanism and firing spring, and was based on the spigot mortar system; instead of using a propellant to directly fire a round, the spring was cocked and tightened. When the trigger was pulled, it released the spring that pushed the spigot forward into the rear of the bomb. This detonated the propellant in the bomb itself, which was then thrown forward off the spigot. It possessed an effective range of approximately 100 yards (90 m).
This system meant that the PIAT had several advantages, which included a lack of muzzle smoke to reveal the position of the user, the ability to fire it from inside buildings, and an inexpensive barrel. The PIAT entered service in 1943, and was first used during the Allied invasion of Sicily that year; it remained in use with British and Commonwealth forces until the early 1950s, when it was replaced by the American bazooka. A large number of PIATs were supplied to the Soviet Union through Lend Lease, and it was also used by the French resistance and the Polish Underground. The Israeli Haganah used PIATs during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Six members of the British and Commonwealth armed forces received Victoria Crosses whilst using the PIAT in combat.
