A paratrooper armed with a PIAT covers a road at Arnhem, 18 September 1944

Photograph by Sergeant D M Smith, Army Film and Photographic Unit, World War Two, North West Europe, 1944.

The Projector Infantry Anti-Tank (PIAT) gave the lightly armed paratroops a weapon to use against tanks. Its drawbacks included its weight, the difficulty in cocking the weapon in a confined space and a maximum range of only 100 metres (109 yards). However, the bomb was capable of penetrating any tank armour.

From a collection of 75 British official photographs relating to 1st Airborne Division at Arnhem, Operation MARKET GARDEN, September 1944.