Miniature Armoured Train Fought Hitler's Luftwaffe...and Won!

TL;DR

Britain's Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway converted a 15-inch gauge locomotive into an armored train that downed a German BF 109 using a Boys anti-tank rifle.

Key Points

• 1.The Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway became the world's smallest armored train in 1940. The army commandeered locomotive Hercules No. 5 and two bogey hopper wagons, plating them with mild steel and concrete painted dull gray, manned by seven Somerset Light Infantry soldiers.
• 2.The train's armament was surprisingly lethal for its size. Each gun platform carried two WWI-era Lewis machine guns and a Boys anti-tank rifle — a .55 caliber weapon capable of penetrating 23.2mm of armor at 100 yards, effective against Panzer I and II tanks.
• 3.The miniature train engaged Luftwaffe aircraft on at least three occasions in summer 1940. A BF 109 pilot mistook it for a full-scale train, misjudged his strafing run, and was hit by a Boys rifle round — a hole of exact .55 caliber dimensions was found on the downed fighter.
• 4.The train served a second vital role in 1944, escorting components for Operation PLUTO. PLUTO (Pipeline Under The Ocean) pumped fuel 70 miles across the English Channel to Allied forces in Normandy after D-Day; Hercules No. 5 still runs on the railway today, nearly 90 years later.