SA80

   

SA80 (Standard Arm for the 1980s) is a family of related arms that include the British Army's standard combat rifle and light support weapon. They were introduced to service in 1985, and will likely remain the primary infantry weapon until 2015.

Description

The SA80 family is made of three weapons, the L85A1 IW (Individual Weapon), the L86A1 LSW (Light Support Weapon) and the manually operated L98A1 CGP (Cadet General Purpose). All three are similar in most respects, they all fire the 5.56mm NATO round from a 30-round box magzine, and can mount the SUSAT (Sight Unit; Small Arms; Trilux), a 4x optical sight with a tritium-powered glowing action for night sighting. Combat Support and Combat Service Support troops, as well as cadets, are equipped with a simple iron sight incorporating a carrying handle, though they retain the SUSAT on the LSW.

The LSW is a section-level magazine fed light machine gun. For this role it adds a bipod, buttstrap and rear pistol grip, and has a different design of handguard. Its longer barrel also improves muzzle velocity for longer range. The gun is otherwise identical to the basic L85 and the magazines and all removable internal parts are interchangeable.

The CGP is broadly similar to the IW, but lacks a gas system and change lever. They were built in order to allow Cadets to train on something similar to the IW, while not being fully-automatic, which was prohibited by law until recently. Instead, the working parts are re-cocked by hand after each shot, using a large cocking handle. This is connected to the bolt by an external rod, and runs on a slide on the side of the body well forward of the working parts, making it far easier to use in the prone position than that of the IW or LSW.

The SA80 is noted for accuracy and is arguably one of the more accurate assault rifles.

History

L70 and L85A1

Royal Small Arms Factory developed a rifle to fire the new .190" (4.85mm) round fitted in "necked down" but otherwise standard 5.56mm cartridges from the M-16. The new L64/65 was outwardly similar to the Enfield EM-2 bullpup rifle.

The L64 was re-chambered with the 5.56mm round, creating the L70. The MoD asked for a series of minor changes. The weapon officially became standard in 1985 as the L85A1, replacing the 7.62 x 51 calibre L1A1 known in service as the SLR (Self Loading Rifle); a licensed version of the FN FAL.


Poor Dependability

In service the weapon quickly gained a very bad reputation for dependability and durability. Poor placement of the magazine ejector button meant the magazine would sometimes fall out while walking. The safety was operated by the trigger finger, making for slow "rapid shoot" response. But the worst problem was that the weapon constantly jammed, due both to a poorly designed cocking handle that sometimes deflected empty cartridges back into the ejector port, and general flimsiness and sensitivity to dirt. Reports by H&K have also suggested that over-zealous cleaning has a detrimental effect on the rifle, making it both more likely to suffer a stoppage and increasing the propensity to fouling, as well as wearing out the parts more quickly. This includes both using abrasives on parts not suited to them, as well as simple over cleaning. The rifle and LSW are both criticised for their enormous weight; far heavier than any equivalent modern arms.

The L86 Light support weapon has been replaced on an ad hoc basis by the FN Minimi also in 5.56 NATO (.223 Remington) by the Royal Marines and is issued to other British units on active service most notably in Iraq and Afghanistan. The major reasons cited being poor dependability of the L86 and the constraint on its firepower forced by it being magazine fed. The Minimi is belt fed though it does accept M16 and SA80 magazines.

L85A2

In 1997 the SA80 was dropped from NATO's list of approved weapons. This appears to have been the final straw and an upgrade programme was finally started. In 2000 Heckler und Koch, the new owners of Enfield, were contracted to fix the problems. By 2002 the upgraded versions were deployed in first line formations, many other formations retain the A1 version. Despite these changes, the SA80 is still enormously disliked by British troops. Many soldiers have 'borrowed' American M16s in the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, especially the left-handed, who are forced to use the SA80 in the wrong hand due to the placement of the ejector port, preventing the use of a brass deflector. The SAS, Royal Marine Special Boat Squadron, Royal Marine Brigade Recce Group (Formerly Mountain and Arctic Warfare Cadre) as well as other specialist UK formations very often use the Diemaco C-7 or C-8 (variants of the M16 family) over the SA80.

The Heckler und Koch "upgrades" are a matter of some debate, as the programme replaced almost all of the internal workings of the rifle for $160m (£92m) and can hardly be considered an upgrade. The L86 received an even heavier barrel. The new A2 versions of the L85 and L86 are outwardly similar to the original A1 versions, with the exception of a redesigned cocking handle. The CGP, as a training weapon for cadets, was not included in the upgrade programme.

In a further Heckler und Koch upgrade a certain number of L85A2 rifles are now being fitted with the HK AG36 40mm grenade launcher in a configuration similar to the M16/M203.

Specifications

L85 Individual Weapon

  • Calibre 5.56 mm
  • Weight 4.98 kg (with loaded magazine and optical sight)
  • Length 785 mm
  • Barrel Length 518 mm
  • Muzzle Velocity 940 m/s
  • Feed 30 round magazine
  • Effective Range 400 m
  • Cyclic Rate of Fire 610-775 rounds per minute

L86 Light Support Weapon

  • Calibre 5.56 mm
  • Weight 6.58 kg (with loaded magazine and optical sight)
  • Length 900 mm
  • Barrel Length 646 mm
  • Muzzle Velocity 970 m/s
  • Feed 30 round magazine
  • Effective Range 1000m
  • Cyclic Rate of Fire 610-775 rounds per minute.

External links


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