British SA80 Rifles the L85A1 and L86A1 LSW Text & Photos by Dan Shea in the Early 1950S, the a Soldier Takes Aim with His SA80
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Visit us on line at: www.smallarmsreview.com SA80 on the firing range. The SA80 fitted with SUSAT is a consummate marksman’s weapon as long as it is not exposed to harsh treatment or severe environmental condi- tions. Photo: Marsh Gelbart British SA80 Rifles The L85A1 and L86A1 LSW Text & Photos by Dan Shea In the early 1950s, the A soldier takes aim with his SA80. This photo illustrates how the sight British MOD undertook line of the SUSAT is much higher bullpup projects referred to than the weapons barrel. Photo: Marsh Gelbart as the EM1 and EM2 series (See SAR volume 6 number 2). These were never produc- tion guns, and they were tried in numerous calibers, most notably in .280. In the 1980s, the British MOD adopted a design that was a relative of these projects- the SA80 rifle, in its type as the L85A1 IW (Individual Weapon) and the bipod supported heavy bar- rel L86A1 LSW (Light Sup- port Weapon) variant. The Small Arms Review • Vol. 6 No. 3 • December, 2002 61 Visit us on line at: www.smallarmsreview.com Why make a “Bullpup”? The basic fications to thir- idea is that with a much more compact teen parts of the package than a standard rifle, you can keep rifles: Breech the full barrel length, vastly improving the Block, Breech ballistics over a shorter barreled rifle. The Bolt, Cartridge first instinct in making a shorter rifle would Extractor, Car- be shortening the barrel length but that tridge Ejector, leads to several problems. The first and Recoil Spring, major one is the lost energy and changes Extractor to the stability in the projectile. Reports Spring, Firing are currently coming back from the fight- Pin, Cocking ing in Afghanistan, of US soldiers with M4 Handle, Maga- carbines shooting “Bad guys” center of zine, Gas plug mass, and they don’t drop. They are not and Cylinder, incapacitated. This is counter to the mis- Hammer, Bar- sion, which is to kill or incapacitate the rel Extension, enemy. This can get our guys compro- and the Barrel mised, which means “Killed”. This is un- on the L86A1 acceptable. The M4 carbine uses a barrel LSW, not the that is 14.5" long, which changes the in- barrel on the ternal ballistics, the external ballistics, and L85A1. It is not what is becoming more apparent, changes the purpose of the wound and terminal ballistics of the this article to re- 5.56x45mm (NATO) cartridge. The M4 view the HK Carbine is the direct offspring of the SA80A2 up- M16A2 series of full size rifles. It is now grades, we do The archetypical British “Squaddie” equipped with under fire in the desert fighting. So is the not have one an SA80. He is wearing the well designed “Soldier SA80 series, once again. More on other available for 95” combat uniform. Photo: Marsh Gelbart. problems later in this article. testing. During Operation Desert Storm, and The media in the Sierra Leone battles, the British has been buzz- troops armed with the SA80A1 system ing about problems with the SA80A2 in tion process close to your face and left were very vocal about the problems they Afghanistan, and we have not been able to handed shooters have a major problem were having with rifles that were unreli- pin down any specific problems from the with this location. I found the balance point able, or flat out didn’t work in the desert general comments made. Reports on the to be somewhat awkward, it is behind the environment. Many comments were made failure of the M4 Carbine to perform are pistol grip. This means that you have one about them grabbing Kalashnikovs or M4 abundant as well, and there is at least one hand out front on the forend, the other on carbines if they could, and abandoning the comment shared with your faithful corre- the pistol grip, and the majority of the SA80A1 because they didn’t trust it. Sol- spondent from someone who was there for weight is rocking the rifle out of balance diers tend to vote with their actions- if comparison testing, that the M4 Carbine to the rear and down. A good firm support something doesn’t work right, it causes failed miserably, while the SA80A2 had against the shoulder is required to counter them grief or puts them in harm’s way, so virtually no problems. All of this will come this pressure. Without that control, the rifle they improvise, overcome and adapt. His- out in the wash of course. will rise much more severely on automatic torically, if that means tossing your Reising What we do have available to us, is fire. Model 50 into the river and grabbing a one each of the L85A1 IW, and the L86A1 The receiver is bent up sheet metal. Garand from a fallen brother, then so be LSW. I have spent a number of years gath- While treated and properly manufactured, it. Students of military history are well fa- ering accessories and taking pictures of it is still sheet metal, and subject to denting miliar with stories like these, and most variants, as well as speaking with opera- inwards. In some locations on the receiver, veterans can identify with this. This prin- tors and engineers. Basically, keep these this can either misalign a part, or, more ciple is universal to soldiers, whether it be guns cleaned and well lubricated. I rec- likely, interfere with the travel of the bolt fighting, digging ditches, or doing KP. If ommend liberal treatment with TW-25 on carrier. Many interior components are it doesn’t do its job, it gets DX’d. the lower internals, and on the bolt carrier sheet metal as well. In 1996 the firm of HK Oberndorf un- rails as well as the bolt group’s moving Most of the parts appeared fairly ro- dertook an analysis of the system and fi- components. In other than desert theatres, bust, with some questions about the nally landed a contract for well over $100 they seem to perform well. internals in the trigger area- many appeared million to perform an upgrade and modi- A bit about the rifles. These are obvi- to be formed sheet metal, which this writer fication program on 200,000 of the ously bullpups, which is a plus as well as a never considers a good idea in a high wear SA80A1 series of rifles intended to be- minus- you keep the full barrel length in a area. come the SA80A2. These included modi- shorter package, but you move the ejec- The SUSAT (Sight Universal Small 62 The Small Arms Review • Vol. 6 No. 3 • December, 2002 Visit us on line at: www.smallarmsreview.com Arms Trilux) sight is very quick for tar- other than to acknowledge the excellence and these will probably be sold out to UK get acquisition. In fact, it is one of the of HK’s reputation on engineering. friendly governments, or more likely up- best general issue optical sights that this I tried to analyze the system in the graded to SA80A2 configuration, depend- writer has ever used. The SUSAT is widely photo captions, and give my hints for ing on the current situation. There is a acknowledged to be fast and accurate, weapon care in the disassembly sequences. source that has approximately 100 of the keeping its zero fairly close on dismount With only a few thousand rounds through L85A1 IW and a small quantity of the and remount, and it works well in darker the gun, most in the summer environment L86A1 LSWs available for Law Enforce- scenarios, due to its Tritium capsule. here in Maine, it is difficult for me to simu- ment purchase, or to qualified museums, There are no batteries, and the Tritium late the other environments encountered. reference collections, and collectors capsule is expected to last about ten years The use that this writer envisions for around the world. US collectors cannot then be replaced. The SUSAT is issued these A1 rifles is more in a standard Law obtain them, only Class 3 dealers who in combat zones, but generally the carry Enforcement environment. The bullpup have an agency who require a test of the handle / Iron Sight combination is issued configuration of the SA80 series is an ex- system. For more information, contact: otherwise. cellent method of maintaining the full Altogether, the SA80A1 system gets power of the projectile when facing mod- a thumbs down as a modern military issue ern body armor on criminals while keep- Law Enforcement International Ltd. weapon from SAR. This is mainly because ing a small overall package. If your LE PO Box 328 of the reported troubles in the field, and environment is not in the desert, the St. Albans Herts the fact that a modern army may be fight- SA80A1 is certainly worth testing out. AL4 OWA England ing in virtually any conceivable environ- Production of the SA80 series was 323,920 Tel: 01727-826607 ment, not just a local, known one. There Individual Weapons, and the production (Allow for Int numbers) are many other systems available today. line was shut down in 1996. (Jane’s In- Fax: 01727-826615 Without reviewing the SA80A2 upgrades, fantry Weapons). This would leave ap- Email: [email protected] it is hard to make any comments on that, proximately 130,000 SA80A1s unaltered, “Mini” SA80 Tank Model, made in a very small quantity in Great Britain. Serial number A000259. Probably only a handful made. This one has a dif- ferent, very early SUSAT sight on it.