L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle (RSAF Enfield)
Royal Small Arms Factory Enfield · Battle Rifle · Out Of Production · 1957
Also known as: SLR, L1A1, Self-Loading Rifle, Inch Pattern FAL
Overview
The L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle is the British/Commonwealth inch-pattern licensed variant of the FN FAL battle rifle, manufactured primarily at the Royal Small Arms Factory Enfield and the Birmingham Small Arms (BSA) Shirley plant from 1957 onward. Unlike the metric-pattern Belgian FAL, the British-built L1A1 was redesigned with imperial measurements, omitted the full-automatic capability mandated by NATO common standards, and featured a folding cocking handle and revised bipod-bayonet flash hider. The L1A1 served as the primary infantry rifle of the British Army, Royal Marines, and Royal Air Force Regiment for over three decades, seeing combat from the Suez Crisis and Borneo Confrontation through the Falklands War, the Troubles in Northern Ireland, and the 1991 Gulf War, before being replaced by the L85A1 SA80 in the late 1980s through mid-1990s.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 4310 g (152.0 oz) |
| Weight (loaded) | 4970 g (175.3 oz) |
| Overall Length | 1143 mm (45.00") |
| Barrel Length | 554 mm (21.81") |
| Sight Radius | 553 mm (21.77") |
| Action Type | Gas Operated Short Stroke |
| Firing Mechanism | Hammer Fired |
| Trigger Type | Single Stage |
| Magazine Capacity | 20 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Detachable Box |
| Muzzle Velocity | 823 m/s (2700 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 3215 J (2371 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 600 m (656 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 3000 m (3281 yd) |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Rifling Twist | 305 mm (12.01") |
| Number of Grooves | 4 |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Wood |
| Finish | Phosphate |
Calibers
- 7.62x51mm NATO · primary · 7.62x51mm NATO — also known as .308 Winchester, 7.62mm NATO, 7.62x51mm
Features
- Firing modes: Semi Automatic
- Feed systems: Detachable Box Magazine
- Safety mechanisms: Manual Safety, Tilting Breech Lock
- Features: Tilting Breechblock, Adjustable Gas Regulator, Fixed Carrying Handle, Inch Pattern Receiver, Flash Hider Bayonet Lug, Wooden Furniture, Semi Auto Only
Variants
- L1A1 SLR (Lithgow Australian Production) — Licensed Production
- L2A1 Heavy Barrel Automatic Rifle — Automatic Squad Support
- C1A1 (Canadian Production) — Licensed Production
Base model
Service history
Operators
- British Armed Forces · adopted 1957 · as L1A1 SLR
- Royal Marines · adopted 1957 · as L1A1 SLR
- Brunei Armed Forces · as L1A1 SLR
- Sierra Leone Army · as L1A1 SLR
- Jamaica Defence Force · as L1A1 SLR
- Rhodesian Security Forces · as L1A1 SLR
Conflicts
- Suez Crisis (1956)
- Borneo Confrontation (1963-1966)
- The Troubles (1968-1998)
- Falklands War (1982)
- Gulf War (1990-1991)
- Rhodesian Bush War (1964-1979)
Production
Estimated total produced: 1,000,000 · Production years: 1957-1985
Primary production at RSAF Enfield and BSA Shirley; total combined UK production estimated at over one million rifles over nearly three decades.
Origin
Country of origin: United Kingdom
Designer: Dieudonné Saive
Discontinued: 1995
Notes
RSAF Enfield production began 30 May 1957. Although mechanically based on the FN FAL, the L1A1 used imperial threading and could not interchange parts with metric-pattern FALs. Often called 'the right arm of the free world' alongside other FAL variants. Final phase-out from second-line British units completed circa 1995.
Background
British soldiers in the Falklands found that their semi-auto L1A1s were significantly out-volumed by Argentine FAP heavy-barrel FALs and selective-fire FN FALs that retained automatic capability - a doctrinal choice the British made decades earlier on grounds of ammunition discipline that suddenly looked questionable in the trenches of Mount Longdon.