L98A1
The
L98A1 Cadet GP Rifle (GP - General Purpose) is the standard
rifle for
British Army,
Air and
Sea cadet shooting. This weapon was introduced alongside the
SA80 series from 1989 onwards for cadet use, as at the time cadets were not permitted to fire semi- or fully-automatic weapons.
The main difference between the GP and the
SA80 IW is that the GP is a straight pull manually-operated weapon and cannot fire
automatic or in
semi-automatic. Visually, the absence of a
flash suppressor and
fire selector switch plus the addition of a
cocking handle extension piece differentiate the two. The absence of a flash suppressor also means the weapon cannot fire
rifle grenades. The GP rifle is based on the L85A1 SA80 rifle (standard service with the British Army), but with absence of
gas parts (as above). It is a
5.56 x 45 mm calibre weapon, and has a muzzle velocity of 940 m/s. The GP also has a weighted trigger since it was designed as a target rifle. This is not dissimilar to the 'snowcutter' trigger on the SA80A2, but is not angled at the back. The GP uses the standard 30 round magazine (as SA80). There is also a DP (drill purpose) version of the L98A1, designated L103A1. This weapon can not chamber rounds due to the fact that the firing pin has been cut short and the barrel has been filled with cement, it is easily identified by two white stripes with the letter DP being painted on the hand guard and trigger mechanism housing (TMH), also the bolt is painted red. The DP rifle is normally used for parades and training at individual units.
The GP rifle strips for cleaning in a similar way to the IW, without the gas parts. It consists of: barrel and receiver, trigger mechanism housing (TMH), cocking handle and extension, bolt carrier containing the bolt, firing pin and cam stud, and the spring-rod assembly, all of which can be removed and reassembled relatively easily without tools. The sight and foregrip can also be detached with the aid of the combination tool; because there are no gas parts venting carbon fouling into the handguard this item need not be removed as frequently as on the other SA80 weapons.
The GP is a manually-operated, straight pull rifle and cannot fire automatically or in repetition. The
SA80 IW and LSW are cocked via a cocking handle attached directly to the bolt carrier. The GP rifle, however, has a cocking handle extension piece, and is cocked with the right hand as opposed to reaching across and cocking with the left. The drills for the other SA80 weapons mandate a "forward assist", a tap of the cocking handle to ensure the bolt is properly closed. This procedure is not (theoretically) required on the GP, the extra weight of the cocking handle assembly giving the bolt carrier sufficient inertia to close reliably under its own power, although as dirt gets trapped in the locking lugs frequently a forward assist is required to ensure a proper lock, especially after many rounds have been put through the weapon.
Before using the weapon with either blank or ball ammunition, cadets receive training in skill-at-arms and range safety. Drills that are taught include:
* Normal Safety Precautions (checking that a weapon is unloaded when taking control of it, and demonstrating that it is unloaded when passing it to another person).
* Stripping, cleaning and reassembling the rifle
* Filling magazines
* Load (attaching the magazine to the weapon)
* Make Ready (cocking the weapon to move a round into the chamber)
* Make Safe (reversing the result of a "make ready", after which there will no longer be a round in the chamber, also used to change magazines during a range practice)
* Immediate Action (IA) Drills (Stoppages caused due to an empty or incorrectly-fitted magazine, or an obstruction or misfeed in the weapon)
* Unload (removing the magazine from the rifle and ensuring there is no round in the chamber)
A standardised Weapon Handling Test (WHT) covering the above points must be passed before a cadet may shoot.
Whilst practicing
fieldcraft, on occasion army cadets may use the GP rifle to fire blanks in fieldcraft scenarios. Because the L98 does not have a flash eliminator a Blank Firing Attachment (BFA) cannot be fitted to the muzzle, hence a greater safety distance is required for blank-firing exercises than when operating with the SA80. There is no real need for a BFA since there are no gas parts to cock; this also means that the GP is louder than the Army's weapons when firing blanks, and the lack of a flash eliminator means that the reports are accompanied by a substantial flash.
The L98 is fitted with adjustable Iron Sights. It consists of a backsight and a foresight. The foresight is mounted on a protrusion extending from the barrel upwards through the foregrip which would be the
gas block on the SA80 IW or LSW. The foresight assembly is clamped to the top of this and carries the foresight blade with protective fins either side. Zeroing in elevation is carried out on the foresight by turning a wheel that raises and lowers the blade. The backsight is fitted at the rear of the carrying handle, with zeroing in windage performed using a wheel on the side. This, like the elevation wheel on the foresight, is locked in place by a spring-loaded pin, and is best adjusted using the combination tool.
The backsight has a seldom-used battle sight which flips over to reveal an adjustable leaf sight - by turning a range dial differently-placed apertures are moved into position behind a slot. Ranges from 100 to 500 metres are available, though because the zeroing settings are shared between all of them they can only be correct at one chosen range (usually 300m). The battle sight is nominally zeroed for use at 300m; since zeroing is important only when firing live ammunition, which cadets do only on a range with plenty of time to flip up the main sight, this is largely irrelevant.
If available, the SUSAT
can be fitted to the GP, though larger units such as the CWS night-sight and the original SAWES laser-training projector would foul the GP's larger cocking handle and cannot be used.
The weapon now is a number of years old, and in dire need of replacement. There has been talk of the GP being replaced by a version of the L85 with no automatic mode (repetiton only). This will create a weapon which can produce tighter groupings (without the need to recock after each shot). Upgrading to repetition would also reduce the most common cause of stoppages when firing the GP, namely incorrect operation of the extended cocking handle. This would cause the weapon to fall within Section 5 of the 1968 Firearms Act, although the 1988 Amendment to the Act specifies that cadets may use Section 5 firearms when on duty with the cadet forces. Army Cadets can only use section 5 firearms at training 3 star level, and must be over 16, whereas
ATC cadets only need to be 14 and gain a marksmanship classification to progress to L98 training. There has also been talk (frowned upon by many) of rifles for cadet use being sidelined, in favour of clay pigeon shooting (shotgun), though many argue this is restricting cadets from improving on marksmanship principles. For the time being, however, cadets must stick with the L98.
*Rumours still abound of an
L85 variant being issued to the Cadet Forces; as yet these are unsubstantiated.
*
Air Training Corps*
Army Cadet Force*
Leyland det. S-coy, LACF*
Salerno company, Lancs ACF*
Lancashire ACF*
Caversham Detachment, Berkshire ACFCombined Cadet ForceArmy Cadet ForceAir Training CorpsSA80British Military Rifles
