SA80: MISTAKE OR MALIGNED?
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http://www.quarry.nildram.co.uk/SA80.htm
After various attempts at denial, and years of applying minor fixes that eased some problems but failed to solve the big ones, the Ministry of Defence bowed to the inevitable in 1997 and commissioned HK to undertake a thorough revamp of the SA80 (HK was by this time owned by Royal Ordnance, so was in effect a British company - it has since been returned to German control). The changes were expensive (£92m - about 145 million dollars/euros) and comprehensive, as follows:
- internal machining to clear feed and extraction paths
- new breech block and bolt
- new extractor and ejector with spring
- new recoil springs
- new firing pin
- new cocking handle
- entirely new magazine made from pressed steel
- new gas plug and cylinder
- new hammer
- new barrel extension
- new barrel (LSW only).
Some 200,000 weapons were converted to the A2 specification between 2000-2002. The MRBF (Mean Rounds Between Failure) test scores achieved by the L85A2 in a variety of environments averaged 25,000, although dropping to just under 8,000 in the hot and dry conditions of Kuwait. The L86A2 was subjected to a tougher test and achieved a much lower overall average (just under 13,000) but performed slightly better than the L85A2 in Kuwait. Much confidence was publicly expressed that the problems had been resolved and the British Army now had a rifle to be proud of. Details are provided on the British Army's official website at: http://armydev.dera.gov.uk/presscentre/database/showPR.asp?id=2382 as follows -
u talking abt SA80 or L85?
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I heard, they spend 1.2 million pounds just to add a dust cover to fix those faults.
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From BBC about infamous rfile jamming when you need it most. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/4x4_reports/2481265.stm
"'Faulty' rifles
The SA80 rifle has been used by every soldier in the main army for 15 years, but it has been troubled right from inception.
Simon Weston (left) and Simon Bywater
Former marine Mr Bywater says the SA80 rifle should not be used in battle
For the BBC One programme Fit To Fight:4x4 Reports, I interviewed former marine Simon Byswater who trialled the gun in 1986.
He told me the soldiers who tested the rifles found they were magnets for dust and sand and jammed bullets.
Four years later, when troops were under fire from rebel forces in Sierra Leone, the guns jammed again.
Luckily, other soldiers had M16s to cover them" -
Wah.. the Sierra Leone situation was serious.. the entire Company's SA80 jammed, and had to resorted to passing their Mags to feed their SAW M-249 holding the lines. They were all seating ducks. Luckily there were enough m-249s. I can't imagine myself there, the US troops in Vietnams had the same problems with their M-16s, they were not so luckly.. Vietcons and NVA are a more determined enemies.
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The problems were NOT the same - for the SA80, the problem is in the weapon itself - for the M16, the problem is that the users (not cleaning their weapons)Originally posted by MobyDog:the US troops in Vietnams had the same problems with their M-16s -
Sorry, I was refering to the jamming part. Not only cleaning, the unreported bullet propellant change also played a much larger cause of the jams.Originally posted by dragonstar:The problems were NOT the same - for the SA80, the problem is in the weapon itself - for the M16, the problem is that the users (not cleaning their weapons)