The Last Enfield

The last Enfield was the last rifle to be made  by the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield in the north of London and it has a story, of corruption lies, incompetence and meddling. The result is a shoddy weapon which is grossly over priced and costing lives. But the story deserves to be well known because it is an example of government which is all too typical. It all got written up in Last Enfield - SA80: The Reluctant Rifle by Steve Raw, who is an author in this field. He used public sources but putting them all in one place reveals the ugliness of the matter. Special  interests come into play. The good of the nation, the effectiveness of the British Army and men's lives all come down the line.

The issue that matters is that the weapon works under military conditions. That means mud in most cases. In Iraq it means heat and dust. The Artic and snow go together. A sensible answer to getting a good weapon is buying one with a proven record. The American M16A2 is one possibility. The Kalashnikov is available in NATO chamberings and much cheaper than the SA80. But sensible answers are subject to politics and the Not Invented Here syndrome.

The "Light Support Weapon" which was intended to give more fire has been abandoned as useless to be replaced by the GPMG or General Purpose Machine Gun which fires the 7.62 NATO round or the Minimi which uses 5.56 NATO. The GPMG is heavy but it works. It is fair to say that the optical sight is good. Men still have to trust to the rifle, the SA80. 

Graun Explains SA80

British Army Is Undergunned In Afghanistan [ 8 January 2009 ]
QUOTE
Military chiefs were last night facing criticism after being forced to buy guns with more powerful bullets to defeat the Taliban. The Ministry of Defence has spent £1.6million on 440 semi-automatic rifles, which use 7.62mm ammunition. The order from U.S.-based company Law Enforcement International followed concern that UK forces' 5.56mm rounds were unsuitable for battle in Afghanistan......... It means insurgents - who use 7.62mm ammunition [ 7.62 short ] for their AK47s - back off and shoot at British troops from greater distances. Half of all battles in Helmand are fought between 300 and 900 yards.
UNQUOTE
This article is written on the basis of solid, in depth, wide ranging, deep seated ignorance. 5.56 NATO might work. The old 7.62 NATO round does work; that is fact, not rumour. The MoD should have plenty of SLRs chambered with the old round. Fitting scopes would make them that much better.
PS We got the up rated .303 round from Dum Dum Arsenal before the First World War because the new fangled .303 British was not dropping natives on the Northwest Frontier. The answer was to give the round a soft nose for greater effect. It worked. It also caused adverse comment while saving the Empire.
PPS The rogues - they can't be that incompetent - buying these rifles for £3,600 each should be in prison for defrauding the tax payer.