L98A1 Cadet GP
 |
| L98A1 Cadet General Purpose Rifle | |
|---|---|
 A Cadet using an L98A1 Cadet GP Rifle | |
| Type | Cadet training rifle |
| Place of origin |  United Kingdom |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1987–2009 |
| Used by | United Kingdom Cadets (CCF, SCC/MCD, ACF, ATC) |
| Wars | None |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | BAE Systems |
| Produced | 1985–1994 |
| Variants | L103A1 Drill Purpose Rifle |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 4.9 kg |
| Length | 785 mm |
| Barrel length | 495 mm |
| Cartridge | 5.56 x 45 mm NATO |
| Caliber | 5.56 mm |
| Action | Straight Pull bolt action |
| Rate of fire | Single Shot |
| Muzzle velocity | 940 m/s |
| Effective firing range | 300 m (individual) 500 m (section) |
| Maximum firing range | 500 m |
| Feed system | 30-round detachable STANAG magazines |
| Sights | Iron Sights |
The L98 Cadet GP Rifle is a general purpose (GP) rifle used by the Combined Cadet Force and Sea, Marine, Army and Air Cadets in the United Kingdom. The L98A1 Variant has been replaced by the L98A2, however this change has not been completed and many counties are still without the L98A2.
L98A1 Cadet GP
The weapon was introduced in 1987, as part of the SA80 series, replacing the .303 Lee Enfield No 4 rifles and .303 Bren guns (used by the CCF and ACF for automatic weapons training).
Breakdown
The GP rifle strips for cleaning almost identically to the L85A1 but without the gas parts. It consists of: barrel and receiver, trigger mechanism housing (TMH), cocking handle and extension rod, bolt carrier assembly and the recoil rod assembly. All can be removed and reassembled without tools. But the sights and hand guard can only be detached with the aid of a combination tool.
Working parts
The GP is a manually-operated, single-shot rifle which cannot produce semi- or fully-automatic fire. The SA80 IW and LSW are cocked via a cocking handle attached directly to the bolt carrier. However the older L98A1 GP rifle, which had a cocking handle extension piece, was cocked with the right hand as opposed to reaching across and cocking it with the left hand. This has been redesigned in the A2 to allow the weapon to be cocked with left hand as opposed to the right hand.
Training
Before using the weapon with either blank or ball ammunition, cadets receive training in the safe use of the weapon. These weapons drills are assessed through weapon handling tests (WHTs) carried out as part of regular training or at the discretion of range staff.
Sights
The L98 is fitted with adjustable iron sights. This consists of a rear battle and leaf sight and a front blade sight.
The front sight is mounted on an extension from the barrel known as the foresight mounting block. The front sight assembly is clamped to the top of this block and carries the front sight blade with protective fins on either side. The foresight facilitates adjustment of elevation in increments of 2 minutes of angle.
The rear sight is fitted to the rearsight mounting bracket (which doubles as a carrying handle). It is also adjustable in 2 minute increments . The rear sight has a battle sight zeroed to 300m, which this can be flipped over to reveal an adjustable leaf sight. Ranges from 100 to 500 metres are available by turning the adjustable range dial.
Modifications
Two conversion kits exist which enable the L98A1 to fire .22 LR rimfire cartridges instead of the standard 5.56 mm NATO cartridge. This allows the weapon to fire live rounds on .22 ranges when full size military ranges are unavailable.
Both kits consist of modified working parts (springs etc.), a special magazine that is the same size and shape as the standard 5.56 mm magazine and a special adapter, shaped like a 5.56 mm cartridge, which is fitted into the L98A1's breech. This adapter contains a smaller breech into which the modified bolt inserts the .22 cartridge. The modified magazine locks into the magazine housing exactly as a normal one would.
The first kit is fitted with the standard GP cocking handle and works in exactly the same way as a single-shot L98A1 cadet GP rifle.
The second kit (the L41A1 sub-calibre adaptor) is fitted using a L85A1 cocking handle. It allows .22 rounds to be fired semi-automatically using direct blow back against the bolt to cycle the next round.
The conversion is not permanent and either kit can be removed from the L98A1 in the time it takes to normally strip and reassemble the weapon.
Problems
The L98A1 has a number of design features that cause problems, especially for inexperienced cadets.
For instance a common stoppage occurs if the cocking handle is not fully retracted and released because the spent round fails to eject cleanly fouling the breech and preventing the loading of the next cartridge. This fault is often caused by poor cleaning as dirt, grit and rain easily foul and remove the oil from the exposed cocking handle slide making a smooth action harder to cycle.
A stoppage also often occurs when a cadet "rides" the cocking handle forward instead of releasing it smartly. Empty cases have been known to bounce off the firers hand, as the weapon is re-cocked, and back inside fouling the breech and causing a stoppage.
The distinctive and comparatively loud sound produced when the weapon is "made ready" before firing, makes realistic field training all the more difficult because the opposing section would almost certainly know where the "enemy threat" was coming from before the fire fight even began. This was only aggravated by the single shot capacity requiring a noticeable movement (and noisy cocking) after each shot, thus making a well hidden/camouflaged opposition obvious.
The removal of the flash suppressor on the L98 also prevents the fitting of the blank firing attachment (BFA) (or, for that matter, the fitting of a standard issue British army bayonet) for the L85A1 series or the use of the safe blank firing attachment (SBFA) for the A2 series. This increases the safety distance when firing from 2m to 50m and increases the opportunity for injury. The inability to fit a BFA and the resulting safety distance effectively means that the L98A1 cannot be used for FIBUA training as room clearance requires the discharge of blank rounds at close quarters.
L103A1 Drill Purpose Rifle
There is a 'DP' (Drill Purpose) version of the L98A1, known as L103A1. It is similar to the 'GP' rifle, however, modifications have been made in order to deactivate it: the barrel is sealed by filling it with lead, the firing pin is cut and welded down to the bolt face and the hammer is filed down, making reactivation uneconomical. The weapons are used by cadets for weapons drill training without the fear of negligent discharge (ND) of a live round. The 'DP' can be identified by a white stripe on the hand guard and near the butt of the weapon with the letters 'DP' in the stripe. the bolt carrier assembly (bolt) is painted red and this can be seen from the breech on the right hand side of the weapon.
Decommission
The L98A1 rifle began a phased decommission in early 2009 and is now no longer officially in use by the Army Cadet Force. Most UK cadet forces have now received the new Heckler and Koch modified L98A2 rifles and Light Support Weapons (LSW's).
L98A2
| L98A2 Cadet General Purpose Rifle 5.56x45 | |
|---|---|
 A DP (Drill/Demonstration Purpose) version of the A2. This weapon has white markings to denote its status as a DP, and is unable to fire live or blank ammunition. | |
| Type | Cadet training rifle |
| Place of origin | United Kingdom |
| Service history | |
| In service | 2009–present |
| Used by | United Kingdom Cadets (ACF, CCF, SCC/MCD, ATC) |
| Wars | None |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Heckler & Koch |
| Manufacturer | BAE Systems |
| Produced | 2009-Present |
| Variants | L103A2 Drill Purpose Rifle |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 4.9 kg |
| Length | 785 mm |
| Barrel length | 518 mm |
| Cartridge | 5.56 x 45 mm NATO |
| Action | Gas-operated, rotating bolt |
| Muzzle velocity | 940 m/s |
| Effective firing range | 300 m (individual) 500 m (section) |
| Maximum firing range | 500 m |
| Feed system | 30-round detachable STANAG magazines |
| Sights | Iron Sights |
The L98A2 has now replaced the L98A1[1]. The new rifle (DP pictured - see below) is very similar to the L85A2 except that the weapon is only capable of semi-automatic single shots, not fully automatic fire. Modifications by the German defence manufacturing company Heckler and Koch[citation needed] have been made to the trigger mechanism, including removing the change lever and fixing the interceptor sear in its working position, which prevents full auto fire or unauthorised modifications to enable such.
Main Differences
The main differences with the L98A2 rifle compared to the L98A1 are the gas parts. These parts allow the weapon to be fired semi-automatically, rather than single shot as with the A1. Another noticeable difference is the cocking handle and the way the rifle is cocked. With the A1 the cocking handle was attached to the bolt carrier assembly via an extension rod and slide assembly, whereas the A2 has a smaller cocking handle attached directly to the BCA. This is designed to be cocked with the left hand rather than the right. The L98A2 is also unique amongst the SA80 family in having both the body and TMH serial numbered, rather than just the TMH as was standard practice previously. This is to prevent L98A2 and L85A2 bodies from being mixed up, because they are otherwise identical.
Cocking Handle
The new cocking handle is of tough rubber with a metal plate insert. The function of the cocking handle is to not only cock the weapon but also ensures that when a round is ejected it strikes the metal plate forcing it to fly away from the working parts to prevent stoppages. One of the heavily criticised features of the SA80 A1 series was the frequency of stoppages caused by ejected cases bouncing off the old-style circular cocking handle and back into the working parts. The A2's curved cocking handle is shaped to deflect spent cases away from the weapon.
Magazines
The new A2 magazines are noticeably heavier than the A1 magazines; this is because they are made from steel rather than thin aluminium. They still accept 30 rounds but the spring inside the mag has a stronger anti-tilt follower and stronger base plate.
Training
Before using the weapon with either blank or ball ammunition, cadets receive training in the safe use of the weapon and are taught Normal Safety Precautions (NSPs). These weapon drills are assessed through weapon handling tests (WHTs) carried out as part of regular training or at the discretion of range staff. These tests must be carried out every six months and cadets who do not pass them are not allowed to fire the weapon with either blank or live ammunition.
The A2 can be fitted with the Safe Firing System (SFS) incorporating a Blank Firing Attachment (BFA) which screws on to the flash eliminator, and a yellow blank-only magazine. This reduces the danger area when firing blank from 50m to 5m to the front and 2m either side, and allows the weapon to use the gas parts to automatically re-cock.
L103A2 Drill Purpose Rifle
The L103A2 Cadet DP Rifle (as pictured above) is used by cadets for practising rifle drill and weapons handling tests. During rifle drill practise it is common for cadets to remove the foresight as it often gets in the way and is unnecessary in that application, empty magazines with the springs removed are fitted, this is so the working parts do not stay at the rear every time the rifle is cocked and to simullate real use with blank or ball ammunition.
The DP weapons are also used in Weapon Handling Tests as these skill-at-arms periods do not involve firing live or blank rounds. The L103A2 contains all the same working and gas parts as the standard live firing weapon.
Key distinguishing features and marks on the DP show that it is not capable for live firing:
- The bolt carrier is painted red
- The top cover is painted white
- The cheek pad is painted white
- DP is painted in white on both sides of the butt
- The firing pin is clipped short
- The striker hole in the bolt face is welded shut
- The barrel is welded into the barrel extension (the receiver)
- A portion of the barrel is cut away internally
- The barrel is welded shut
- The rear of the bolt is painted red
- Locking lugs are removed from the DP bolt and their corresponding lugs in the barrel extension welded shut
- A large metal block is welded into the TMH to fit into the hole cut in the barrel, preventing the DP TMH from being fitted to a live weapon
See also
- Air Training Corps
- Army Cadet Force
- Combined Cadet Force
- Sea Cadet Corps
- Marine Cadets
- L81 A2 Cadet Target Rifle
- SA80
- British military rifles
