The Battle Rifle Britain Never Should Have Replaced

In 1982, British soldiers carried the L1A1 SLR through the mud, sleet, and bogs of the Falklands, and it worked flawlessly every single time. Five years later, the British Army retired it in favour of the SA80 (L85A1)... a rifle that would become one of the most infamous weapons in modern military history. This is the story of the L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle — where it came from, why it earned the loyalty of a generation of soldiers, and why so many believe Britain should never have let it go. From its origins as the legendary Belgian FN FAL, "The Right Arm of the Free World," to Britain's controversial decision to make it semi-automatic only, to its trial by fire in the Falklands — and the troubled replacement that jammed in the sand during the Gulf War — this is the full rise-and-fall story of a battle rifle that was arguably ahead of the weapon that replaced it. Was retiring the SLR the right call, or one of the great mistakes in British small-arms history? Let me know in the comments.