British Army Equipment in the Later Twilight War

[perardua]

The L119A1 is a Diemaco, as far as I can tell, having spent some time on the ranges with some SFSG lads while on tour who let us have a go.

[helbent4]

Originally Posted by perardua

The L119A1 is a Diemaco, as far as I can tell, having spent some time on the ranges with some SFSG lads while on tour who let us have a go.

Perardua,

Diemaco is an interesting story. Both new and licenced weapons (SA-80, AUSTEYR-88) seem to have considerable teething difficulties; Diemaco took a design and within a decade had made improvements on the original so much that more C7s-C8s were sold to more foreign governments than the M16/M4 designs, and in more versions. In a move that is neither surprising nor ironic, Colt acquired Diemaco and it is now known as "Colt Canada".

There were rumours in the 90's that the Diemaco C7 and C8 would replace the L85A1, but for many reasons this didn't come about. For one thing, a lot of time and money had been sunk into the SA-80. Also, the idea might have been to run out the clock until the next generation infantry weapon was developed, likely an OICW-type system.

In the T2K timeline, it's possible that after being adopted by special units in the 90's, the L119A1 would become more widespread in British units due to quality and availability, at least as a stopgap while the L85A2 is developed and deployed.

Tony

[Legbreaker]

I can't say any of the early model F88 Austeyrs I was issued had any teething problems. All worked well without faults.
The only thing I could say about it is that the bolt hold open device (a simple slot for cocking handle) didn't exactly instill a lot of confidence in the user after handling the L1A1. It seemed too easy to accidentally knock it, allowing the bolt to fly forward and chamber a round (or potentially trapping a finger in the chamber while conducing night time safety checks).

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by Legbreaker

The only thing I could say about it is that the bolt hold open device (a simple slot for cocking handle) didn't exactly instill a lot of confidence in the user after handling the L1A1. It seemed too easy to accidentally knock it, allowing the bolt to fly forward and chamber a round (or potentially trapping a finger in the chamber while conducing night time safety checks).

The bolt hold-open of the M16 is like that. It's especially apparent when you go from Inspection Arms to Order Arms -- the butt goes to the ground and the bolt immediately goes forward. But it also makes for a quicker reloading time -- just trip the bolt catch after putting in a new magazine.

[Legbreaker]

Having used both weapons, I have to say the catch on the M16 is definately the flimsier. At least with the F88 you can keep your hand in a position that will block the cocking handle if it does dislodge itself (just don't let any instructors see your hand anywhere near it).

It seems strange that with the L1A1 SOP was that you engaged the hold open device, yet kept your hand on the cocking handle (in case the catch failed), but with the Steyr you got in serious shit for doing exactly the same thing.