L1A1 in the Twilight War

[rcaf_777]

I found out that Canada had it stock plié up till 2002

[dude_uk]

Yes and no. Its dependant on a lot of factors. Cutting it short,You would not see the SA80 being handled by units outside the UK. I would expect war production to mount up and for a brief period the vast amount of kit would be the last created, (So Challenger 2's instead of 1, Warrior instead of FV432 etc)

The initial order for the SA80 was for 300,000 rifles (Including LSW's). This was to be completed by 1991. (This is manufactured by, not issued to all units by 1991).However these were to be divided between all 3 services. So what needs to be factored in:

1) Is there a pre-war second round of manufacturing?

2) Is there a wartime round of manufacturing?

Someone on this forum once said that the UK kept large quantities of Lee-Enfields greased up and in storage for a VERY long time. So keeping large quantities of L1A1's and L4's in storage would fit. I would expect them to be issued to hostilities only raised units designed for UK home defence.

I could see the UK doing the same as they are at least (if not more) intelligent as the US Politicians.

We sold our last aircraft carrier!

[.45cultist]

I know a handful of inch kits were imported here, but metric kits buried them. A gentleman I know who carried one in a former UK client had to settle for an IMBEL kit rifle. BTW, he misses the aluminum land rover too! "If we got stuck, everyone got out and picked it up and moved it onto better ground."

[Rainbow Six]

Originally Posted by dude_uk

We sold our last aircraft carrier!

Technically we still have an aircraft carrier at the moment (Illustrious, although not for much longer) - it was the aircraft that could fly off her that we got shot of!

[mpipes]

I picked up a mismatched L1A1 parts set at some point in the 90s and had it built on a semi inch pattern receiver. Cool thing about it...the butt stock has two kill marks, small 'x', carved in it. A collector I know got a former British issue L1A1 imported from Canada in the late 80s that had seven.

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by Rainbow Six

Technically we still have an aircraft carrier at the moment (Illustrious, although not for much longer) - it was the aircraft that could fly off her that we got shot of!

What do you plan to do with your F-35s? (Bin 'em, I say...)

[Targan]

Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b

What do you plan to do with your F-35s? (Bin 'em, I say...)

Ouch. Australia has committed rather a lot of money to the F-35 program. Will the end result be that bad?

[Rainbow Six]

Originally Posted by Targan

Ouch. Australia has committed rather a lot of money to the F-35 program. Will the end result be that bad?

You've just reminded me that the latest edition of Air Forces Monthly has what seems to be quite a detailed article on the current Royal Australian Air Force. Must pick a copy up this week.

[Rainbow Six]

Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b

What do you plan to do with your F-35s? (Bin 'em, I say...)

The F35's are slated for the two new Carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, which are currently being built and are scheduled to come into service towards the end of the decade (at the earliest), but there's a lot of speculation that Prince of Wales will go straight into storage / reserve rather than ever see service, potentially leaving the RN with the Queen Elizabeth as the only carrier in service.

Our only carrier currently in service is HMS Illustrious, which flew the Harrier until we got rid of all of our Harriers a couple of years ago, leaving us with an aircaft carrier but no aircraft that could be flown off her, so Illustrious is currently serving as a helicopter carrier while HMS Ocean is in refit and is due to be retired later this year when Ocean's refit is completed, leaving us with no aircraft carrier whatsoever until Queen Elizabeth comes into service.

[.45cultist]

I just read a story saying the Queen Elizabeth is expected to launch in 2015. Could they be prioritizing her build? The story also said the sailors would have a smart phone app to find their way around, I went . Granted I'm only an former Air Force Transportation guy, but wouldn't it's crew become familiar with their ship?
Back on topic, I'm inspired to make a former Brit NPC with an L1A1 parts gun now. I've been thinking of a civilian party centering on a small gun club. This would have a mix of careers linked to a useful postwar skillset.

[Rainbow Six]

Originally Posted by .45cultist

I just read a story saying the Queen Elizabeth is expected to launch in 2015. Could they be prioritizing her build?

I'm no expert but I think we're both right. The shell of the ship (ie something that wont sink if put in water) will be ready either later this year or next year at the latest. However there is still then several years of work to be done before it begins to resemble a completed ready for service warship. According to wiki timeline is likely to be something like this:

2009 - construction began

July 2014 - ship launched

July 2014 - May 2016 - internal construction completed, with crew ready to come aboard May 2016 (at which point they might need their smartphone app!)

Oct 2016 - sea trials begin

2018 - F35 operations begin

2020 - ship attains "operational military capability"

Construction on the Prince of Wales began in 2011 so logically she should be two years behind the Queen Elizabeth. There was an article in one newspaper that usually knows what it's talking about (not the Daily Mail) a while ago though that said the Navy were informally referring to Prince of Wales as HMS Portsmouth Pier because she would never leave dock.