Brits Experience the Same Problem with the 223!

28 Oct 09

Now, even the Brits are speaking up!

A recent article in a London newspaper brought to light rancorous and unnerving comments from British Infantrymen serving in the Mideast about their troublesome bullpup SA80 rifles and the 5.56X45 round for which they are chambered (the same 5.56X45 for which the American M4 is chambered).

Complaints center on limited range, poor wounding effect (particularly at extended ranges), and poor penetration. By contrast, the 7.62X39 round used by most Taliban fighters is effective at longer ranges, easily penetrates common barriers, and reliably delivers an instantly crippling wound.

British soldiers, like their American counterparts, complain that multiple, solid hits are required to bring down enemy fighters, and that their rifles will not even shoot through car doors with any consistency.

Among the British, there are still some FALs, just as an occasional M14 can be found among the Americans. Soldiers are now clamoring for these weapons (chambered for 7.62x51) and use them every chance they get.

The British SA80 rifle, which superceded the FAL in the 1990s, has be problem-prone since its inception. Several expensive "fixes" have been implemented, but problems endure. The rifle is not a popular piece of equipment now, nor has it ever been!

So, like American Soldiers and Marines, British soldiers are lobbying, mostly quietly but sometimes openly, for a new rifle, chambered for a more powerful caliber.

And, in both the UK and the USA, politicians and star-wearers alike continue to dither, turning a deaf ear to the plaintiff chorus of complaints.

/John