Info on the SA-80

[Tasman]

I'm no Aussie , but I am reasonably sure that the Australian army went from the SLR to the Steyr in the mid to late '80s with the M-16 and M-4 used by the commandos and SAS. Same as the New Zealand Army.

Although I am sure the SA-80 would have been trialled.

M16s were also used alongside SLRs during the Vietnam war era, replacing SMGs in infantry sections.

Cheers

 

[Sgt.Banes]

I'm no Aussie , but I am reasonably sure that the Australian army went from the SLR to the Steyr in the mid to late '80s with the M-16 and M-4 used by the commandos and SAS. Same as the New Zealand Army.

Although I am sure the SA-80 would have been trialled.

Kind of odd though, I had the assumption that the Aussies used them in some limited numbers more or less infantry or some engineer corps.

 

[Tasman]

Kind of odd though, I had the assumption that the Aussies used them in some limited numbers more or less infantry or some engineer corps.

I've been searching through my reference materials for info re this and can find no mention of the SA-80 ever being used in any way by the Australian Army. The only other weapon I have read about in the trials that led to the selection of the Steyr was the M-16A2, although I imagine other weapons would have been considered prior to the trials.

Cheers

 

[rickshaw]

I'm no Aussie , but I am reasonably sure that the Australian army went from the SLR to the Steyr in the mid to late '80s with the M-16 and M-4 used by the commandos and SAS. Same as the New Zealand Army.

Although I am sure the SA-80 would have been trialled.

They were. I've read the report of the British Army's hot and arid trials which were held at Woomera in 1979 IIRC (been a long time since I read the report). The Australian Army report was scathing on the weapon. It was seen as being flimsy, heavy and unreliable. Admittedly this was the first batch produced and so you'd expect teething problems but as we all know, those problems continued well into production of the weapon. It was that trials report which I don't doubt made sure that the Australian Army looked elsewhere for their L1a1 replacement when the time came.

 

[Sgt.Banes]

I've been searching through my reference materials for info re this and can find no mention of the SA-80 ever being used in any way by the Australian Army. The only other weapon I have read about in the trials that led to the selection of the Steyr was the M-16A2, although I imagine other weapons would have been considered prior to the trials.

Cheers

Thanks mate.

 

[MichalosGR]

Is there any NATO army which did not move from 7.62mm to 5.56mm? Please correct me if I'm wrong but my understanding is that once NATO set the new standard calibre for main battle rifles, all members followed. Other western countries like Australia and New Zealand have also adopted NATO standards for their rifles.

Greece is a NATO member that still uses 7.62 x51 mm in our G3A3 and G3A4 rifles. Mostly because they have been produced locally for the past 30 years and switching caliber would mean the total of our rifles, spare parts and ammo stocks would become ..well..useless..

Its a powerful, reliable and accurate weapon, but its weight (4.5 kg approx) makes it impractical in mobility and offensive operations. Rather outdated if one tried to sum it up with one word..

If i remember correctly, we didnt jump on the M-16 bandwagon a decade ago because Colt and the US DoD would not allow their local production.

 

[mickk]

I know an ex Royal Marine who told me a lot about this rifle, I forget most of it, had a play with one at Plymouth one day in the early 1990s.

I recall thery were not popular as they need a battery for the sight I think. They were used in the Falklands (unofficially I think) and they sent the wrong batteries so it was a huge cock up.

I used the SLR 7.62 and it was a heavy bastard compared tp the Steyr. The Steyr had its own problems early on, the plastic parts were melting, it was considered a piece of shit compared to the SLR. It also upset a lot of traditionalists as we had to change how we marched. No more shoulder arms when marching, now its this girly method of holding it when marching.

At least you could belt the fuck out of someone with the SLR and do some damage and it had good reach with the bayonet.

 

[Dropkick]

Did the Australian army ever use SA-80's or any variant of it?

Australia opted for the Steyr AUG in thier F88 guise.

The only official export for the SA-80/L85 was the Jamican Defence Force, whom bought a couple of hundred at a very reasonable price from RO Defence. They were very eager for an export sale.

The Czech Republic in their uprun to NATO membership took a very hard look at the SA-80, with the producer at the time briefly claiming another export sale. This fell apart however when it was disclosed the MoD was negotiating the L85A2 upgrade with Heckler & Koch.

 

[riksavage]

Australia opted for the Steyr AUG in thier F88 guise.

The only official export for the SA-80/L85 was the Jamican Defence Force, whom bought a couple of hundred at a very reasonable price from RO Defence. They were very eager for an export sale.

The Czech Republic in their uprun to NATO membership took a very hard look at the SA-80, with the producer at the time briefly claiming another export sale. This fell apart however when it was disclosed the MoD was negotiating the L85A2 upgrade with Heckler & Koch.

H&K were selected to upgrade the SA08 because at the time they were British owned. I went to the RO factory outside Nott'm to look at a variety H&K models for potential export to Asia back in the early 90's.

I also fired an SA80 on the range, along with a HK33, MP5A3 and HK53 in HK. The latter were lighter and had a common operating system, very easy to maintain. The former was fiddly as hell to clean, but so much more accurate (HK33 & 53), based on the fact non were zeroed to me personally.