From: Rusty�Bullethole, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Telegraph 31.7.00
Soldiers' rifle failed in battle, says secret report
By Tim Butcher, Defence Correspondent
THE lives of �lite Pathfinder troops were endangered
when their rifles jammed during a battle in Sierra
Leone, a top secret report says. It is the first time
that the SA80 rifle has failed in battle, although it
is notoriously unreliable and unpopular amongst soldiers.
The Telegraph has learned that the safety catches on
two versions of the SA80 jammed as rebel soldiers of
the Revolutionary United Front attacked two forward
trenches occupied by the Pathfinders near Lungi airport.
It was before dawn on May 17 when the rebels crawled to
within 40 yards of the trenches.
With numerous paramilitary groups fighting on the side
of the British backed Sierra Leone government, the
Pathfinders were under orders to shoot only if they
were certain that their targets were RUF rebels. A
Nigerian peacekeeper stood up at the last minute to
challenge the rebels. They opened fire and it was
then that the soldiers found they were unable to
defend themselves.
They had to rely on support from other Pathfinders
equipped with older and more reliable General Purpose
machine guns. The SA80s were not entirely useless. When
illumination flares were sent up, the troops looked
through the SA80 sights to direct the machine gun fire.
Four dead rebels were recovered after the battle,
although intercepted RUF radio messages suggested that
at least eight others were killed. There were no British
casualties. The Ministry of Defence report is so
sensitive that it has not been fully distributed
throughout the Army for fear of damaging morale among
forces still using the SA80.
News of the malfunction was suppressed during the
remainder of Operation Palliser in Sierra Leone to
ensure operational security and some senior soldiers
fear that the incident may now be overlooked. Senior
planners at the permanent joint headquarters in
Northwood, north-west London, where all British
military deployments are organised, have not yet been
told of the malfunction.
The SA80 assault rifle has been in use since the
mid-Eighties and was used in the Gulf conflict in
1991. Although there are many accounts of its failing
during exercises, this is the first malfunction in
battle. Troops have long distrusted it and this incident
will add to calls by some senior officers for the MoD
to replace it.
While the gun performs well in test conditions, it is
too fiddly and unreliable in the field. Its performance
declines dramatically in hot and dusty conditions. The
SAS and Special Boat Service do not use it, preferring
versions of the American M16. British special forces
were seen carrying such guns extensively in Sierra Leone.
The Pathfinders, who recruit from all regiments and
carry out deep reconnaissance with airborne troops,
train with the M16 and had to switch to the SA80 for
Sierra Leone because of supply problems. A major
overhaul of the gun was ordered by the Ministry of
Defence in June. Under the L80 million programme,
Heckler and Koch, the gun maker owned by Royal
Ordnance, will rework 200,000 SA80s.
The programme includes several refurbishments which
the Government says will greatly improve the gun. But
the Tories and other critics of the Government have
argued that the programme is cosmetic and will not
rid the SA80 of its underlying flaws. Iain Duncan
Smith, the shadow defence secretary, said: "Soldiers'
respect for the SA80 is the most critical issue."
Although the Lungi incident occurred too late for it
to be included in the research work carried out before
the improvements to the SA80 were announced, a senior
defence source said that the lessons would be heeded.
"The SA80 team is anxious to take information from any
incident," the source said. "This will be looked at
very closely." It is unlikely, however, to counter the
general feeling in the Army that the SA80 is a poor
weapon that should be replaced.
Scrap this weapon
KIPLING wrote affectionately of the Martini-Henry rifle;
its role in securing Britain's imperial zenith won
national respect. No modern poet is likely to do the
same for the modern Army's SA80, which is roundly mocked
by the men, privately condemned by officers and openly
scorned by our allies. News of the gun's malfunction
during the battle of Lungi Loi in Sierra Leone, carried
in today's Telegraph, will create huge momentum for it
to be scrapped once and for all.
Ordered by Margaret Thatcher's government in the early
Eighties, the SA80 project embodied all that is worst
about military procurement. Instead of looking for the
best gun, the project was hedged about by short-term
political considerations. The question asked was not,
"What is the best gun?" but rather: "What is the best
gun that can be produced by a British manufacturer with
the largest benefit for jobs and the economy?" The second
was a muddled question and, when the contract was placed
with Royal Ordnance, received a muddled answer.
On paper, and on the test range, the SA80 is undoubtedly
a good performer. The sight is good and the shape easy
to handle. But soldiers do not use the weapon in
laboratory conditions. They have to fight in muddy
Balkan trenches, or dusty Gulf deserts or sweaty
equatorial jungles. It must work and work first time. The
grumbles have built up for years. The SAS looked at the
rifle and decided it was not good enough for them.
What sort of message is given when your own Special
Forces decide against using the Army's standard weapon?
But Ministry of Defence civil servants and senior
officers kept on plugging the SA80's "paper virtues".
During the 1990-91 Gulf war, the SA80 suffered problems
from the heat. Our Nato allies dropped it from their
official register of weapons because it was not
reliable enough. In Kosovo, the Paras left some of
their SA80s at home and took older, heavier guns that
could be relied on.
All along, the MoD refused to accept defeat, cosmetically
tinkering with the gun, which will cost L80 million to
modify. Tinkering is not what this gun needs. It needs
scrapping. If this Government were to do that, Labour
could then begin to re-establish its reputation as a
party that cares about defence.
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