when did the british army start using the sa80
SA80 The SA80 is a British family of 5.56×45mm NATO small arms, all of which are selective fire, gas-operated assault rifles. The L85 rifle variant of the SA80 family has been the standard issue service rifle of the British Armed Forces since 1987, replacing the L1A1 variant of the FN FAL. The first prototypes were created in 1976, with production ending in 1994. The A1 variant was significantly upgraded in the early 2000s by Heckler & Koch as the SA80A2 and remains in service as of 2017. In mid-2016 a prototype A3 variant was showcased which further improved on the weapon and is reportedly being considered to extend the out of service date beyond 2025.[3]
History of the United Kingdom during the First World War The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was one of the Allied Powers during the First World War of 1914–1918, fighting against the Central Powers (the German Empire,[1] the Austro-Hungarian Empire,[2] the Ottoman Empire[3] and the Kingdom of Bulgaria[4]). The state's armed forces were reorganised—the war marked the founding of the Royal Air Force, for example—and increased in size because of the introduction, in January 1916, of conscription for the first time in the country's history as well as the raising of what was, at the time, the largest all-volunteer army in history, known as Kitchener's Army, of more than 2,000,000 men.[5]:504 The outbreak of war has generally been regarded as a socially unifying event,[6] although this view has been challenged by more recent scholarship. In any case, responses in Great Britain in 1914 were similar to those amongst populations across Europe.[7]