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Enfield SA80

From Internet Movie Firearms Database - Guns in Movies, TV and Video Games
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The SA80 (Small Arms for the 1980s) is a series of 5.56x45mm bullpup assault rifles and light support weapons which are, officially, the standard rifle of the British army. Designed on the operation of the Armalite AR-18 and SAR-87 (An advanced AR-18 made by the rival company Sterling Armaments of Dagenham), and produced from 1985 to 1988 by the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield Lock. In 1988 production of the rifle was transferred to the Royal Ordnance's Nottingham Small Arms Facility (later British Aerospace, Royal Ordnance; now BAE Systems Land Systems Munitions & Ordnance) till production ceased in 1994.

The stacking of many issues including its design teams lacking any prior firearms experience (even firing), cheating at trials, a target production cost half that of other modern rifles, being manufactured by workers who knew their employer would be closed regardless leading to low effort production, and the replacement factory having no experience in firearms manufacturing resulted in an extremely unreliable firearm, to the point an internal British Ministry of Defence report noted "Most [users] expected a stoppage in the first magazine fired". These issues would eventually become so widely known that in 2000 Heckler & Koch was contracted to upgrade existing stock into the L86A2, a process which cost nearly the price of an entirely new rifle. This and further upgrades resulted in a rifle that was functional, but extremely heavy for its cartridge. No further units have been procured since production of the original ended in 1994, and British special forces avoid its use in favor of imported rifles.

Nearly all SA80s have been issued with magnified optics, allowing official sources to make a spurious claim of high accuracy by comparing the practical accuracy of the scoped rifle to scopeless rifles. Initially all were issued the fixed 4x power SUSAT, but in 2011 complaints this was ill suited to close quarters combat led to the SUSAT being supplemented by the ELCAN Specter, which could swap between a 4x power and slightly above 1x power. Unlike other bullpup weapons like the FAMAS and AUG series, the L85 series has no ambidextrous ejection port, forcing it to be used right-handed only.

The SA80 can be seen in the following films, television series, anime and video games used by the following actors:

Specifications

(1985-1994)

  • Type: Assault Rifle
  • Caliber: 5.56x45mm NATO
  • Capacity: 20, 30-round STANAG Magazines
  • Fire Modes: Semi/Auto (safety is separate from fire selector)

L85

L85A1

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L85A1 - 5.56x45mm NATO
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L85A1 with SUSAT scope - 5.56x45mm NATO
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L85A1 with SUSAT scope - 5.56x45mm NATO

The original variant of the SA80 series issued to the British forces. These were manufactured by Royal Ordnance (formerly known as Enfield) from 1985 until 1994 after the notorious faults of the weapon in battlefield conditions.

Film

Title Actor Character Note Date
Aliens Seen on gun rack on Sulaco in extended edition 1986
Patriot Games British Army Guards With covered SUSAT scopes and bayonets 1992
Patriot Games British Army soldiers With SUSAT scopes 1992
Police Story 3: Supercop Royal Hong Kong police officer 1992
Cyber Tracker Seen in armory 1994
The Devil's Own British Army soldiers With SUSAT scopes 1997
K-911 Seen in Phil Cage's armory 1999
28 Days Later British soldiers With SUSAT scopes, with and without bayonet 2002
28 Days Later Naomie Harris Selena With SUSAT scopes, with and without bayonet 2002
Dog Soldiers British Army soldiers With blank-firing adaptors and SUSAT scopes 2002
Underworld With SUSAT scope, seen on gun rack 2003
In Her Line of Fire One of the rebels With SUSAT scopes 2006
Resident Evil: Extinction Linden Ashby Chase With M68 Aimpoint red dot scope 2007
Doomsday British Army Guards Appear to be old airsoft toys (due to mini Union Flag near butt plate) 2008
Punisher: War Zone Seen on gun rack 2009
Kick-Ass Seen on gun rack 2010

Television

Show Title Actor Character Note/Episode Air Date
Mr.Bean Training British Army soldiers "Back to School, Mr. Bean" (S1E11) 1990-1995
Mr.Bean Rupert Vansittart Guard Watchman "Goodnight, Mr. Bean" (S1E13); with bayonet 1990-1995
Soldier Soldier Miles Anderson Lt Col. Dan Fortune w/ SUSAT scopes and with or without bayonets 1991 - 1997
Jerome Flynn L Cpl. Patrick "Paddy" Garvey
James Cosmo Lt Col. Philip Drysdale
Ian Curtis Cpl. Mark Hobbs
Robson Green L Cpl. David "Dave" Tucker
Shaun Dingwall L Cpl. Steve Evans
Conor Mullen C Sgt Maj. Alan Fitzpatrick
Holly Aird Cpl. Nancy Thorpe
Fiona Bell Sgt. Angela McCleod
Lucy Cohu Maj. Jessica Bailey
Duncan Bell Lt. Paul Philips
Ben Nealon 2nd Lt. Jeremy Forsythe
Sean Baker C Sgt Maj. Chick Henwood
British soldiers
Warriors, BBC Ioan Gruffudd Lt. John Feeley w/SUSAT scope 1999
Matthew Macfadyen Pvt. Alan James
Damian Lewis Lt. Neil Loughrey
Cal Macaninch Sgt. Andre Sochanik
British Soldiers
Dempsey and Makepeace Mark Ryan "Extreme Prejudice" (S03E05) 2002 - 2006
British soldiers "Extreme Prejudice" (S03E05)
Firefly ??? Alliance soldiers w/SUSAT scopes 2002
Firefly Eddie Adams Bendis "Serenity" (S01E01) 2002
Ultimate Force British MOD police w/SUSAT scopes 2002 - 2006
SAS troopers w/SUSAT scopes, only used for ceremonial occasions
Red Cap Tamzin Outhwaite, others British Army W/SUSATs or Iron Sights 2003 - 2004
Zero Hour ??? British Army soldiers 2004-2007
Battlestar Galactica Honor guards w/white-painted handguard and lower receiver 2004 - 2009
Battlestar Galactica Caprica Resistance fighters w/ SUSAT scopes, "Resistance", "The Farm" 2005
Situation Critical British Army soldiers w/SUSAT scopes 2007
The Day of the Triffids (2009) British Army soldiers 2009
Occupation Stephen Graham Danny w/SUSAT scope 2009
James Nesbitt Mike Swift
Adam Beresford Richard Swift
Warren Brown Lee Hibbs
British Soldiers
Midsomer Murders UK Territorial Army soldiers "Days of Misrule" (S11E06) 2009
Accused, BBC MacKenzie Crook LCpl. Alan Buckley w/SUSAT scope (S01EP02) "Frankies story" 2010
Ben Smith Pvt. Frankie Nash
Ben Batt Pvt. Peter MacShane
British Soldiers
Caprica Caprican police officer 2010
Midsomer Murders RAF personnel W/SUSAT Scopes; "The Incident at Cooper Hill" (S18E02) 2016

Video Games

Game Title Appears as Mods Notation Release Date
Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear w/ SUSAT scope 1999
Ghost Recon SA80 w/ SUSAT scope 2001
Battlefield 2 w/ SUSAT scope 2005
Black Stock footage 2006
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl IL86 w/optional M203 grenade launcher and suppressor Erroneously shown with controls inverted onto the lefthand side 2007
Cross Fire with SUSAT scope 2007
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky 2008
Combat Arms 2008
War Inc. Battlezone 2011
ZombiU SA80A2 2012
Jagged Alliance: Back in Action L85 2012
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare SA87 Created by fitting the L86A1 with the "SA87 18.2" Factory" barrel 2019

Anime

Film/Series Title Character Notation Date
Akira Neo Tokyo Police troops w/SUSAT scopes 1987
Seven Cities Story: Arctic Front Kung Lung 1994
Spriggan (1998) British (?) troops 1998
Ergo Proxy Scavengers "Return Home/Domecoming" (E06) 2006
Magical Witch Punie-chan Barbaroque's soldiers "Holy Crap, Deciscive Battle of Breakfast?! If you don't cray you'll be killed, Cuckoo-san!" (E2.A) 2006-2008
Upotte!! Elle with SUSAT 2012


L85A2

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L85A2 - 5.56x45mm NATO
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L85A2 with SUSAT scope - 5.56x45mm NATO
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L85A2 with no scope - 5.56x45mm NATO
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L85A2 Theatre Entry Standard (TES) with magazine removed - 5.56x45mm NATO. The TES variant replaces the original handguard with a Daniel Defense quad-rail handguard, and also features a vertical Grippod, interim weapon sight adapter system which mounts an ACOG 4x scope (and an RMR), and a Surefire FHSA80SA "Vortex" flash hider.
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L85A2 fitted with underslung L123A2 grenade launcher - 5.56x45mm, 40x46mm

The L85A2 is a revamped version of the L85A1 with improved components, most notably the external 'Comma' shaped combined charging handle/brass deflector and stronger internal parts. The upgrading of L85A1 rifles to the L85A2 standard was carried out by Heckler & Koch (which, at the time, belonged to BAE) between 2002 and 2006; since then further improvements have been made in response to operational requirements, including new RIS/RAS equipped handguards made by Daniel Defense and the adoption of the ACOG sight by some units in Afghanistan. The new handguards and the adoption of the ELCAN Spectre as the official replacement of the SUSAT will be applied to all British Army units over the next three to four years.

The L85A2 are also currently issued with Magpul EMAGs.

Film

Title Actor Character Note Date
Children of Men British soldiers With SUSAT scopes 2006
The Mark of Cain Shaun Dooley Corporal Gant With SUSAT scope 2007
The Mark of Cain Leo Gregory L/Cpl Quealy With SUSAT scope 2007
The Mark of Cain Matthew McNulty Pte Shane Gulliver With SUSAT scope 2007
The Mark of Cain Gerard Kearns Pte Mark "Treacle" Tate With SUSAT scope 2007
The Mark of Cain British soldiers With SUSAT scopes 2007
Cockneys vs. Zombies With SUSAT scopes 2012
How I Live Now British Army soldiers With SUSAT scopes 2013
Kilo Two Bravo British Army soldiers 2015
London Has Fallen Queen's Guard 2016
The Girl with All The Gifts Gemma Arterton Helen Justineau 2016
The Girl with All The Gifts Paddy Considine Sgt. Parks 2016
Terminator: Dark Fate Seen in weapons cache 2019
John Wick: Chapter 4 seen in armory 2023

Television

Show Title Actor Character Note/Episode Air Date
Doctor Who ??? British Army paratroopers w/and w/out Surefire weaponlights 2005 - ????
Ultimate Force ??? British Army soldiers w/SUSAT scopes 2002 - 2006
Sherlock - Season 1 ??? British Army soldier w/SUSAT scope, "A Study in Pink" 2010
Sherlock - Season 2 ??? Royal Military Police soldier w/SUSAT scope, "Hounds of Baskerville" 2012
Midsomer Murders Seen on the photo of British Army soldiers (S21E01) 2020
Secret Invasion - Season 1 Royal Navy soldiers w/SUSAT scopes; "Betrayed" (S1E03), "Beloved" (S1E04) 2023
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon - Season 1 Power of the Living movement Guerrier "L'ame Perdue" (S1E01) 2023

Anime

Title Character Note Date
Ghost in the Shell S.A.C. 2nd GIG British soldiers With futuristic furniture, cybernetic sights and underbarrel M203 2004-2005
Upotte!! 2012

Video Games

Game Title Appears as Mods Notation Release Date
Delta Force: Task Force Dagger Sa-80 A2 w/SUSAT scope 2002
Söldner: Secret Wars 2004
Battlefield 2 With L123A2 grenade launcher 2005
Project Reality With Grippod foregrip and optional L123A2 grenade launcher, ACOG or SUSAT scopes 2005
Alliance of Valiant Arms With EOTech red dot sight or ACOG scope 2007
Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 w/various optional accessories 2008
7.62 High Calibre w/ various attachments 2008
Counter-Strike Online 2009
ArmA II L85A2 w/ RIS, SUSAT, EOTech sights; also can be fitted with L123A2 grenade launcher 2010
Battlefield 3 L85A2 With various accessories 2011
Battlefield Play4Free With black furniture and optional EOTech red dot sight or M145 MGO scope 2011
Sleeping Dogs Fictional/futuristic version fitted with L123A2 grenade launcher Part of Tactical Soldier Pack DLC 2012
State of Decay "L85A1" w/SUSAT scope added in Breakdown DLC 2013
"L41A1" with L41A1 .22LR conversion kit, added in Breakdown DLC
Battlefield 4 L85A2 With various accessories Fitted with Daniel Defense railed foregrip and Magpuls on the magazines 2013
Warface railed handguard 2013
Survarium 2013
Payday 2 "Queen’s Wrath" added in Clover Character Pack (2014) 2013
Rainbow Six: Siege L85A2 2015
Squad L85A2 Daniel Defense railed handguard 2015
Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades L85A2 Optional SUSAT scope 2016
Ghost Recon: Wildlands Fitted with Daniel Defense railed foregrip 2017
World War 3 SA-80 Added in 2019 update 2018
Insurgency: Sandstorm L85A2 2018


L85A3

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L85A3 - 5.56x45mm NATO

Video Games

Game Title Appears as Mods Notation Release Date
World of Guns: Gun Disassembly w/grenade launcher on the book cover 2014


L22

SA80 AFV Prototype

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SA80 AFV prototype with SUSAT scope - 5.56x45mm NATO

In 1989, Enfield speculatively produced a shortened variant of the SA80 for potential use by vehicle crews and other troops not requiring a full length rifle. Contrary to internet lore, these were not built from surplus L86A1s, as shown by the lack of the LSW bipod outrigger holes in the receiver, and are instead built from standard L85A1 receivers. This confusion possibly comes from the fact that the vertical grip is the same as the rear grip from an LSW. The weapon proved very unreliable (more so even than standard L85A1s) due to issues with shortening the gas system that were never fully resolved.

The SA80 AFV prototype was not made for a specific MOD requirement and saw little, if any, official testing by British forces. Supposedly, a small batch was produced for trials by an unspecified Middle Eastern country, however these weapons were destroyed in a warehouse fire. The only surviving examples of this weapon bear commercial Enfield markings rather than British military markings, giving some credence to this story.

With the introduction of the L22A2 this weapon has been been retroactively referred to as the L22A1 (even in Ministry of Defence documentation) and is often referred to as such - however this is incorrect as it was never close to adoption and being given an official 'L' designation, being known only as an SA80 AFV or Armoured Fighting Vehicle.

Television

Show Title Actor Character Note / Episode Air Date
The Blacklist Airsoft replica / "Anslo Garrick (No. 16)" (S01E09) 2013


L22A2

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L22A2 with 20-round magazine and SUSAT scope - 5.56x45mm NATO

In 2003 Heckler & Koch began production of a carbine variant of the SA80 known as the L22A2 which was intended for use as a personal defense weapon by helicopter aircrew and armoured vehicle crews. They have also been issued on occasion to troops not requiring a full size rifle, such as drivers, dog handlers and combat cameramen, as well as Royal Navy and Royal Marine boarding parties. In form it is very similar to the failed 1989 AFV prototype, however H&K have solved the reliability issues caused by the shortening of the gas system. H&K also produced a new 20 round magazine that doesn't protrude past the grip of the L22A2 allowing it to be more conveniently stowed in racks inside various vehicles.

The designation of this carbine is a subject of some confusion, with the argument being made that it cannot be an A2 as despite the fact that it has the "A2" upgrades it is the first weapon to receive the L22 designation so it should logically be the L22A1. However, the right side of the magazine well is marked "L22 A2 5.56 x 45", it has an "A2" stamp on the top of the receiver, and is referred to as the L22A2 in official Ministry of Defence documentation, with the earlier prototype sometimes being retroactively referred to as the L22A1.

As with the AFV prototype, it is often stated that these weapons were made from surplus LSWs, and again this can be seen to be untrue from the fact that there are no mounting holes for the LSW outrigger on the receiver. Instead, these appear to have been made from surplus L85A1s that were not yet converted to the A2 standard.

Video Games

Game Title Referred as Mods Notation Release Date
Project Reality With SUSAT scope 2005
7.62 High Calibre w/ various attachments 2008
Killing Floor Bullpup with EOTech XPS sight and 40-round magazine 2009
Ghost Recon: Future Soldier L22A2 w/ various attachments 2012
Payday 2 "Queen’s Wrath" as a modified L85A2; added in Clover Character Pack (2014) 2013
Squad L22A2 2015


L86

L86A1

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L86A1 with SUSAT scope - 5.56x45mm NATO

The L86A1 Light Support Weapon is the sustained fire variant of the SA80 series. Many have been replaced by the FN Minimi in this role or converted into L22 Carbines for AFV/Chopper crew members as a personal defense weapon.

Film

Title Actor Character Note Date
A Sound of Thunder Apartment Resident Lacks either iron sights or optics 2005

Television

Title Actor Character Note/Episode Date
Soldier Soldier British Army Soldiers w/various optics, w/ and w/O BFAs 1991-1997
Red Cap British Army Soldiers w/SUSAT optic 2003-2004

Video Games

Game Title Appears as Mods Notation Release Date
Fallout 2 Light Support Weapon converted to a sniper rifle features tan plastics, lengthened barrel 1998
7.62 High Calibre 2008
Modern Warfare 2 w/ RIS foregrip, suppressor, red dot sight, EOtech holographic sight, SUSAT, thermal sight and/or extended magazine 2009
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 L86 LSW 2011
Battlefield 3 Available in Close Quarter expansion 2012
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare SA87 Thirty round magazine by default, includes elements of L85A1 2019

Anime

Title Character Note Date
Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail Seen on wall, with SUSAT scope 2010


L86A2

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L86A2 with SUSAT scope - 5.56x45mm NATO

A revamped L86A1 LSW. The L86A2 is in limited usage alongside the FN Minimi, only for DMR purposes as it has superior accuracy/range. The L86A2 is also used by the ACF but only 3-Star+ Trained Cadets are allowed to use this weapon.

As of 2009/10, further modifications have been made to L86A2s used in Afghanistan. These have the current foreguards replaced with the DD-quad RAS foreguard (with the ability to add various extras on all surfaces, such as foregrips or flashlights). The outrigger under the barrel can been removed (but bipod retained) or replaced with a RIS/RAS rail system. SUSATs retained, with the intention of replacing them with ELCAN Spectre optics. These modifications have only been made to a select few units L86A2 DMRs. Those units not in, or immediately going to Afghanistan have yet to receive the upgrades.

Film

Title Actor Character Note Date
Our Girl British soldiers 2013

Video Games

Game Title Appears as Mods Notation Release Date
Project Reality optional SUSAT scope 2005
Cross Fire "L86 LSW" 2007
ArmA II Trijicon ACOG Added in Operation Arrowhead: British Armed Forces 2010
Battlefield Play4Free With black furniture and optional EOTech red dot sight or M145 MGO scope 2011
Ghost Recon: Phantoms L86 w/ railed handguard 2014
World of Guns: Gun Disassembly L86A2 LSW SUSAT scope incorrectly belongs to the Assault rifles 2014
Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex First Assault L86-SEO w/ various attachments Added via the "Fear the Unknown" update 2015
Squad L86A2 LSW 2015
The Division L86 LSW 2016
The Division 2 L86 LSW 2019
Ghost Recon Breakpoint 2019


L98A2

L98A2 Cadet General Purpose (GP) Rifle

A semi-automatic only version of the L85 used for weapons training.

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L98A2 Cadet General Purpose (GP) Rifle - 5.56x45mm NATO. It is virtually identical to the L85A2 rifle save for the absence of fully automatic capability and a plain foresight blade without a tritium insert.

Film

Title Actor Character Note Date
Blood Red Sky 2021


SA80 Prototypes

In 1969, Enfield began to develop a series of new Bullpup weapons for the newly-developed 4.85x49mm intermediate cartridge. The XL64E5 Individual Weapon and the XL65E4 Light Support Weapon, first unveiled in 1976, are the two components for the system. When NATO adopted the US 5.56x45mm round and began implementing cartridge standardization, the two weapons were re-chambered for the 5.56mm NATO. These are the early prototypes for the SA80 family.

XL64E5 IW

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XL64E5 IW - 4.85x49mm
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XL60 Enfield Weapon System - 4.85x49mm

Television

Show Title Actor Character Note/Episode Air Date
The Professionals Lewis Collins Bodie "Wild Justice" (S04E02) 1980
The Professionals Martin Shaw Doyle "Wild Justice" (S04E02) 1980

Video Games

Game Title Appears as Mods Notation Release Date
Fallout Tactics "XL70E3 Enfield" fires 5.56mm rounds 2001
Call of Duty: Black Ops Enfield w/ various customization options 2010
World of Guns: Gun Disassembly on the book cover 2014

Anime

Film/Series Title Character Notation Date
Upotte!! with SUSAT 2012


XL65E4 LSW

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XL65E4 LSW - 4.85x49mm

Video Games

Game Title Appears as Mods Notation Release Date
Fallout 2 "XL70E3" Bipod removed fires 5mm rounds 1998


See Also