View source for L64/65

{{no footnotes|date=April 2010}}
{{Infobox weapon
|name=Enfield Individual Weapon
|image=British Assault Rifles MOD 45162601 (XL64E5 crop).jpg
|image_size=300px
|caption=XL64E5 Individual Weapon
|origin= [[United Kingdom]]
|type=[[Bullpup]] [[assault rifle]]
<!-- Type selection -->
|is_ranged=Yes
<!-- Service history -->
|service=Experimental
|used_by=[[British Army]]{{Citation needed|date=December 2014}}
|wars=See ''[[#Conflicts|Conflicts]]''
<!-- Production history -->
|designer=
|design_date=1972–74
|manufacturer=[[Royal Small Arms Factory]]
|unit_cost=
|production_date=1976–78
|number=
|variants=XL64, XL65, XL70
<!-- General specifications -->
|weight=7.2lbs (3.72kg) (unloaded, including SUSAT sight)
|length= {{convert|762|mm|1}}
|part_length={{convert|533|mm|1}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://armamentresearch.com/british-enfield-sa80-part-2-xl60-series/|title=British Enfield SA80 Part 2: XL60 series|website=[[armamentresearch.com]] |date=23 November 2018|access-date =24 March 2023}}</ref> (with flash suppressor)
<!-- Ranged weapon specifications --> 
|cartridge=[[4.85×49mm]]
|caliber=4.85mm
|barrels=20.4 in (518 mm) 4 grooves, right-hand twist
|action=[[Gas-operated reloading|Gas-operated]], [[Rotating bolt]]
|rate=
|velocity=900 m/s
|range=
|max_range=
|feed=20-round detachable box magazine
|sights=SUSAT (SUIT)
}}

The '''L64''' (also called the ''Enfield Individual Weapon'') was an intermediate [[caliber|calibre]] [[United Kingdom|British]] [[bullpup]] layout [[prototype]] [[assault rifle]] developed in the 1970s. At one time it was known as the '''4.85 Individual Weapon''', a reference to the calibre of the bullet it fired.

==Development==
The British Army had considered bullpup designs with intermediate calibre rounds in the 1950s, and officially adopted one of these as [[.280 British]] in 1951 in the [[EM-2 rifle|EM-2]] and [[Taden gun]]. However, US intransigence during [[NATO]] standardization efforts, and [[Winston Churchill]]'s interest in standards above all, led to the adoption of the [[7.62×51mm NATO]] round. This was significantly more powerful than the .280, and could not be easily adapted to the existing weapons. Instead, the British and Canadian armies adopted the [[L1A1 SLR]], a licensed version of the [[FN FAL]], itself originally designed for the .280.

During the 1960s the US found that, as the British had suggested, the 7.62 NATO round was far too powerful to be used in a fully automatic rifle. After considerable wrangling, the [[US Army]] eventually adopted the [[M16 rifle]], firing the [[.223 Remington]] cartridge of much lower power than even the .280. With standardization "broken", the [[British Army]] once again started researching lighter rounds in the 1970s. These efforts suggested that a round of similar weight as the M16s, but firing a smaller diameter bullet, would offer the same recoil patterns while having much better penetration and ballistics. The result was the .190-inch (4.85&nbsp;mm) round fitted in "necked down" but otherwise standard 5.56&nbsp;mm cartridges from the M16.

The [[Royal Small Arms Factory]] developed a rifle to fire the new round. The new '''L64/65''' "Individual Weapon" was outwardly similar to the earlier EM-2, but adopted a firing mechanism very similar to [[ArmaLite]]'s latest [[Armalite AR-18|AR-18]] design, which was manufactured in Britain under license by the [[Sterling Armaments Company]] from 1975 to 1983. The first examples were available in 1972.

By 1976, NATO was ready to standardize on a small calibre round, and testing of the various rounds head-to-head started in 1977. As designed, the British round performed well, but NATO concluded that the [[Fabrique Nationale]]'s entry based on the 5.56&nbsp;mm, the "SS-109" gave the "best all-round performance" and was selected.

The L64 pattern was later developed into the [[SA80]] family of weapons, which entered service with the UK in the mid-1980s.

==Overview==
The L64/65 is a gas operated, 4.85mm calibre bullpup assault rifle. It uses an AR18 type operation with an SVT40 type gas piston. The SUSAT sight is robust and reliable.

==See also==
*[[EM-2 rifle]]
*[[Sterling SAR-87]]
*[[SA80]]
*[[Leader Dynamics Series T2 MK5]]
*[[SR 88]]
*[[List of bullpup firearms]]
*[[List of assault rifles]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book |last1=Ferguson |first1=Jonathan S. |title=Thorneycroft to SA80: British Bullpup Firearms 1901–2020 |date=2021 |publisher=Headstamp Publishing |location=Nashville, Tennessee |isbn=978-1-7334246-2-2}}
* Ian V. Hogg and John Weeks – ''Military Small Arms of the 20th Century '' – Arms & Armour Press/Hippocrene – 1977 – {{ISBN|0-85368-301-8}}
* Falklands Aftermath: Forces '85, Marshall Cavendish (1984), {{ISBN|0-86307-334-4}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071210010907/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BQY/is_3_46/ai_59281216 Info of the .19 calibre]
*[https://www.forgottenweapons.com/sa80-history-xl60-series-in-4-85mm/ XL60 4.85mm series]

{{Bullpup Firearms}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:L64 65}}
[[Category:Assault rifles of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Bullpup rifles]]
[[Category:Light machine guns]]
[[Category:Trial and research firearms of the United Kingdom]]