Lithgow Small Arms L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle

The L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle is a British Commonwealth derivative of the Belgian FN FAL battle rifle, produced under licence. It was made by the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. In Australia it was made by Lithgow Small Arms Factory. Lithgow Small Arms Factory is a military small arms factory located in the town of Lithgow, New South Wales in Australia. The Australian L1A1 is almost identical to the British L1A1 version of FAL. Lithgow Small Arms Factory produced around 220,000 of L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle from 1959 to 1986. Many of these rifles were exported to New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Singapore. During the Vietnam War, the SLR was the standard weapon issued to Australian infantrymen. Lithgow Small Arms Factory later developed and started production of a full-auto version named L2A1 automatic rifle. Production of the L2A1 commenced in 1962 and just under 10,000 were manufactured. It featured a heavy barrel, a folding bipod complete with wooden inserts which served as a fore-wood when the bipod was in the folded position, selector lever for single-shot or automatic fire and a 30 round magazine. The carrying handle was relocated to allow for a different point of balance.