Heckler & Koch G3A3 Assault Rifle.

[panzerjaeger44]

some of our guys found a way of using modern 30 round bren mags in theirs cant remember what they did but the extra 10 rounds was a bonus

[ian]

the 7.62 lmg (converted bren ) mag was the same as an slr mag just a bit longer , one mag fits the other perfetly
big chance of stopages using the lmg mag in the slr though ,mag spring strength could cause problems cheers ian

[lithgow]

If you're talking about the SLR and the 7.62mm Bren, the magazines are interchangable without any mods-the straight 20 and 30 SLR and the curved 30 Bren-the straight 30 SLR mag was intended for the full auto heavy barrel L2A1 version which some armies used as an LMG.

[HVK]

Why not use the G3 ? I can find several reasons... :-) Now I am trained on this rifle and have trained a lots of soldiers in shoothing it...

In general it is an ok rifle - compared to the relatively low price...

But ! It kicks as h.ll ! It is extremely difficult to train recruits in this rifle as the stock design is giving lots of soldiers blue eyes... And therefore becomming afraid of shooting it - and affecting accuracy. This also happens with experienced shooters...

It is very sensitive to cleaning the gas flutes in the chamber, and the large surface of the bolt makes it really sensitive to sand and other dirt.

You can shoot the last round and the bolt will close - and you will not know ! No bolt hold open device....

It is very heavy - and long...

As you probably can hear I do not like the rifle... :-) And I have shoot ++ 10.000 rounds with this type of rifle.. I would prefer the FAL (which I have never shoot :-) ) or the AR-15 which is a fantastic rifle...

I have shoot the G3 in full auto - and it works. If you make short and controlled bursts it is ok. Of course it is a waste of ammo as all full auto shooting - but there can perhaps be situations where you need it. We used to shoot it on 50m when shooting full auto and could hit a man size target with all bullets when shooting 2-4 round bursts.....

[Falschirmjager]

Hello-the original FN FAL version of the SLR did fire on full auto but the British army decided that this was wasteful of ammo and inaccurate for the average rifleman using 7.62 Nato-this was the correct opinion for an army mostly engaged in patrol/counter insurgency type warfare after WW2 in the various former colonies-you can only carry so much ammo especially 7.62mm and all the other support equipment of the modern soldier.

That is quite correct and is the reason that during the 1982 Falklands War British soldiers prefferred to use captured Argentine FAL's purely because they had full auto fire capability. Our problem is that pen pushers in the Ministry of Defence decide what is best for our soldiers and the opinions of the soldiers themselves count for little, thats why we are now lumbered with the SA80-not the most popular of rifles. As long as the correct logistics are in place ammunition calibre and supply is not a problem for any army. Many ex-soldiers agree 7.62mm NATO had much better range and stopping power than 5.56mm, some Taliban have been shot five times from SA80 rounds and theyve got away! You wouldnt do that with 7.62mm NATO. The G3 would have been a more than adequate replacement for the SLR but no the MOD wanted to waste millions on a rifle that falls apart when you fired it and is not much better now after considerable modification. In the 1991 Gulf War guys had major probs just keeping the magazines of their SA80's from falling out the weapon whenever they had to get up and run. Thats not good in a live combat environment with the baddies just a few hundred yards away trying to spoil your day. Makes one wonder what if ever will replace the SA80????

[lithgow]

I remember now that the Bundeswehr (West German army) did in fact adopt the FN FAL in the late 50s as their first new post war rifle but were unable to get a license to produce it in Germany so decided to use the G3 instead, selling off their FN FALs-they had metal handguards rather like the StG 44.

[big ned]

If you're talking about the SLR and the 7.62mm Bren, the magazines are interchangable without any mods-the straight 20 and 30 SLR and the curved 30 Bren-the straight 30 SLR mag was intended for the full auto heavy barrel L2A1 version which some armies used as an LMG.

Thats right mate,

The L2A2 was the heavy barreled auto version of the L2A1. It was manufactured at the Lithgow(any relative?) small arms division in Australia.The weapon was meant to be used as an LMG or SAW, but fell between both and was seen as a poor compromise to the L4A1 7.62 Bren conversion that was a purposely designed Squad automatic weapon with a spare interchangeable barrel that made it more accurate. Besides this, the weapon was taken up by Australia, Argentina,Canada,Israel, New Zealand and others.

The L2A2 was heavily field modded by the Aussie SAS in Vietnam. One conversion was to saw off the barrel immeadiately in front of the gas block for ease of use in jungle conditions.Another was to remove the bipod and mount a XM148 grenade launcher under the barrel.

Regarding the use of the 30 round L4A1 curved mag, these were considered a general failure in both the L2A1 and A2 as it was designed as a top mounted gravity assisted feed mag. Also, it was suggested that friction on the rounds in the curved mag having to feed upwards caused frequent stoppages in the weapon that could be disasterous in close combat, so they were soon dropped.

Regards, Ned.

[Falschirmjager]

Nice looking rifle. I'm not that keen on modern weapons, but the Heckler & Koch has something about it! There is something in the back of my mind telling me that there used to be a way of getting the SLR on full auto with the aid of a matchstick. Of course this could just be an army rumour that was circulating at the time (early 70's). I have an SLR with the older wood furniture fitted. I keep it as a reminder of the one I carried around NI. I do recall that when the SA80 was first being tested that we were told that the 5.56mm cartridge was specifically chosen for use on the streets of NI as the 7.62 was considered to be too powerful for urban warfare. Again though, this could have been just rumours circulating between us 'squaddies'.

Youre right with that good point mate! The army tech board decided that 7.62mm was too powerfull for the expected urban warfare predicted in the future and it was decided that we should adopt 5.56mm in line with the Americans who had been using the calibre for years. It was only really in Bosnia, the Gulf and Afghanistan that the true problem with the SA80 and its smaller calibre have become apparent. If i recall right there was a component in the SLR that was removed to prevent it having full auto fire and all weapons issued to British forces were manufactured without the full auto option. Crazy really as i beleive at times when you need to take ground and run forward there is nowt like a full auto burst of 7.62mm to keep an enemies heads down! Regards, Tim.

[lithgow]

The Falklands war was a very unusual case-2 modern armies fighting each other in a conventional war but without the APC mobility that such forces usually rely on-it eased the British resupply situation greatly to be able to use captured ammo and weapons. As to the short range of modern small cal rifles, that's due to the mechanised warfare planned for by most modern armies -troops riding in APCs/MICVs using small rifles in the confined space-then stopping to assault at close range under covering fire from the vehicles. This technique is of course not all that useful in the COIN wars being waged at the moment but most armies can't afford to have 2 different standard service rifles in use at the same time.

[lithgow]

In Australian service the L2A1 was usually called the AR (automatic rifle)-only time I ever fired it live was in school cadets in 1975-in the reserve infantry it was rarely seen except when blank link for the M60s was in short supply-signals used it as support weapon as if you were trained on the SLR it was easy to use the AR.

PS- L1A1 is the designation for the SLR.