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Soldiers' rifle failed in battle, says secret report By Tim Butcher, Defence Correspondent (Filed: 31/07/2000) THE lives of élite Pathfinder troops were endangered when their rifles jammed during a battle in Sierra Leone, a top secret report says. It is the first time that the SA80 rifle has failed in battle, although it is notoriously unreliable and unpopular among soldiers. The Telegraph has learned that the safety catches on two versions of the SA80 jammed as rebel soldiers of the Revolutionary United Front attacked two forward trenches occupied by the Pathfinders near Lungi airport. It was before dawn on May 17 when the rebels crawled to within 40 yards of the trenches. With numerous paramilitary groups fighting on the side of the British-backed Sierra Leone government, the Pathfinders were under orders to shoot only if they were certain that their targets were RUF rebels. A Nigerian peacekeeper stood up at the last minute to challenge the rebels. They opened fire and it was then that the soldiers found they were unable to defend themselves. They had to rely on support from other Pathfinders equipped with older and more reliable General Purpose machine guns. The SA80s were not entirely useless. When illumination flares were sent up, the troops looked through the SA80 sights to direct the machine gun fire. Four dead rebels were recovered after the battle, although intercepted RUF radio messages suggested that at least eight others were killed. There were no British casualties. The Ministry of Defence report is so sensitive that it has not been fully distributed throughout the Army for fear of damaging morale among forces still using the SA80. News of the malfunction was suppressed during the remainder of Operation Palliser in Sierra Leone to ensure operational security and some senior soldiers fear that the incident may now be overlooked. Senior planners at the permanent joint headquarters in Northwood, north-west London, where all British military deployments are organised, have not yet been told of the malfunction. The SA80 assault rifle has been in use since the mid- Eighties and was used in the Gulf conflict in 1991. Although there are many accounts of its failing during exercises, this is the first malfunction in battle. Troops have long distrusted it and this incident will add to calls by some senior officers for the MoD to replace it. While the gun performs well in test conditions, it is too fiddly and unreliable in the field. Its performance declines dramatically in hot and dusty conditions. The SAS and Special Boat Service do not use it, preferring versions of the American M16. British special forces were seen carrying such guns extensively in Sierra Leone. The Pathfinders, who recruit from all regiments and carry out deep reconnaissance with airborne troops, train with the M16 and had to switch to the SA80 for Sierra Leone because of supply problems. A major overhaul of the gun was ordered by the Ministry of Defence in June. Under the £80 million programme, Heckler and Koch, the gun maker owned by Royal Ordnance, will rework 200,000 SA80s. The programme includes several refurbishments which the Government says will greatly improve the gun. But the Tories and other critics of the Government have argued that the programme is cosmetic and will not rid the SA80 of its underlying flaws. Iain Duncan Smith, the shadow defence secretary, said: "Soldiers' respect for the SA80 is the most critical issue." Although the Lungi incident occurred too late for it to be included in the research work carried out before the improvements to the SA80 were announced, a senior defence source said that the lessons would be heeded. "The SA80 team is anxious to take information from any incident," the source said. "This will be looked at very closely." It is unlikely, however, to counter the general feeling in the Army that the SA80 is a poor weapon that should be replaced.