L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle

The L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle (SLR), also known by the initial Canadian designation C1, or in the U.S. as the "inch pattern" FAL (from French: Fusil Automatique Léger), is a British version of the Belgian FN FAL battle rifle. The L1A1 was produced under licence and adopted by the armed forces of the Commonwealth of Nations, mainly by United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, India, Jamaica, Malaysia, New Zealand, Rhodesia and Singapore.

The L1A1 is manufactured to a slightly modified design using British imperial units, not the metric units of the original Belgian FAL. Many sub-assemblies are interchangeable between the two types, while components of those sub-assemblies may not be compatible. Notable incompatibilities include the magazine and the stock.

Most Commonwealth-pattern FALs are considered semi-automatic only, but they are not. On the L1A1s, the safety lever with a single cut, trigger overtravel pin, auto-sear, spring and connector were replaced with parts that prevented the L1A1 from firing until the bolt was fully locked. The receiver was machined to the same dimensions as a select-fire FAL, and if the auto-sear and parts are installed as they are in an FAL, the L1A1 will function as a select-fire weapon. A variant named L2A1/C2A1 (C2), meant to serve as an automatic rifle/light machine gun in a support role, was made capable of fully automatic fire from the manufacturer. Differences from the L1A1/C1 include a heavy barrel, squared front sight (versus the "V" on the semi-automatic models), a handguard that doubles as a foldable bipod, and a larger 30-round magazine although it could also use the normal 20-round magazines. Only Canada and Australia used this variant.