List of British weapon L numbers

The L number ("L" standing for Land Service) or weapon identity number[1] system is a numerical designation system used for the type classification of British Armed Forces weapons and related stores. The L number in isolation is not a unique identifier; the L1 designation alone is used for a rifle and its corresponding bayonet, a machine gun, a tank gun, a sighting telescope, an anti-riot grenade, three separate rocket systems, a necklace demolition charge, a hand-thrown flare, and two separate types of user-filled demolition charge. Rather, the number is used in conjunction with a description, e.g. "Rifle, 7.62mm, L1A1"[2] or "L1A1 7.62mm Rifle". The A number following the L number refers to the particular version of a piece of equipment; unlike some similar designation systems used by other countries where an A number is only used for subsequent versions of equipment, an A1 designation is always used for the first version to be officially adopted. Use of L numbers starts in the 1950s and an equivalent system for military vehicles is the FV series (fighting vehicle). On occasion, the number following the letter designation corresponds to the year that the item was adopted; for example, the rifle variant of the SA80 was first adopted in 1985 and was designated as the "L85A1 5.56mm Rifle".

British smoke grenade with various markings, including "L83A1" designation

Some weapons such as the M16A2 rifle,[3] C3 Non-Metallic Anti-Personnel Mine,[4] M18A1 Anti-Personnel Mine,[5][6] M79 grenade launcher[7] and M6-895 and M6-640 mortars[7][8] were not given L numbers and are referred to in official documentation by their manufacturer's designations instead. Likewise, legacy items such as the No.8 Mk 1 Rifle, No. 1 Mk 3 6 Inch Beehive Demolition Charge[5][9][10] and No. 14 Mk 1 11lb Hayrick Demolition Charge[11] that were given designations under the old numerical system continued to be referred to by those designations until replacement.

Royal Navy weapons systems are designated by "N" ("N" standing for Naval Service), though in many cases weapons with L number designations continue to be referred to as such. Similar designation systems are used by various other militaries; for example, Canada uses "C" ("C" standing for Canadian), Australia uses "F" ("F" standing for Forces), and the United States of America use "M" ("M" standing for Model).