Dear Ministry of Defence,

The L81 Was a single shot bolt action rifle designed for use by the cadet forces in 7.62mm cal to replace the No4 303 rifle.

The rifle was introduced in the Mid 70's and was withdrawn in the early 90's. The rifle was designed by Parker Hale Ltd.

Could you please confirm that these facts are correct and also state how many of these weapons was manufactured and why they was withdrawn from service.

Also what happened to these weapons when they were withdrawn. Over all approx how much did the L81 cost the MOD and was any of this money recovered when the weapons where withdrawn

Yours faithfully,

Paul Ashby