Thread: L2A2?

Originally Posted by gundoc

L2A2 was the correct military designation for the standardised 7.62x51 ball cartridge as manufactured by CAC. Some over-run cases from when CAC lost the military contract in 1965 were used to load 150 grain .308 sporting loads which were sold in the colourful 'Deer & mountains' packets of the period. The L2A2 designation was for the ammo and has no relationship to any rifle. The primary word at the beginning of the description of a UK military item determines the category, eg; Cartridge 7.62mm L2A2, Rifle 7.62mm L1A1, Bayonet L2A1, etc. The L stands for Land Service, the first number is for the principal pattern (1 for original design, 2 for a major modification, etc), the A replaces the old Mark designation for minor modifications, the last number is the minor modification number.

@gundoc, your response is much appreciated!
BTW ‘back in the day’ some of my mates reckoned L2A2 ammo was originally designed for use in machine guns!