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, a fuze setter head, 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. L number designations began to be used in 1954[3] and an equivalent system for military vehicles is the FV series (fighting vehicle).

British smoke grenade with various markings, including "Grenade Hand Smoke Screening Training L83A1" designation

Some weapons such as the AR-15[4][5] and M16A2 rifle[6] rifles, C3 Non-Metallic Anti-Personnel Mine,[7] M18A1 Anti-Personnel Mine,[8][9] M79 grenade launcher[10] and M6-895 and M6-640 mortars[10][11] 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 0.22in Rifle,[12][13][6][14] No. 80 Mk 1 White Phosphorus Smoke Hand Grenade,[15] No. 1 Mk 3 6 Inch Beehive Demolition Charge,[8][16][17][18][19] and No. 14 Mk 1 11 lb Hayrick Demolition Charge[20] 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), though some stores did receive "L" designations particularly where they were of British origin,[21][22][23][24] and several nations such as Denmark, South Africa, and the United States of America use or used "M" ("M" standing for Model or its non-English equivalent).