# List of Cold War weapons and land equipment of the United Kingdom

This list deals with all land-based equipment used by the British Armed Forces during the Cold War period. This includes small arms, artillery, AFVs, SAMs and lorries.

## Small arms
### Rifles

* Lee–Enfield – Main service rifle until the 1950s and afterwards adapted for a variety of specialist roles.
* EM-2 rifle – Experimental rifle adopted very briefly in 1951.
* L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle – Main Cold War service rifle from 1954 to 1994.
* SA80 L85 rifle – Adopted right at the end of the Cold War in 1987.

### Sniper rifles

* Lee–Enfield – sniper variant from World War II. It was the primary sniper of British forces until replaced by L42A1.
* L42A1 – in service from 1970 to 1990.
* Accuracy International Arctic Warfare – Designated L96A1 replaced L42A1a Lee Enfield variant in 1985.

### Sidearms

* Enfield No. 2 – In service early on in the Cold War.
* Webley Revolver – Substitute for Enfield No 2.
* Browning Hi-Power – Main sidearm during the Cold War.

### Machine guns

* Vickers machine gun – Not declared obsolete until 1968.
* Bren light machine gun – L4 variant in service throughout the Cold War.
* FN MAG – Main British machine gun of Cold War and present day as L7.

### Submachine guns

* Sten – Used very early on, replaced in 1960
* Sterling submachine gun – Main submachine gun

### Grenades

* Mills bomb – In use until the 1970s
* M26 grenade – L2 variant replaced the Mills bomb.

### Infantry anti-tank weapons

* PIAT – still in use in 1950s
* M20 Super Bazooka – Replaced PIAT used early on.
* Carl Gustaf 8.4cm recoilless rifle
* MILAN – standard from the 1970s for the rest of the Cold War.
* M72 LAW

### Mortars

* Two-inch mortar – Still in use till 1965
* L9A1 51 mm light mortar – Main Cold War light mortar
* ML 3-inch mortar – in service through to the 1960s
* L16 81mm mortar – Main Cold War and present-day mortar.
* ML 4.2-inch mortar – saw service in 1960s

## Artillery
### Field artillery

* M116 howitzer – Saw use into 1950s in its mountain and airborne artillery role
* Ordnance QF 25-pounder – Still saw active use till 1960s when they were relegated to non-combat roles.
* OTO Melara Mod 56 – Saw short service as L5 pack howitzer from 1960s to mid-1970s.
* L118 light gun – entered service in mid 1970s and today is main field artillery piece.

### Self-propelled artillery

* Sexton (artillery) – Saw service till 1956
* FV433 Abbot SPG – Main light SPG
* M109 howitzer – Main heavy SPG
* M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System – acquired late in the Cold War

## Heavy anti-tank weapons

* 120 mm BAT recoilless rifle – Replaced in 1970s

## Anti-aircraft weapons
### Anti-aircraft guns

* Bofors 40 mm gun – L/70 variant used till 1977 in low altitude air defence

### Surface-to-air missiles

* Thunderbird (missile) – In use till 1977 for mobile high-altitude air defence.
* Bloodhound (missile) – Fixed air defence in UK from 1958 till 1991.
* Blowpipe (missile) – Man portable surface-to-air missile from 1975 till 1985
* Rapier (missile) – Came into service at the start of 1970s and at the end replaced Bofors and thunderbird. Used until 2022.
* Javelin (surface-to-air missile) – Man portable surface-to-air missile replacing Blowpipe in use from 1984 to 1993.

## Armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs)
### Tanks

* Centurion – main British early Cold War tank.
* Conqueror – used from mid 50s to mid 60s to give long range anti-tank support to Centurions. Built to counter IS-3.
* Chieftain – main British tank of Cold War and mid Cold War.
* Challenger 1 – Main British tank late Cold War or 1980s.

### Light tanks

* FV107 Scimitar – Entered service 1971
* FV101 Scorpion – Entered service 1973

### Armoured cars

* Daimler Armoured Car
* Coventry armoured car
* Ferret armoured car
* Alvis Saladin

### Armoured personnel carriers

* Alvis Saracen – Introduced 1952
* FV432 – Introduced in 1960s
* FV103 Spartan – Introduced in 1978
* Saxon (vehicle) – Introduced in 1983

### Infantry fighting vehicles

* Warrior tracked armoured vehicle

## Non-combat vehicles
### Lorries

* Bedford RL
* Bedford TM
* Bedford TK (MK)