am i correct on thinking if a weapon contains the letters DP in its name I.E
L98 DP makes it a drill pattern weapon therefore inable to fire live ammunition.
i am asking this because i heard a army cadet asking a marine whether they fired a **DP
Can’t fire a DP rifle.
Wot he said, though you should note that the name for the Drill Purpose variant of the L98A2 rifle is the L103A2. It does not have “DP” in its “name” as you suggest, only in its description.
Yes, DP can be a drill weapon, however I believe it may also be an extremely old russian variant.
Also worth noting, with the exception of my pass-out, whenever we did weapons drill it was with the live weapons, only thing ‘drill’ about them was the sling loop being reversed and more recently the old green hand guards being put back on.
Is it possible that the person said ‘GP’ rather than ‘DP’ rifle?
GP stands for General Purpose. The L98A2 is the current cadet general purpose rifle.
Indeed, Army Cadets generally refer to the Rifle as the GP, which is probably what you heard.
It may be a reference to the .303s squadrons had, until relatively recently :crying: which were drill purpose.
I like the term GAT… 
Merry Crimbo folks!
bang/boom stick
We do refer to the L103A2 as a “DP” as well, as it is easier than saying “L103A2”. I can’t see why a cadet would ask if a marine had “fired” a DP, though someone could have misheard as “DP” does sound like “GP”.
It is possible i miss heard but i am sure he said dp
There are several types of DP in the IW family. The L103A2 is the most common and the most useful, as it is an instructional weapon that can be fully field stripped and used for WHTs. They have white handguards and cheek pads and white stencilled letters DP. Apparently this is to prevent confusion if they are stored alongside live firing weapons, and as most armouries are dingy places lit by a lone 40 watt bulb. The sea cadets next door to me have old L85A1s that have been welded up and have white bands painted on them. They are used for foot drill, but they don’t have any L103s for instruction.
There is also the Manroy drill rifle. Basically a resin and plastic IW shape used for Drill and muddy/wet training. They cost a bloody fortune and I don’t know anyone who has bought one.
It’s more likey he said GPMG (pronounced JIM-P)