This is a very nice Skeletonised FN Fal X8  (Trial's version of the L1A1)

The X8 was manufacture by the FN Factory for the British Army Troop Trials program which were held in late 1955. 

           The were many versions of the X8 from X8-1 to X8-6 as the trials program which was on-going from 1955 into 1956.

         We have no idea which this version this is,  but it is fitted with L1A1 parts as well as FN parts.

         It was Skeletonised after the Troop trials as the X8 program was a testing program ( preproduction) and the X8 Service's rifles were not intended to enter the British Army inventory.

         A few were given the the British Army shooting teams, but as the FN X8 was  a fully Automatic Service rifle and not a semi Automatic Service rifle as the ( L1A1 would become)  it was not issued for service.

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         But the British Army were not going to scrap lot of very expensive rifles,  so they were convert for training purposes as either 'Skeletonised' as this one case  or given to units for training  ect.

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         Quite a few ended up in the British Army floating about as re-tooling at the R.S.A.F Enfield factory for the New L1A1 Service rifle  took longer than expected also the ongoing wild cat strike's at the Government Liverpool Factory RSAF Fazakerley in 1956 ,1957 and in 1959 held up production

 

      Harold Watkinson served as the UK Minister of Defence in 1960 in the Conservative government who was the person that made the call to close down RSAF Fazakerley. 

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( 'The British Government announced in the Houses of Parliament in April 1960 that the Fazakerley factory and was shut down on 12th June 1960' ) 

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   The only other manufacturer of the L1A1 was the big private arms manufacturer BSA & Co who were the only Arms Company big enough to tool up for such a large project. 

   BSA started production in early 1958,  just eight months later than RSAF Enfield who start limited production in 1957.

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   There are records that indicate that a large number of Troop trial's X8 rifles were held as 'War Reserve' at Central stores at 'Donnington' but were scrapped later.