A British soldier died in Iraq because he was not wearing enhanced body armour he had had to give up because of shortages, an official report found.
Sgt Steven Roberts, of Shipley, West Yorks, was accidentally shot dead when UK troops opened fire during a disturbance near Basra in March 2003.
The board of inquiry said bullet-proof plates on his Enhanced Combat Body Armour (ECBA) would have saved him.
The Army said it was working "quickly" to learn lessons from this.
Iraqi civilian Zaher Zaher was shot and killed in the same incident.
The Army Board of Inquiry also found the L94 machine gun which fired the shot which killed Sgt Roberts was known to be inaccurate at short range. The gunner who fired it had not been taught about problems with it during his training.
The inquiry criticised "inadequate" procedures and recommended all gunners should in future be educated on the gun's shortcomings.
Col Peter Davies, the Army's director of personal services, said of the findings: "This board of inquiry was convened to help us identify the important lessons we must learn to ensure similar circumstances do not occur."
"We are now working quickly to ensure we do just that."
Cornwall-born Sgt Roberts, 33, was issued ECBA but it was withdrawn on 20 March 2003 - four days before his death - due to shortages.
The report said: "Had Sgt Roberts been wearing correctly fitting and fitted ECBA when this incident unfolded, he would not have been fatally injured by the rounds that struck him."
The Ministry of Defence is criticised in the report for failing to give "timely attention" to shortages in kit.
Soldier's widow
In the aftermath of his death, the soldier's widow Samantha Roberts released an audio diary in which her husband had called supplies to soldiers "a joke."
And she called on the then defence secretary Geoff Hoon to resign over the issue.
The report also found that generals had identified a need for more body armour in September 2001, but ordering was held up for 15 months by "political constraints" because the government did not want to be seen to be arming for an invasion at a time when diplomatic efforts to prevent a war in Iraq were continuing at the United Nations.
It added the government had since imposed a policy making sure all soldiers on the battlefield had appropriate body armour.
The report also found some equipment had gone missing because of logistical problems, but it said the military has since improved its logistics.
The Attorney General Lord Goldsmith said in April there was insufficient evidence for charges to be brought against the UK soldiers over deaths of Sgt Roberts and Iraqi Zaher Zaher at a roadblock at Az Zubayr near Basra on 24 March 2003.
The Metropolitan Police investigated both deaths after Lord Goldsmith removed the investigation from Army control.
And a Met Police post-mortem examination found Sgt Roberts had been hit twice but "may have survived" had he had body armour.
The Army's Col Peter Davies added that the loss of Sgt Roberts was still mourned.
"He was an all-round professional soldier and a first-class tank commander. I know the entire Army would want his family to know he is greatly missed and our thoughts and condolences remain with them," he said.
"We do our utmost to protect our people but the unfortunate reality is that military operations are dangerous, uncertain and complex. Regrettably, soldiering is far from risk-free."
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