View source for FN FAL French 7.62mm Automatic Battle Rifle

{
    "tiers": [
        false,
        false,
        false,
        true
    ],
    "categories": [
        "WEG",
        "Infantry Weapons",
        "Rifles",
        "Battle Rifles",
        "Tier4",
        "France",
        "Land",
        "PRO_Angola",
        "PRO_Cambodia",
        "PRO_Cameroon",
        "PRO_Central African Republic",
        "PRO_Chad",
        "PRO_Colombia",
        "PRO_Congo",
        "PRO_Costa Rica",
        "PRO_Cyprus",
        "PRO_Djibouti",
        "PRO_Dominican Republic",
        "PRO_Ecuador",
        "PRO_Egypt",
        "PRO_Equatorial Guinea",
        "PRO_Gabon",
        "PRO_Gambia",
        "PRO_Ghana",
        "PRO_Greece",
        "PRO_Guyana",
        "PRO_Haiti",
        "PRO_Honduras",
        "PRO_Iraq",
        "PRO_Ireland",
        "PRO_Kenya",
        "PRO_Kuwait",
        "PRO_Lesotho",
        "PRO_Liberia",
        "PRO_Libya",
        "PRO_Malawi",
        "PRO_Mexico",
        "PRO_Morocco",
        "PRO_Mozambique",
        "PRO_Myanmar",
        "PRO_Nepal",
        "PRO_Nigeria",
        "PRO_Oman",
        "PRO_Pakistan",
        "PRO_Panama",
        "PRO_Paraguay",
        "PRO_Peru",
        "PRO_Philippines",
        "PRO_Qatar",
        "PRO_Rwanda",
        "PRO_Saint Vincent and the Grenadines",
        "PRO_Saudi Arabia",
        "PRO_Somalia",
        "PRO_South Africa",
        "PRO_Suriname",
        "PRO_Syria",
        "PRO_Thailand",
        "PRO_Togo",
        "PRO_Tunisia",
        "PRO_Turkey",
        "PRO_Uganda",
        "PRO_United Arab Emirates",
        "PRO_Uruguay",
        "PRO_Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)",
        "PRO_Yemen",
        "PRO_Zambia",
        "PRO_Zimbabwe"
    ],
    "notes": "The FAL (French: Fusil Automatique Léger, English: Light Automatic Rifle) is a battle rifle designed by Belgian small arms designer Dieudonné Saive and manufactured by FN Herstal.\n\nDuring the Cold War the FAL was adopted by many countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), with the notable exception of the United States. It is one of the most widely used rifles in history, having been used by more than 90 countries.[4] Because of its prevalence and widespread usage among the militaries of many NATO and first world countries during the Cold War, it was given the title \"The right arm of the Free World\".\n\nIt is chambered for the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge (although originally designed for the .280 British intermediate cartridge). The British Commonwealth variant of the FAL was redesigned from FN's metrical FAL into British imperial units and was produced under licence as the L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle.\n\nThe FAL operates by means of a gas-operated action very similar to that of the Russian SVT-40. The gas system is driven by a short-stroke, spring-loaded piston housed above the barrel, and the locking mechanism is what is known as a tilting breechblock. To lock, it drops down into a solid shoulder of metal in the heavy receiver much like the bolts of the Russian SKS carbine and French MAS-49 series of semi-automatic rifles. The gas system is fitted with a gas regulator behind the front sight base, allowing adjustment of the gas system in response to environmental conditions. The piston system can be bypassed completely, using the gas plug, to allow for the firing of rifle grenades and manual operation. The FAL's magazine capacity ranges from five to 30 rounds, with most magazines holding 20 rounds. In fixed stock versions of the FAL, the recoil spring is housed in the stock, while in folding-stock versions it is housed in the receiver cover, necessitating a slightly different receiver cover, recoil spring, and bolt carrier, and a modified lower receiver for the stock.\n\nFAL rifles have also been manufactured in both light and heavy-barrel configurations, with the heavy barrel intended for automatic fire as a section or squad light support weapon. Most heavy barrel FALs are equipped with bipods, although some light barrel models were equipped with bipods, such as the Austrian StG58 and the German G1, and a bipod was later made available as an accessory.\n\nAmong other 7.62×51mm NATO battle rifles at the time, the FN FAL had relatively light recoil, due to the user-adjustable gas system being able to be tuned via a regulator in fore-end of the rifle, which allowed for excess gas which would simply increase recoil to bleed off. The regulator is an adjustable gas port opening that adjusts the rifle to function reliably with various propellant and projectile specific pressure behavior, making the FAL not ammunition specific. In fully automatic mode, however, the shooter receives considerable abuse from recoil, and the weapon climbs off-target quickly, making automatic fire only of marginal effectiveness.  Many military forces using the FAL eventually eliminated full-automatic firearms training in the light-barrel FAL.",
    "dateOfIntroduction": 1954,
    "countryOfOrigin": "France",
    "proliferation": "Angola, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Greece, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Iraq, Ireland, Kenya, Kuwait, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Mexico, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Rwanda, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, South Africa, Suriname, Syria, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of), Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe",
    "selectedregions": [
        "All Regions"
    ],
    "checkedregions": [],
    "checkedcountries": [
        "Angola",
        "Cambodia",
        "Cameroon",
        "Central African Republic",
        "Chad",
        "Colombia",
        "Congo",
        "Costa Rica",
        "Cyprus",
        "Djibouti",
        "Dominican Republic",
        "Ecuador",
        "Egypt",
        "Equatorial Guinea",
        "Gabon",
        "Gambia",
        "Ghana",
        "Greece",
        "Guyana",
        "Haiti",
        "Honduras",
        "Iraq",
        "Ireland",
        "Kenya",
        "Kuwait",
        "Lesotho",
        "Liberia",
        "Libya",
        "Malawi",
        "Mexico",
        "Morocco",
        "Mozambique",
        "Myanmar",
        "Nepal",
        "Nigeria",
        "Oman",
        "Pakistan",
        "Panama",
        "Paraguay",
        "Peru",
        "Philippines",
        "Qatar",
        "Rwanda",
        "Saint Vincent and the Grenadines",
        "Saudi Arabia",
        "Somalia",
        "South Africa",
        "Suriname",
        "Syria",
        "Thailand",
        "Togo",
        "Tunisia",
        "Turkey",
        "Uganda",
        "United Arab Emirates",
        "Uruguay",
        "Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)",
        "Yemen",
        "Zambia",
        "Zimbabwe"
    ],
    "dis": {
        "name": "DASSAULT RAFALE B",
        "string": "01.02.071.001.005.001.000"
    },
    "images": [
        "Belgian Fabrique Nationale 7.62x51mm NATO Main Battle Rifle, FAL.png",
        "FAL_(B).jpg",
        "FAL_(C).jpg"
    ],
    "sections": [
        {
            "name": "System",
            "properties": [
                {
                    "name": "Alternative Designations",
                    "value": "None"
                },
                {
                    "name": "Manufacturer",
                    "value": "FN Herstal\nFabricaciones Militares\nIMBEL"
                },
                {
                    "name": "Produced",
                    "value": "1953–present (Production by FN stopped in 1988)"
                },
                {
                    "name": "Action",
                    "value": "Gas-operated, tilting breechblock"
                },
                {
                    "name": "Rate of Fire",
                    "value": "650–700 rds/min"
                },
                {
                    "name": "Muzzle Velocity",
                    "value": "FAL 50.00, FAL 50.61, FAL 50.64, FAL 50.41: 840 m/s (2,755.9 ft/s)\nFAL 50.63: 810 m/s (2,657.5 ft/s)"
                },
                {
                    "name": "Effective Firing Range",
                    "value": "FAL 50.00, FAL 50.41: 600 m\nFAL 50.61, FAL 50.62, FAL 50.63, FAL 50.64: 300 m"
                },
                {
                    "name": "Feed System",
                    "value": "20- or 30-round detachable box magazine. 50-round drum magazines are also available"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "name": "Dimensions",
            "properties": [
                {
                    "name": "Weight",
                    "value": "FAL 50.00: 4.25 kg (9.4 lb)\nFAL 50.61: 4.45 kg (9.8 lb)\nFAL 50.62: 4.3 kg (9.5 lb)\nFAL 50.63: 3.75 kg (8.3 lb)\nFAL 50.64: 3.9 kg (8.6 lb)\nFAL 50.41: 5.1 kg (11 lb)\nFAL 50.42: 6 kg (13 lb)"
                },
                {
                    "name": "Length",
                    "value": "FAL 50.00 (fixed stock): 1,090 mm (43 in)\nFAL 50.61 (stock extended): 1,095 mm (43.1 in)\nFAL 50.61 (stock folded): 845 mm (33.3 in)\nFAL 50.62 (stock extended): 1,020 mm (40.2 in)\nFAL 50.62 (stock folded): 770 mm (30.3 in)\nFAL 50.63 (stock extended): 998 mm (39.3 in)\nFAL 50.63 (stock folded): 748 mm (29.4 in)\nFAL 50.41 (fixed stock): 1,125 mm (44.3 in)"
                },
                {
                    "name": "Barrel Length",
                    "value": "FAL 50.00: 533 mm (21.0 in)\nFAL 50.61: 533 mm (21.0 in)\nFAL 50.62: 458 mm (18.0 in)\nFAL 50.63: 436 mm (17.2 in)\nFAL 50.41: 533 mm (21.0 in)"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "name": "Ammunition",
            "properties": [
                {
                    "name": "Type",
                    "value": "Rifle"
                },
                {
                    "name": "Description",
                    "value": "7.62x51mm NATO; ball, tracer, armor piercing.  All known variants"
                },
                {
                    "name": "Caliber",
                    "value": "7.62",
                    "units": "mm"
                },
                {
                    "name": "Cartridge",
                    "value": "7.62x51 NATO\n.280 British["
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "name": "Sights",
            "properties": [
                {
                    "name": "Sights",
                    "value": "Aperture rear sight, post front sight;"
                },
                {
                    "name": "Sight radius",
                    "value": "FAL 50.00, FAL 50.41: 553 mm (21.8 in) FAL 50.61, FAL 50.63: 549 mm (21.6 in)"
                },
                {
                    "name": "Night Sights Available",
                    "value": "Various telescopic and night visions sights are available for mounting on the FN FAL series of rifles."
                }
            ]
        }
    ],
    "variants": [
        {
            "name": "LAR 50.41 \u0026 50.42 (FAL HBAR \u0026 FALO)",
            "notes": "Also known as FALO as an abbreviation from the French Fusil Automatique Lourd;\nHeavy barrel for sustained fire with a 30-round magazine as a squad automatic weapon;\nKnown in Canada as the C2A1, it was their primary squad automatic weapon until it was phased out during the 1980s in favor of the C9, which has better accuracy and higher ammunition capacity than the C2;\nKnown to the Australian Army as the L2A1, it was replaced by the FN Minimi. The L2A1 or 'heavy barrel' FAL was used by several Commonwealth nations and was found to frequently experience a failure to feed after firing two rounds from a full magazine when in automatic mode.\nThe 50.41 is fitted with a synthetic buttstock, while the 50.42's buttstock is made from wood."
        },
        {
            "name": "FAL 50.61 (FAL FS)",
            "notes": "Folding-stock, standard 533 mm (21.0 in) barrel length."
        },
        {
            "name": "FAL 50.62 (FAL PARA )",
            "notes": "Folding-stock, shorter 458 mm (18.03 inch) barrel, paratrooper version and folding charging handle."
        },
        {
            "name": "FAL 50.63 (FAL PARA 2 )",
            "notes": "Folding-stock, shorter 436 mm (17.16 inch) barrel, paratrooper version, folding charging handle. This shorter version was requested by Belgian paratroopers. The upper receiver was not cut for a carry handle, the charging handle on the 50.63 was a folding model similar to the L1A1 rifles, which allowed the folded-stock rifle to fit through the doorway of their C-119 Flying Boxcar when worn horizontally across the chest."
        },
        {
            "name": "FAL 50.64 (FAL PARA 3)",
            "notes": "Folding-stock, standard 533 mm (21.0 in) barrel length, 'Hiduminium' aluminium alloy lower receiver."
        },
        {
            "name": "FN Universal Carbine (1947)",
            "notes": "An early FAL prototype chambered for the 7.92×33mm Kurz round. The 7.92mm Kurz round was used as a placeholder for the future mid-range cartridges being developed by Britain and the United States at the time."
        },
        {
            "name": "FAL .280 Experimental Automatic Carbine, Long Model (1951)",
            "notes": "A FAL variant chambered for the experimental .280 British [7.2×43mm] round. It was designed for a competition at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Aberdeen, Maryland. Although the EM-2 \"bullpup\" did well, American observers protested that the small-bore .280-caliber round lacked the power and range of a medium-bore .30-caliber round. British observers in return claimed the experimental American .30-caliber T65 round [7.62×51mm] was too powerful to control in automatic fire. Britain was forced to abandon the promising .280 round and adopt the American-designed .30-caliber T65 as the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge. The EM-2 couldn't be rechambered for the longer and more powerful cartridge and the Americans didn't yet have a working service rifle of their own. Britain and Canada adopted the Belgian 7.62mm FN FAL instead as the L1 Self-Loading Rifle (SLR)."
        },
        {
            "name": "FAL .280 Experimental Automatic Carbine, Short Model (1951)",
            "notes": "A bullpup-frame version of the FAL chambered in .280 British designed to compete with the British EM-1 and EM-2 bullpup rifles. It also was demonstrated at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds tests, but was never put into full production."
        },
        {
            "name": "Sturmgewehr 58",
            "notes": "The Sturmgewehr 58 (StG 58) is a selective fire (semi-automatic and fully automatic) battle rifle. The first 20,000 were manufactured by Fabrique Nationale d’Armes de Guerre-Herstal Belgique, but later the StG58 was manufactured under licence by Steyr-Daimler-Puch (now Steyr Mannlicher), and was formerly the standard rifle of the Österreichisches Bundesheer (Austrian Federal Army). It is essentially a user-customized version of the FAL and is still in use, mainly as a drill weapon in the Austrian forces. It was selected in a 1958 competition, beating the Spanish CETME and American AR-10."
        },
        {
            "name": "Olin/Winchester FAL",
            "notes": "A semi-automatic, twin-barrel variant chambered in the 5.56mm Duplex round during Project SALVO. This weapon was designed by Stefan Kenneth Janson who previously designed the EM-2 rifle."
        },
        {
            "name": "Armtech L1A1 SAS",
            "notes": "Dutch company Armtech built the L1A1 SAS, an assault-carbine variant of the L1A1 with a barrel length of 290 mm (11.4 inches). This was similar to short-barreled L1A1 carbines used by the ANZAC forces in Vietnam."
        },
        {
            "name": "DSA FAL (DSA-58)",
            "notes": "American company DSA (David Selveggio Arms) manufactures a copy of the FAL called the DSA-58 that is made with the same Steyr-Daimler-Puch production line equipment as the StG-58. It comes with a 406 mm (16 in), 457 mm (18 in) or 533 mm (21 in) barrel, an aluminum-alloy lower receiver, and improved Glass-filled Nylon furniture. Civilian models are semi-automatic, but military and Law Enforcement clients can procure select-fire models that have a fully automatic cyclic rate of 750 rounds/minute. The DSA-58 can use any metric-measurement FAL magazines, which come in 5, 10, 20 or 30-round capacities."
        },
        {
            "name": "DSA-58 OSW (Operational Specialist Weapon)",
            "notes": "is an assault carbine version of the paratrooper model of the FAL. It has a side-folding Enhanced PARA polymer stock, shorter 279 mm (11 inch) or 330 mm (13 inch) barrel and an optional full-auto setting."
        },
        {
            "name": "DSA-58 CTC (Compact Tactical Carbine)",
            "notes": "is a carbine version of the FAL. It has a side-folding Enhanced PARA polymer stock, shorter 413 mm (16.25 inch) barrel and an optional full-auto setting. Overall Length: 927 mm (36.5 inches) Weight: 3.74 kg (8.25 lbs)."
        }
    ],
    "type": "WEG",
    "version": 1
}