FN FAL: Encyclopedia II - FN FAL - Production and use

FN FAL - Production and use

The FAL was made by Fabrique Nationale de Herstal (FN) in Liege and under license in a number of countries, including the United Kingdom, South Africa (where it was known as the R1), Brazil, Australia, Canada, Israel, Austria and Argentina. India manufactured FALs without license from FN. Mexico assembled FN-made components into complete rifles at its national arsenal in Mexico City. The FAL was also exported to many other countries, such as Venezuela, where a small arms industry produces some basically unchanged variants, as well as ammunition.

FN FAL - Argentina

The Argentine Armed Forces adopted the Belgian FAL in the early 1960s, and eventually acquired licensed copies manufactured in Argentina, until the mid to late 1990s, when production stopped.

Argentine FALs were produced by the firm FM (Fabricaciones Militares) at the Fabrica Militar de Armas Portatiles "Domingo Matheu" (FMAP "DM"). The acronym "FAL" was kept, its translation being "Fusil Automatico Liviano", Light Automatic Rifle) Production variantes included "Standard" and "Para" (folding buttstock) rifles. Military rifles were produced with the full auto fire option. Rifles were usually known as FM FAL, for the "Fabricaciones Militares" brand name. (FN and FM have a long standing licensing and manufacturing agreement.) A heavy barrel version, known as the FAP (Fusil Automatico Pesado, or heavy automatic rifle) was also produced for the armed forces, to be used as a squad automatic weapon.

A FAL offspring chambering the 5.56 x 45 mm NATO round was developed in the early 1980's; it was dubbed the FARA (Fusil Automatico Republica Argentina). The design borrowed both features from the FAL (Gas system, folding stock) as from other western rifles (AR70, M16, etc). Only 150 examples were produced for testing, but military spending cuts killed the project in the mid 1980's.

There was also a semi-automatic–only version, the FSL, intended for the civilian market. Legislation changes in 1995 (namely, the enactment of Presidential Decree Nº 64/95) imposed a de facto ban on "semi-automatic assault weapons". Today, it can take up to two years to obtain a permition for the ownership of an FSL. FSL was offered with full or folding stocks, plastic furniture and orthoptic sights.

Argentine FALs saw action in the South Atlantic War and in different peacekeeping operations (Cyprus, Croatia, etc).

The Argentine Marine Corps, a branch of the Argentine Navy, has replaced the FN/FM FAL in front line units, adopting the U.S.-made M16A2. The Argentine Army has expressed its desire to acquire at least 1,500 new rifles chambered for the .223 Remington (5.56 x 45 mm NATO SS109/U.S. M855), to be used with its peacekeeping troops.

While no production numbers are known, it is estimated that FAL production (in all of its variants) has exceeded 120,000 units.

FN FAL - Australia

The Australian Army used the British L1A1 SLR (Imperial) until it was supplanted by the Steyr AUG in the 1990s. The Australians also operated an automatic rifle variant, similar to the FN FAL 50.41/42, but with a larger bipod and no handguard, under the designation L2A1.

Many Australian soldiers used the rifle during the Vietnam War despite its unsuitability for close jungle combat. In fact, many Australian soldiers preferred the larger calibre weapon over the American M16 simply because they could trust the 7.62 x 51 mm round to kill an enemy soldier outright. By contrast, the 5.56 x 45 mm NATO round fired by the M16 could not always be relied upon — especially when firing over longer ranges. Australian jungle warfare tactics during the Vietnam War, which were far more conservative than those employed by U.S. troops, were determined in part by both the strengths and limitations of the SLR. Because of financial constraints, soldiers were forbidden to discard empty magazines — which they refilled when given the opportunity.

Another interesting product of Australian particiaption in the conflict in South East Asia was the field modification of L1A1 and L2A1 rifles by the SASR for better handling in the environment. Nicknamed "The Bitch", these rifles were field modified, often from heavy barreled L2A1 automatic rifles, with their barrels chopped off right after the gas block. Those converted from L1A1 rifles had a field expedient sear or other "foreign object" installed to allow the rifle to function in full-auto. These rifles were also often fitted with XM148 40 mm grenade launchers obtained from U.S. forces.

FN FAL - Austria

The Austrian Army used a variant of the FAL under the designation Sturmgewehr 58 (Stg. 58) until it was replaced with the Steyr AUG. Produced locally by Steyr Mannlicher, the Stg. 58 was outwardly similar to the German G1, among others, featuring the same slimmer horizontally-ribbed handguard, and a similar flash hider.

FN FAL - Brazil

Brazil makes its own FAL variants, known as the MD-2 and MD-3 assault rifles, manufactured by the Indústria de Material Bélico do Brasil (Brazilian War Supply Industry), IMBEL. The first prototype, the MD-1, came out around 1983. In 1985, the MD-2 was presented and adopted by the Brazilian Armed Forces. The MD-2/MD-3 is still very similar to the FAL, with minor changes, which include a change in the locking system, which was replaced by an M16-type rotating bolt, and the different chambering, for use with the 5.56 x 45 mm NATO cartridge. The MD-2 and MD-3 use all M16-compatible magazines, and both versions differ from each other by the buttstock — while the MD-2 features a side-folding stock, the MD-3 uses the same fixed polymer stock of the FAL.

FN FAL - Canada

The Canadian Forces operated a number of versions, the most common being the FN C1A1, similar to the British L1A1 (which became more or less a Commonwealth standard). The Canadian variant used a folding disk rear sight with ranges from 200 to 600m. It served as Canada's standard battle rifle from the early 1950s to 1984, when it began to be phased out in favor of the lighter Diemaco C7. The Canadians also operated an automatic variant as a section support weapon, similar to the FN FAL 50.41/42, but with a larger bipod and no handguard, under the designation FN C2A1. Variants of the initial FN C1 and the product improved C1A1 were also made for the Royal Canadian Navy, capable of automatic fire, under the designations C1D and C1A1D.

FN FAL - Germany

A number of FALs were made for West Germany and designated the G1 before the adoption of the G3 series of battle rifles, based upon the Spanish CETME battle rifle. The G1 featured a handgaurd dissimilar to the standard models, being slightly slimmer and featuring horizontal lines running their entire length. Also, the G1s were fitted with a model specific flash hider, adding another external distinction. The main reason for the replacement of the G1 in Germany centered around existing bitterness stemming from World War II and the refusal of the Belgians to grant a license for production of the weapon in Germany.

FN FAL - India

India manufactures its own FAL-AK-47–based assault rifle, called the INSAS. The INSAS is part of a family of rifles, carbines and light machine guns.

FN FAL - Israel

After the Israeli War of Independence, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) had to account for the hard logistic problems which results from the wide variety of old firearms that were in service. The IDF decided to adopt a standard-issued firearm for the combat soldiers, in order to make ease of logistic maintenance (repairs, ammunitation, spare parts etc). In 1955 the IDF adopted the IMI produced Uzi submachine gun. The Uzi was a superb automatic weapon, but it had one major drawback: its short range. In order to compensate for that, the IDF decided to adopt the FN FAL as its standard issue infantry rifle, under the name Romat (רומ"ט), an abbreviation of "self-loading rifle". The FN FAL ordered by the IDF were semi-automatic and chambered for 7.62 mm NATO ammunition. They were effective up to a range of 730 meters as well. Thus, the IDF standard infantry weapons during the mid-fifties were a combination of the FAL, Uzi, BAR, Browning 0.3, Browning 0.5 and the Mauser K98 and M1 Carbine as sniper rifles.

The FN FAL saw action in the Suez War (1956), Six Day War (1967) and Yom Kippur War (1973) but received unfavorable reviews by the soldiers who use it. Its main shortage was the inability to carry out fully-automatic fire and its lack of durability under harsh desert condition. The rifle performed poorly in sandy environment, as sand or mud caused it to malfunction rapidly. The rifle was being replaced during the later stages of the Yom Kippur War when Israeli soldiers replaced it for American emergency-aid M16, and AK-47 assault rifles that were taken from dead and captured Arab soldiers. The Israeli IMI Galil also saw limited action and proved itself highly durable and reliable in the harsh desert conditions of the Sinai and the muddy Golan Heights.

The FN FAL were officially abandonded in 1975, and were replaced by the IMI Galil as the IDF standard issue weapon.

FN FAL - South Africa

The South African military used three variants of the FAL: a rifle under the Commonwealth pattern under the designation R1, a lightweight variant fabricated locally under the designation R2, and what was essentially a copy of the FAL 50.63 under the designation R3. The R2 was built by Lyttelton Engineering Works, Armaments Development and Production Corporation of South Africa (LEW, ARMSCOR). ARMSCOR was the South African state armory, until it was privatized and broken down into many smaller companies in the post-Apartied Era. The R1 rifle in South African service had been superseded around mid 1980s with the locally built R4 assault rifle, a license-built copy of the Israeli Galil, which Israel had replaced their FALs with around 1975.

FN FAL - United Kingdom

The United Kingdom adopted its own variant of the FAL in 1957 as the L1A1 SLR (Self-Loading Rifle). It was manufactured using Imperial measurements and minor changes were incorporated, including a folding cocking handle, a prong-shaped flash suppressor, a folding rear sight, sand removing cuts in the slide, and a strengthened magazine catch. The UK variant, and many others, is semi-automatic only while the original Belgian version and other metric variants are selective fire. Most parts on the British "inch" version are not interchangeable with those built on a metric pattern. The L1A1 was replaced in the early 1980s by the Enfield SA80.

FN FAL - United States

The USA had tested the FAL, imported by Harrington & Richardson (H&R), as the T48 in the late 1950s, but chose to adopt its competitor, the T44, which became the M14 rifle, a heavily modified version of the earlier M1 Garand rifle. The US interest in the FAL is one of the primary reasons why the weapon was rechambered in 7.62 x 51 mm NATO over the intermediate cartridges originally tested by FN. The United States also received some FAL HBARs (either 50.41 or pre-50.41) for test, under the designation T48E1.

The SA58 series, an American commercial derivative, is currently manufatured by DS Arms in Illinois. DS Arms makes a wide range of clones, including weapons patterned off of the Austrian Stg. 58 and the H&R T48, and is the only manufacturer in the United States making complete FALs.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Production and use", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki