FN FAL Belgian 7.62mm Automatic Battle Rifle
FN
Spotted an error? Sign in to suggest an edit.
Other
Basic Information
Name
FN FAL Belgian 7.62mm Automatic Battle Rifle
Designation
FN
Alternate Designation
—
Equipment Type
—
Manufacturer
FN Herstal Fabricaciones Militares IMBEL
Date of Introduction
1954
Description
The FN FAL Belgian 7.62mm Automatic Battle Rifle is a battle rifle that was developed at FN Herstal. It is chambered for 7.62×51mm NATO.
Ground Specifications
Main Weapon
7.62mm Automatic Battle Rifle
Variants
LAR 50.41 & 50.42 (FAL HBAR & FALO)
Also known as FALO as an abbreviation from the French Fusil Automatique Lourd;
Heavy barrel for sustained fire with a 30-round magazine as a squad automatic weapon;
Known 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;
Known 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.
The 50.41 is fitted with a synthetic buttstock, while the 50.42's buttstock is made from wood.
FAL 50.61 (FAL FS)
Folding-stock, standard 533 mm (21.0 in) barrel length.
FAL 50.62 (FAL PARA )
Folding-stock, shorter 458 mm (18.03 inch) barrel, paratrooper version and folding charging handle.
FAL 50.63 (FAL PARA 2 )
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.
FAL 50.64 (FAL PARA 3)
Folding-stock, standard 533 mm (21.0 in) barrel length, 'Hiduminium' aluminium alloy lower receiver.
FN Universal Carbine (1947)
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.
FAL .280 Experimental Automatic Carbine, Long Model (1951)
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).
FAL .280 Experimental Automatic Carbine, Short Model (1951)
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.
Sturmgewehr 58
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.
Olin/Winchester FAL
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.
Armtech L1A1 SAS
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.
DSA FAL (DSA-58)
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.
DSA-58 OSW (Operational Specialist Weapon)
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.
DSA-58 CTC (Compact Tactical Carbine)
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).
System
Alternative Designations
FN FAL
Manufacturer
FN Herstal
Fabricaciones Militares
IMBEL
Produced
1953–present (Production by FN stopped in 1988)
Action
Gas-operated, tilting breechblock
Rate of Fire
650–700 rds/min
Muzzle Velocity
FAL 50.00, FAL 50.61, FAL 50.64, FAL 50.41: 840 m/s (2,755.9 ft/s)
FAL 50.63: 810 m/s (2,657.5 ft/s)
Effective Firing Range
FAL 50.00, FAL 50.41: 600 m
FAL 50.61, FAL 50.62, FAL 50.63, FAL 50.64: 300 m
Feed System
20- or 30-round detachable box magazine. 50-round drum magazines are also available
Dimensions
Weight
FAL 50.00: 4.25 kg (9.4 lb)
FAL 50.61: 4.45 kg (9.8 lb)
FAL 50.62: 4.3 kg (9.5 lb)
FAL 50.63: 3.75 kg (8.3 lb)
FAL 50.64: 3.9 kg (8.6 lb)
FAL 50.41: 5.1 kg (11 lb)
FAL 50.42: 6 kg (13 lb)
Length
FAL 50.00 (fixed stock): 1,090 mm (43 in)
FAL 50.61 (stock extended): 1,095 mm (43.1 in)
FAL 50.61 (stock folded): 845 mm (33.3 in)
FAL 50.62 (stock extended): 1,020 mm (40.2 in)
FAL 50.62 (stock folded): 770 mm (30.3 in)
FAL 50.63 (stock extended): 998 mm (39.3 in)
FAL 50.63 (stock folded): 748 mm (29.4 in)
FAL 50.41 (fixed stock): 1,125 mm (44.3 in)
Barrel Length
FAL 50.00: 533 mm (21.0 in)
FAL 50.61: 533 mm (21.0 in)
FAL 50.62: 458 mm (18.0 in)
FAL 50.63: 436 mm (17.2 in)
FAL 50.41: 533 mm (21.0 in)
Ammunition
Type
Rifle
Description
7.62x51mm NATO; ball, tracer, armor piercing. All known variants
Caliber
7.62 mm
Cartridge
7.62x51 NATO
Sights
Sights
Aperture rear sight, post front sight;
Sight radius
FAL 50.00, FAL 50.41: 553 mm (21.8 in) FAL 50.61, FAL 50.63: 549 mm (21.6 in)
Night Sights Available
Various telescopic and night visions sights are available for mounting on the FN FAL series of rifles.
Details
Country of Origin
Belgium
Category
Rifles
Land > Infantry Weapons > Rifles
Filter Label
F
Classification
Domain
Ground
Equipment Status
Active
Dimensions
Length
0.05 m
Width
—
Height
—
Weight
22.68 kg
Operators (61)
Turkey
Pakistan
South Africa
Angola
Belgium
Cambodia
Cameroon
Central African Republic
Chad
Colombia
Congo, Republic of the
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
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Qatar
Rwanda
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Saudi Arabia
Somalia
Suriname
Syria
Thailand
Togo
Tunisia
Uganda
United Arab Emirates
Uruguay
Venezuela
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Something went wrong. Please reload the page.
Reload