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Description
date of existence: 1947

creator: FN herstal

cartridge: 7.62×51mm NATO , .280 British

wielder: Joe carter

In 1946, the first FAL prototype was completed. It was designed to fire the intermediate 7.92×33mm Kurz cartridge developed and used by the forces of Germany during World War II with the Sturmgewehr 44 assault rifle . After testing this prototype in 1948, the British Army urged FN to build additional prototypes, including one in bullpup configuration, chambered for their new .280 British (7×43mm) caliber intermediate cartridge.[5] After evaluating the single bullpup prototype, FN decided to return instead to their original, conventional design for future production.[5] [ why?]
In 1950, the United Kingdom presented the redesigned FN rifle and the British EM-2 , both in .280 British calibre, to the United States for comparison testing against the favoured United States Army design of the time—Earle Harvey's T25.[6] It was hoped that a common cartridge and rifle could be standardized for issue to the armies of all NATO member countries. After this testing was completed, U.S. Army officials suggested that FN should redesign their rifle to fire the U.S. prototype ".30 Light Rifle" cartridge. FN decided to hedge their bets with the U.S., and in 1951 even made a deal that the U.S. could produce FALs royalty-free, given that the UK appeared to be favouring their own EM-2. This decision appeared to be correct when the British Army decided to adopt the EM-2 (as Rifle No.9 Mk1) and the .280 British cartridge.[5]
This decision was later rescinded after the Labour Party lost the 1951 General Election and Winston Churchill returned as Prime Minister. It is believed[ by whom?] that there was a quid pro quo agreement between Churchill and U.S. President Harry Truman in 1952 that the British accept the .30 Light Rifle cartridge as NATO standard in return for the U.S. acceptance of the FN FAL as NATO standard.[7] The .30 Light Rifle cartridge was later standardized as the 7.62 mm NATO. However, the U.S. insisted on continued rifle tests. The FAL chambered for the .30 Light Rifle went up against the redesigned T25 (now redesignated as the T47), and an M1 Garand variant, the T44. Eventually, the T44 won, becoming the M14 . However, in the meantime, most other NATO countries were evaluating and selecting the FAL.[ citation needed]
Formally introduced by its designer Dieudonné Saive in 1951, and produced two years later, the FAL has been described as the "Right Arm of the Free World".[8] The FAL battle rifle has its Warsaw Pact counterpart in the AKM , each being fielded by dozens of countries and produced in many of them. A few, such as Israel and South Africa, manufactured and issued both designs at various times. Unlike the Soviet AKM assault rifle, the FAL utilized a heavier full-power rifle cartridge .

The FAL operates by means of a gas-operated action very similar to that of the Russian SVT-40 .[ citation needed] 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.[9]
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.[10]
For field stripping, the FAL can be opened. During opening the rifle rotates around a two-piece pivot lock and pin assembly located between the trigger guard and magazine well to give access to the action and piston system. This opening method causes a suboptimal iron sight line as the rear sight element is mounted on the lower receiver and the front sight element of the sight line is mounted on the upper receiver/barrel and hence are fixed to two different movable subassemblies. The sight radius for the FAL 50.00 and FAL 50.41 models is 553 mm (21.8 in) and for the 50.61 and FAL 50.63 models 549 mm (21.6 in).[ citation needed]
FAL 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 StG 58 and the German G1, and a bipod was later made available as an accessory.[ citation needed]
Among other 7.62×51mm NATO battle rifles at the time, the 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.[11] Many military forces using the FAL eventually eliminated full-automatic firearms training in the light-barrel FAL.

American company DSA (David Selvaggio Arms) manufactures a copy of the FAL called the DSA SA58 FAL 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 clients are limited only to semi-automatic configuration, but military and law enforcement clients can procure select-fire configuration that is capable of firing in full auto with cyclic rate of fire of around 650–750 rounds per minute. The SA58 FAL can use any metric-measurement FAL magazines, which come in 5, 10-, 20-, or 30-round capacities.

Description
date of existence: 1947

creator: FN herstal

cartridge: 7.62×51mm NATO , .280 British

wielder: Joe carter

In 1946, the first FAL prototype was completed. It was designed to fire the intermediate 7.92×33mm Kurz cartridge developed and used by the forces of Germany during World War II with the Sturmgewehr 44 assault rifle . After testing this prototype in 1948, the British Army urged FN to build additional prototypes, including one in bullpup configuration, chambered for their new .280 British (7×43mm) caliber intermediate cartridge.[5] After evaluating the single bullpup prototype, FN decided to return instead to their original, conventional design for future production.[5] [ why?]
In 1950, the United Kingdom presented the redesigned FN rifle and the British EM-2 , both in .280 British calibre, to the United States for comparison testing against the favoured United States Army design of the time—Earle Harvey's T25.[6] It was hoped that a common cartridge and rifle could be standardized for issue to the armies of all NATO member countries. After this testing was completed, U.S. Army officials suggested that FN should redesign their rifle to fire the U.S. prototype ".30 Light Rifle" cartridge. FN decided to hedge their bets with the U.S., and in 1951 even made a deal that the U.S. could produce FALs royalty-free, given that the UK appeared to be favouring their own EM-2. This decision appeared to be correct when the British Army decided to adopt the EM-2 (as Rifle No.9 Mk1) and the .280 British cartridge.[5]
This decision was later rescinded after the Labour Party lost the 1951 General Election and Winston Churchill returned as Prime Minister. It is believed[ by whom?] that there was a quid pro quo agreement between Churchill and U.S. President Harry Truman in 1952 that the British accept the .30 Light Rifle cartridge as NATO standard in return for the U.S. acceptance of the FN FAL as NATO standard.[7] The .30 Light Rifle cartridge was later standardized as the 7.62 mm NATO. However, the U.S. insisted on continued rifle tests. The FAL chambered for the .30 Light Rifle went up against the redesigned T25 (now redesignated as the T47), and an M1 Garand variant, the T44. Eventually, the T44 won, becoming the M14 . However, in the meantime, most other NATO countries were evaluating and selecting the FAL.[ citation needed]
Formally introduced by its designer Dieudonné Saive in 1951, and produced two years later, the FAL has been described as the "Right Arm of the Free World".[8] The FAL battle rifle has its Warsaw Pact counterpart in the AKM , each being fielded by dozens of countries and produced in many of them. A few, such as Israel and South Africa, manufactured and issued both designs at various times. Unlike the Soviet AKM assault rifle, the FAL utilized a heavier full-power rifle cartridge .

The FAL operates by means of a gas-operated action very similar to that of the Russian SVT-40 .[ citation needed] 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.[9]
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.[10]
For field stripping, the FAL can be opened. During opening the rifle rotates around a two-piece pivot lock and pin assembly located between the trigger guard and magazine well to give access to the action and piston system. This opening method causes a suboptimal iron sight line as the rear sight element is mounted on the lower receiver and the front sight element of the sight line is mounted on the upper receiver/barrel and hence are fixed to two different movable subassemblies. The sight radius for the FAL 50.00 and FAL 50.41 models is 553 mm (21.8 in) and for the 50.61 and FAL 50.63 models 549 mm (21.6 in).[ citation needed]
FAL 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 StG 58 and the German G1, and a bipod was later made available as an accessory.[ citation needed]
Among other 7.62×51mm NATO battle rifles at the time, the 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.[11] Many military forces using the FAL eventually eliminated full-automatic firearms training in the light-barrel FAL.

American company DSA (David Selvaggio Arms) manufactures a copy of the FAL called the DSA SA58 FAL 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 clients are limited only to semi-automatic configuration, but military and law enforcement clients can procure select-fire configuration that is capable of firing in full auto with cyclic rate of fire of around 650–750 rounds per minute. The SA58 FAL can use any metric-measurement FAL magazines, which come in 5, 10-, 20-, or 30-round capacities.