"FAL...the right arm of the free world."
DSA Magazine Articles - some excellent reading
Shooting Illustrated article about DSA FAL Rifles (large file)
Wikipedia history of the FN FAL battle rifle
FAL Files - tremendous FAL resource
Warriortalk.com info about the FAL rifle and comparisons
How to break in your new barrel on your FAL
Cleaning and maintenance of your FAL
Hold open device - after last round
The History of the FAL/LAR...
FABRIQUE NATIONALE FUSIL AUTOMATIQUE LEGER
(FAL), which means LIGHT AUTOMATIC RIFLE (LAR), FN's Fusil Automatique Leger was one of the basic NATO caliber
weapons to emerge from the "rifle controversy" of the 1950s. Designers at FN
began work on a self loading rifle before World War II; Dieudonne J. Saive was
the principal engineer when the German army invaded Belgium. In 1940, he and
several of his associates went to the UK where they continued their work on the
ritle at the Royal Small Arms Factory, Entield. After the war, the rifle was
manufactured at FN. Designated the ABL (Armee Belge - Belgisch Leger) and SAFN (Saive
Automatique, FN), it was produced in 7mm, .30-06 and 7.92 calibers. Building
upon his experience with the SAFN, Saive designed a prototype assault rifle that
tired the 7.92 x 33mm Kurz cartridge. Demonstrated early in 1948, these early
FALs were very close to being in concept ideal assault rifles. The short
cartridge with its moderate recoil permitted the construction of a compact and
relatively light weapon. These initial models were subsequently replaced by
prototypes chambered for the British .280 (7mm) cartridge. Two variants of the
.280 FAL were developed- a bull pup design and one conventionally stocked. When
the US Army rejected the UK cartridge, Saive and Ernest Vervier redesigned the
FAL to fire the American experimental 7.62 x 51 mm cartridge.
During this evolution in design, the rifle gained weight and grew in
length. The American, British and Canadian armies dropped the full automatic
fire requirement because the weapon was no longer controllable when fired
automatically. As ultimately adopted by more than 50 nations, the basic ritle is
essentially an advanced semiautomatic rifle with a 20-shot magazine. The heavy
barrelled version adopted by several countries as a light squad automatic
weapon, replacing older weapons such as the BREN, is neither an assault rifle
nor a good light machine gun. Australia's L2A1 heavy barrel FAL, used by several
Commonwealth nations, has a "bang, bang, jam" phenomena. Instead of automatic
fire, it fires two rounds, and then experiences a failure to feed.
Despite its shortcomings (length, weight and recoil), the FAL has
been an exceedingly popular weapon. Once the British discovered that the US Army
did not like the E.M.2 Rifle but that there were some American officers who
thought the FAL was a good weapon, the British became strong proponents of the
FAL. The Belgian weapon was tested extensively by the NATO armies between 1951
and 1956. Two experimental lots of the FAL were manufactured in the United
States-Harrington & Richardson (500) and High Standard (13). While the US Army
ultimately adopted its own design, the 7.62 x Simm M14 Rifle, instead of the
foreign FAL, the Belgian rifle has seen wide use throughout the world and has
been produced in larger quantities than any other NATO caliber rifle since 1945.
Identification of FALs can be puzzling. Several modifications can aid in determining the origin of particular FALs. The West German G-1,the Austrian StG58 and the Dutch FAL all have a lightweight, folding metal bipod as part of their metal forestock; the British L1 Al and the Indian Ishapore rifles, capable of semiautomatic fire only, have zigzag dirt clearance cuts in the bolt carriers, folding operating handles and enlarged magazine catches and selectors. In addition, the FAL is found with or without flash suppressors, with different types of bolt covers and with forearms of different styles. It is often difficult to identify the original purchaser of a FAL unless the rifle is stamped with an identifying seal or crest.
The FN FAL is also called: the SLR, for self-loading rifle; L1-Al, by the UK and some Commonwealth nations; the Gewehr 1, by the Bundeswehr (West Germany); the Sturmgewehr 58, by the Austrians; the Cl-Al, by the Canadians; and the lA SL, by the Indian Army.
COUNTRIES USING THE FN FAL IN THEIR ARMED FORCES (WITH DATE OF ADOPTION) Abu Dhabi, 1965 Argentina (Fabrica Militar, Rosano), 1955 Australia (Commonwealth, Small Arms Factory, Lithgow) Austria* (Steyr-Daimler-Puch), 1958 (obsolete 1980) Bahrein, 1968 Bangladesh Barbados ~ (Fabrique Nationale Liege), 1954 Bolivia, 1978 Botswana, 1978 Brazil (Fabrica de Itajuba), 1964 Burundi, 1963 Cambodia, Khmer Republic (obsolete) Cameroon, 1968 Canada (Canadian Arsenals Ltd.), 1953 Chile*, 1960 Congo, Republic of, 1956 Cuba, 1959 Dominican Republic, 1959 Dubai, 1969 Ecuador, 1960 Gambia Germany-Federal Republic, 1956 (obsolete 1959) Greece, 1965 (obsolete) Guyana Haiti, 1968 Honduras, 1969 India (Ishapore), 1963 Indonesia, 1958 Ireland (Eire), 1961 Israel (Israeli Military Industries) Jamaica Jordan Kenya, 1966 Kuwait, 1957 Lebanon, 1956 Lesotho, 1971 Liberia, 1963 Libyan Arab Republic, 1955 Luxembourg, 1956 Madagascar Malawi, 1974 Malaysia Mauritania, 1980 Mexico, 1968 (obsolete 1980) Morocco, 1963 Mozambique, 1959 Muscat and Oman, 1960 Nepal Netherlands, 1961 New Zealand Niger, 1964 Nigeria, 1967 Pakistan, 1977 Panama, 1961 Paraguay, 1956 Peru, 1958 Portugal, 1961 Qatar, 1956 Ras Al Kahimah Rhodesia, 1961 Rwanda, 1963 St. Kitts, 1969 St. Lucia, 1963 St. Vincent, 1968 Saui Arabia, 1960 (obsolete) Sharjah, 1975 Sierra Leone, 1968 Singapore, Republic of South Africa, Republic of (Pretoria), 1960 Sultanate de Raas, 1968 Syria, 1956 Tanzania, 1966 Thailand, 1961 Tunisia, 1967 Ummal Qiwain, 1975 United Kingdom*(BAS and RSAF Enfield), 1954 Upper Volta, 1975 Venezuela, 1954
To place an order or for more information, email dking@usmadefal.com