Intermediate cartridges, which appeared in the early forties, allowed gunsmiths in several countries around the world to start developing new small arms with higher characteristics. In 1946, the Belgian company FN joined such works. A few years later, the designers presented an automatic rifle, which was destined to become one of the most common weapons in the world.
The history of the FN FAL project (Fusil Automatique Leger - "Rifle automatic, light") began immediately after the end of World War II, when the main requirements for promising small arms for the army were determined. The development of the new rifle was led by engineers Dieudonne Sev and Ernest Vevier. An interesting fact is that in the course of development, the future rifle managed to change the ammunition several times. Initially, the FN FAL was supposed to use an intermediate cartridge 7, 92x33 mm, developed in Germany during the war. A little later, a variant of the rifle appeared for the British cartridge 7x43 mm. Finally, only in the early fifties, the FN company created the final version of the weapon using the 7, 62x51 mm NATO cartridge.
According to some reports, the emergence and distribution of a rifle chambered for 7, 62x51 mm was facilitated by the military-political processes taking place on both shores of the Atlantic Ocean. In the early fifties, the United States, Great Britain and Belgium came to an agreement on weapons and ammunition. According to this agreement, European countries were to gradually switch to the American cartridge 7, 62x51 mm, and the United States undertook to adopt a new Belgian-designed rifle. It should be noted that the Americans did not fulfill the terms of this "gentlemen's agreement" and did not adopt the FAL rifle. The US military chose the M14 rifle over it.
Despite such problems, the Belgian rifle still interested foreign buyers. Moreover, it was a foreign country that became the first customer of this weapon. In 1955, the FN FAL, designated C1, entered service in Canada. Only a year later, the new rifles officially became the main weapon of the Belgian army, and in 1957 and 1958 - in Great Britain (under the designation L1 LSR, later L1A1) and Austria (as Stg 58), respectively.
The Belgian FN FAL rifle turned out to be a fairly successful weapon, thanks to which it quickly attracted the interest of many other countries. So, in addition to the FN company, the Austrian company Steyr, the British RSAF Enfield, the Brazilian IMBEL and many other organizations were engaged in the production of these weapons. It is noteworthy that Belgium at one time refused to sell the FRG a license for the production of rifles. One of the consequences of this was the appearance of the Heckler-Koch G3 automatic rifle, which later became one of the main competitors of the FAL on the international market.
In total, FAL rifles were adopted by the armies of 90 countries of the world. Most of the enterprises produced these rifles until the seventies and eighties, after which the production of new and more advanced models began. At the moment, FN FAL rifles or their modifications are produced in only two countries. Brazil continues to manufacture these weapons for the needs of the army and security forces, and several US firms provide rifles for amateur shooters.
The widespread distribution of FN FAL rifles, as well as the sale of licenses for their production to several countries, led to the emergence of a number of modifications of this weapon. The new rifles retained the basic features of their prototype, although they had some differences. Licensed weapons were equipped with different sights, the design of butts and other parts was different. In addition, some changes were made to the automation. So, Great Britain and some countries of the Commonwealth of Nations made only modifications without the possibility of firing bursts. Otherwise, licensed and modified FALs retained the basic features of the basic design.
The Belgian designers from the FN company independently developed and launched into the series only four variants of the FAL rifle, which differed from each other in several features. The basic modification received the factory designation "50.00". Model "50.63" was equipped with a folding stock and a shortened barrel, and "50.64" - only a folding stock. The rifle "50.41" or FALO received a bipod and a weighted barrel, which made it possible to use it as a light machine gun.
The FN FAL automatic rifle is built on the basis of gas-operated automation. The weapon's automation uses a short stroke of the gas piston. A similar scheme has previously been repeatedly used on various weapons, including the Belgian FN SAFN-49 rifle, developed in the late forties. There is a gas chamber with a pressure regulator above the barrel. At the request of the military, the regulator can completely shut off the gas supply to the piston, which is necessary for firing rifle grenades. The gas piston is equipped with its own return spring, which moves it to the forward position after firing.
The bolt group of the rifle is made in the form of a massive frame and the bolt itself. Due to the use of a short automatic stroke, the operation of the shutter has specific features. Immediately after the shot, the bolt group receives a powerful, but short-lived push, after which it moves to the extreme rear position and compresses the return spring. The shutter is locked by a bias. When the bolt carrier is moved to the extreme forward position, the rear part of the bolt rests against a special protrusion at the bottom of the receiver.
In the basic modification of the rifle "50.00" and other versions with a rigidly fixed butt, the return spring was located in a special channel inside the butt. The bolt group was supposed to interact with it through a long rod-shank. In modifications equipped with a folding stock, the shank was absent, and the return spring was inside the receiver. This design led to the need for some refinement of the bolt carrier.
The receiver of the FN FAL rifle was made in the form of two units connected by a hinge. The barrel and bolt were located in its upper part, the firing mechanism - in the lower one. The butt was attached to the bottom of the receiver. The connecting hinge was located between the receiving window of the store and the trigger guard. To clean and service the rifle, it was required to release the latch at the rear of the receiver, after which it was possible to "break" the rifle and gain access to its internal assemblies.
The trigger mechanism of the FAL rifle was located in the lower hinged part of the receiver. In the basic version, the trigger made it possible to block the sear, as well as to fire single-handed or in automatic mode. The flag of the safety-fire translator was located on the side of the receiver, above the pistol grip and trigger guard. As already mentioned, some modifications of the FN FAL rifle were equipped with a simplified trigger mechanism that did not allow firing bursts.
To feed cartridges 7, 62x51 mm NATO rifles of the FAL family use detachable box magazines for 20 rounds. Some light machine guns based on an automatic rifle were equipped with magazines for 30 rounds. Due to the existence of a large number of modifications of the FAL rifle, created in different countries, taking into account local production standards, weapons of different types can use different magazines that have specific compatibility. For example, a British rifle L1A1 or a Canadian C1 can be equipped with magazines from the basic FN FAL, and reverse replacement is not possible.
The Belgian versions of the FN FAL rifle were equipped with a front sight with a front sight mounted on a gas chamber, as well as a diotprimary sight on the rear of the receiver. In the course of upgrades and modifications, the rifle received other sights, including optical sights. Different countries equipped their own rifles with different sights. Currently, rifles are produced with a receiver, the upper part of which is equipped with a Picatinny rail.
Depending on the country of production, the butt and forend differed. The basic version "50.00" of Belgian production had a wooden forend and a stock. In the future, the tree was replaced by plastic and metal. Belgian modifications for the landing were equipped with a metal butt of a frame structure mounted on a hinge.
The first modifications of the FN FAL rifle and some of its other variants were equipped with a muzzle brake-flash suppressor. Its outer diameter allowed the use of rifle grenades that meet NATO standards. In addition, the barrel had attachments for a bayonet knife.
The base rifle "50.00" had a total length of 1090 mm. The 50.41 light machine gun was 10 mm longer. Rifles "50.63" (with a shortened barrel and folding stock) and "50.64" (with a folding stock) had a total length of 1020 and 1095 mm, respectively. With the stock folded, they were shortened to 736 ("50.63") and 838 ("50.64") mm. Due to the wooden stock and forend, the basic version of the rifle without cartridges weighed 4.45 kg. The weight of rifles with a metal folding stock did not exceed 3.9 kg. The heaviest weapon from the basic Belgian line was the FALO light machine gun - 6 kg without ammunition.
All variants of the FN FAL rifle, with the exception of the "50.63", had a barrel length of 533 mm. The shortened barrel was 431 mm long. The used automatics made it possible to fire at a rate of up to 650-700 rounds per minute. The muzzle velocity at the exit from the rifled barrel reached 820 m / s. The aiming range was declared at 650 m, the effective range was 500 m.
The beginning of the licensed production of FAL rifles outside Belgium led to the emergence of two main families of these weapons, conventionally called "inch" and "metric". The first family goes back to the British L1A1 rifle, the second is a further development of the basic FAL. The differences between the families are that, in preparation for production, British gunsmiths were forced to change the design of the rifle in accordance with the capabilities of their industry and existing standards. Subsequently, on the basis of the "inch" version of the FAL rifle, weapons were created and produced for several countries of the Commonwealth of Nations. Other states used versions of the basic "metric" rifle.
Due to the characteristics and relative cheapness, the FN FAL rifle and its modifications have become widespread. This weapon was accepted into service in 90 countries of the world. 13 countries bought a license and produced new rifles in their factories. Some of the license holders were engaged in the development of their own modifications of the weapon, and also modified it by installing new sighting devices, changing the design of the butt and forend, etc.
FN FAL rifles were adopted by a large number of countries in Asia, Africa and South America. In the middle of the last century, the political situation in these regions seriously changed, resulting in numerous revolutions, regime changes and wars. Due to the fairly large distribution, FAL rifles were actively used in a large number of armed conflicts of that time. It was in the first decades of operation that the Belgian rifle received the nickname "the right hand of the free world." At the same time, fighters with FN FAL first had to face in battle with an enemy armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles.
The FAL rifle and its modifications have been used in armed conflicts since the late fifties. For example, in Vietnam, these weapons were used by Australian and Canadian units. The FN FAL was the primary small arms of the Israeli army in the early Arab-Israeli wars. In the context of combat use, the battles for the Falkland Islands are of certain interest: both Argentina and Great Britain were armed with FAL rifles of various modifications.
The reason for the commercial success of the FN FAL rifle can be considered its high performance. Throughout all the decades of its operation, there was a high penetration and striking ability of the 7, 62x51 mm NATO cartridge, as well as good accuracy and accuracy when firing single. In addition, the rifle had a relatively simple design, which facilitated its use and maintenance.
However, the rifle was not without its drawbacks. One of the main ones is the low weight combined with a relatively powerful cartridge. Because of this, when shooting in automatic mode, accuracy and accuracy left much to be desired. The FALO light machine gun, equipped with a heavy barrel and bipod, also had insufficient stability. At the same time, the "Light Automatic Rifle" used a relatively heavy cartridge, which affected the size of the wearable ammunition.
During the Arab-Israeli wars, it was revealed that the FAL rifle has insufficient resistance to pollution. In desert conditions, the weapon was quickly clogged with dust and sand, which affected its performance. The last drawback of the weapon is its large size, which in certain situations made it difficult to use it.
The production of the FN FAL automatic rifle started in 1953. The first country adopted this weapon in service in 1955. Since then, several million rifles have been produced in various versions. In most countries that have bought a license, the production of Belgian-designed rifles ended several decades ago. In a large number of armies, FN FALs have already given way to newer weapons. Nevertheless, in a number of countries, the operation of these rifles continues, and Brazil maintains their production. Such a long history and wide distribution make the FN FAL automatic rifle one of the best types of small arms of the last century.
