What do you think?
Rate this book
Osprey Weapons #27
The FN FAL Battle Rifle
Of all the infantry small arms developed during World War II, one that generated the most interest was the German 'assault rifle', the StG 44 Sturmgewehr. This innovative weapon fired an intermediate cartridge much more powerful and long-ranged than the standard pistol rounds used in submachine guns, but smaller and lighter than a full-size 7.92mm rifle round, producing less recoil and enabling the soldier to carry more ammunition. The StG 44 and the Soviet weapon it inspired, the AK-47 in 7.62x39mm calibre, could still effectively and accurately engage targets on semi-automatic out to 300m, but when close-range firepower was needed could fire on full-automatic like a submachine gun.
In the West, the NATO countries looked hard at new weapons to upgrade their own infantry arsenals and counter the AK-47. Although British and other designers developed their own prototype assault rifles chambered for intermediate cartridges, the Americans adopted the M14 'battle rifle' and forced a common full-length calibre, 7.62x51mm, on their NATO allies. Fabrique Nationale of Belgium designed a new military rifle, the Fusil Automatique Léger or FAL, as an assault rifle using a true intermediate cartirdge, but this innovative weapon also proved to be a successful battle rifle when adapted for the full-length NATO round. It was soon adopted by the military and police forces of no fewer than 93 nations around the globe, from the United Kingdom to Israel, and was manufactured under licence on every populated continent. It remains in production to this day and is regarded by most as the quintessential postwar battle rifle. In fact, the FAL dominated the militaries of the West to such a degree that its nickname became the Right Arm of the Free World.
Roughly comparable in terms of size and weight to other contemporary battle rifles such as the American M14 and the German Heckler & Koch G3, the FAL proved to be reliable and well loved by its users. It performed reliably in a wide variety of small wars and insurgencies, in the hands of professional soldiers as well as those of hastily trained conscripts and essentially untrained guerrillas. It proved itself in harsh environments as varied as the cold, wet, featureless Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic, the snow and ice of Norway and northern Canada, the deep jungles of Vietnam and Malaya, the deserts of the Middle East, and the streets of Belfast. While thankfully never called upon for its original intent - facing down hordes of mechanized Soviet infantry on the plains of Western Europe - the FAL fulfilled every role it was asked to perform and remains a viable and well-respected weapon to this day.
In the West, the NATO countries looked hard at new weapons to upgrade their own infantry arsenals and counter the AK-47. Although British and other designers developed their own prototype assault rifles chambered for intermediate cartridges, the Americans adopted the M14 'battle rifle' and forced a common full-length calibre, 7.62x51mm, on their NATO allies. Fabrique Nationale of Belgium designed a new military rifle, the Fusil Automatique Léger or FAL, as an assault rifle using a true intermediate cartirdge, but this innovative weapon also proved to be a successful battle rifle when adapted for the full-length NATO round. It was soon adopted by the military and police forces of no fewer than 93 nations around the globe, from the United Kingdom to Israel, and was manufactured under licence on every populated continent. It remains in production to this day and is regarded by most as the quintessential postwar battle rifle. In fact, the FAL dominated the militaries of the West to such a degree that its nickname became the Right Arm of the Free World.
Roughly comparable in terms of size and weight to other contemporary battle rifles such as the American M14 and the German Heckler & Koch G3, the FAL proved to be reliable and well loved by its users. It performed reliably in a wide variety of small wars and insurgencies, in the hands of professional soldiers as well as those of hastily trained conscripts and essentially untrained guerrillas. It proved itself in harsh environments as varied as the cold, wet, featureless Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic, the snow and ice of Norway and northern Canada, the deep jungles of Vietnam and Malaya, the deserts of the Middle East, and the streets of Belfast. While thankfully never called upon for its original intent - facing down hordes of mechanized Soviet infantry on the plains of Western Europe - the FAL fulfilled every role it was asked to perform and remains a viable and well-respected weapon to this day.
80 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
8 people are currently reading
34 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 1, 2020
The FN FAL is the most succesfull battle rifle in the world. It served more than 90 countries and still serves today with standing militaries throughout the world. This book covers its development, first with the original 7.92x33mm, the .280 cartridge and then with Studler's 7,62x51mm cartridge. The first batch of FN FALs bought by Venezuela had the unusual 7x49.15mm Optimum 2 calibre, but they would reverse to the 7,62x51mm eventually.
The author covers the main users and their variants, he also examines the different accessories, like sights and optics. The bayonet part is interesting, showing a brief explanation of its use and different models. The picture with the Brazilian soldiers using the type C is a very good one as you can see the bayonet clearly, but they are paratroopers rather than special forces (their berets would be brown otherwise). There is also a pitoresc story about the Austrians never issuing bayonets to their men, and when asked about the reason an Austrian colonel answered "Have a friend poke you in the chest just as hard as he can with the grenade launcher and see if you like it".
The "Use" section starts with the British in Malaya and then goes on to the Middle East and Northern Ireland. In Africa, the section dealing with Rhodesia is particularly interesting, with the typical emphasis o marksmanship of most users of the FN FAL, the Rhodesians used their rifles in the semi-auto mode to avoid waste of ammo and colateral damage. There is a two-page artwork depicting a Rhodesian ambush with a brief explanation of the Rhodesian use of the 7,62x51mm in breaching the enemy's cover, transforming it in concealment. The Israelis have a 4-page presentation that is enriched by personal accounts and analysis on the Israeli infantry tactics and weapons handling. The Israeli made good use of rifle grenades for fire and maneuver and in the anti-tank role. The Israelis usually fired the grenades to stun and pine their enemies down so the infantry could rush in and engage the enemy at close range. The Australian section shows how good infantry small unit tactics and marksmanship, allied with a good and reliable rifle, are superior to sheer firepower and lack of imagination. There is a 1-page artwork showing the Australians soldiers fighting in Long Tan, where the SLR was called "outstanding weapon of the action". There is another two-page artwork showing the bayonet fighting in Mount Tumbledown, with the Scots charging the Argentinean marines, that is top quality. The part on Central and South America is very brief, having to share 1 page and a half with a subsection dealing with the SAW versions of the FAL, named FALO or FAP. The SAW version is ranked below the Bren but receives "higher marks" than the M60, which was a surprise for me; as a FAP gunner myself, I didn't know my beloved FAP could beat Rambo's gun.
The brief Latin American use section is more than compensated by the high-quality and plentiful array of photographs devoted to the Latin users. The cover is a picture of Uruguayan Air Force Sgt. Edwardo Agular during a training exercise between the USAF'24th TASS and members of the FAU in Santa Bernardina, Durazno, Uruguay in 1989; as explained by an Osprey forum member. The section on the development also makes justice to the Latin American preference of the FN FAL battle rifle.
The author finishes the book with an assessment of the FAL's impact. He compares the penetration of the 7,62mmx51 and the 5,56x45mm and compares the FAL with the M14 and the G3. The author also points to the FAL's reputation for a reliable weapon with good range and accuracy, and to its weaknesses as a heavy and long rifle.
This book is very even-handed and Bob Cashner does a great job in balancing the sections in a way that makes the reading very enjoyable. There is no doubt this book is one of the best in the Weapons series. The author has military background and spends time in important issues from the military perspective that kept the reading in a no-nonsense way from start to finish. His insights regarding the debate "firepower versus accuracy" are also very instigating and made want to research more about it. The author can be proud of himself as this book makes justice the FN FAL battle rifle. "The Right Arm of the Free World".
The author covers the main users and their variants, he also examines the different accessories, like sights and optics. The bayonet part is interesting, showing a brief explanation of its use and different models. The picture with the Brazilian soldiers using the type C is a very good one as you can see the bayonet clearly, but they are paratroopers rather than special forces (their berets would be brown otherwise). There is also a pitoresc story about the Austrians never issuing bayonets to their men, and when asked about the reason an Austrian colonel answered "Have a friend poke you in the chest just as hard as he can with the grenade launcher and see if you like it".
The "Use" section starts with the British in Malaya and then goes on to the Middle East and Northern Ireland. In Africa, the section dealing with Rhodesia is particularly interesting, with the typical emphasis o marksmanship of most users of the FN FAL, the Rhodesians used their rifles in the semi-auto mode to avoid waste of ammo and colateral damage. There is a two-page artwork depicting a Rhodesian ambush with a brief explanation of the Rhodesian use of the 7,62x51mm in breaching the enemy's cover, transforming it in concealment. The Israelis have a 4-page presentation that is enriched by personal accounts and analysis on the Israeli infantry tactics and weapons handling. The Israeli made good use of rifle grenades for fire and maneuver and in the anti-tank role. The Israelis usually fired the grenades to stun and pine their enemies down so the infantry could rush in and engage the enemy at close range. The Australian section shows how good infantry small unit tactics and marksmanship, allied with a good and reliable rifle, are superior to sheer firepower and lack of imagination. There is a 1-page artwork showing the Australians soldiers fighting in Long Tan, where the SLR was called "outstanding weapon of the action". There is another two-page artwork showing the bayonet fighting in Mount Tumbledown, with the Scots charging the Argentinean marines, that is top quality. The part on Central and South America is very brief, having to share 1 page and a half with a subsection dealing with the SAW versions of the FAL, named FALO or FAP. The SAW version is ranked below the Bren but receives "higher marks" than the M60, which was a surprise for me; as a FAP gunner myself, I didn't know my beloved FAP could beat Rambo's gun.
The brief Latin American use section is more than compensated by the high-quality and plentiful array of photographs devoted to the Latin users. The cover is a picture of Uruguayan Air Force Sgt. Edwardo Agular during a training exercise between the USAF'24th TASS and members of the FAU in Santa Bernardina, Durazno, Uruguay in 1989; as explained by an Osprey forum member. The section on the development also makes justice to the Latin American preference of the FN FAL battle rifle.
The author finishes the book with an assessment of the FAL's impact. He compares the penetration of the 7,62mmx51 and the 5,56x45mm and compares the FAL with the M14 and the G3. The author also points to the FAL's reputation for a reliable weapon with good range and accuracy, and to its weaknesses as a heavy and long rifle.
This book is very even-handed and Bob Cashner does a great job in balancing the sections in a way that makes the reading very enjoyable. There is no doubt this book is one of the best in the Weapons series. The author has military background and spends time in important issues from the military perspective that kept the reading in a no-nonsense way from start to finish. His insights regarding the debate "firepower versus accuracy" are also very instigating and made want to research more about it. The author can be proud of himself as this book makes justice the FN FAL battle rifle. "The Right Arm of the Free World".
March 4, 2018
Not to my liking.
Was expecting something more technical. Was to generalized, too much about who, where, and when. Not enough about how it operates.
Was expecting something more technical. Was to generalized, too much about who, where, and when. Not enough about how it operates.
April 15, 2025
Un gran ensayo sobre un fusil tan iconico. Una lectura amena e interesante, para cualquiera interesado en esta pieza de la historia.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews