FAL

E195443

FAL is a widely used battle rifle originally developed by the Belgian company FN Herstal and adopted by many NATO and allied countries during the Cold War.

All labels observed (3)

Label Occurrences
FAL canonical 1
FN FAL 1
FN FAL battle rifle 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (108)

Predicate Object
instanceOf battle rifle
firearm
selective-fire rifle
action gas-operated
barrelLength approximately 533 millimetres
cartridge 7.62×51mm NATO
category 7.62×51mm NATO battle rifles
Cold War small arms
chambering 7.62×51mm NATO
countryOfOrigin Belgium
designDate late 1940s
designer Dieudonné Saive
effectiveFiringRange approximately 600 metres
era Cold War
feedSystem 20-round detachable box magazine
30-round detachable box magazine
fireModes fully automatic
semi-automatic
introduced 1950s
manufacturer FN Herstal
muzzleVelocity approximately 840 metres per second
nickname Right Arm of the Free World
notableVariant C1A1
FAL 50.00
FAL 50.41
FAL 50.63
FAL 50.64
L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle
overallLength approximately 1,090 millimetres
rateOfFire approximately 650–700 rounds per minute
usedBy Argentina
Argentine Armed Forces
Australia
Australian Army
Austria
Austrian Armed Forces
Belgium
Bolivia
Brazil
Brazilian Armed Forces
British Armed Forces
Canada
Canadian forces
surface form: Canadian Armed Forces

Chile
Armed Forces of Chile
surface form: Chilean Armed Forces

Colombia
Ecuador
Greece
Armed Forces of Greece
surface form: Greek Armed Forces

India
Indian Armed Forces
Indonesia
Indonesian National Armed Forces
surface form: Indonesian Armed Forces

Iran
Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran
surface form: Iranian Armed Forces

Israel
Israel Defense Forces
surface form: Israeli Defense Forces

Jordan
Jordanian Armed Forces
Kenya
Kenyan Armed Forces
Luxembourg
Malaysia
Malaysian Armed Forces
Armed Forces of Mexico
surface form: Mexican Armed Forces

Mexico
NATO
surface form: NATO countries

Netherlands
New Zealand
New Zealand Army
Nigeria
Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
surface form: Nigerian Armed Forces

Pakistan
Pakistan Armed Forces
surface form: Pakistani Armed Forces

Paraguay
Peru
Armed Forces of Peru
surface form: Peruvian Armed Forces

Philippines
Portugal
Portuguese Armed Forces
Rhodesia
Rhodesian Security Forces
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Armed Forces
South Africa
Armed Forces of South Africa
surface form: South African Defence Force

Spain
Spanish Armed Forces
Sri Lanka
Turkey
Armed Forces of Turkey
surface form: Turkish Armed Forces

United Kingdom
Uruguay
Venezuela
Venezuelan Armed Forces
Bundeswehr
surface form: West German Bundeswehr

West Germany
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe Defence Forces
surface form: Zimbabwean Armed Forces
usedInConflict Cold War
Falklands War
Indo-Pakistani wars
surface form: Indo-Pakistani conflicts

Rhodesian Bush War
Six-Day War
South African Border War
Vietnam War
surface form: Vietnam War (limited use)

Yom Kippur War
weight approximately 4.3 kilograms unloaded

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

FAL usesAbbreviation FAL
L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle basedOn FAL
this entity surface form: FN FAL
FN Herstal notableProduct FAL
this entity surface form: FN FAL battle rifle