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The History of the
7.62mm FN-F.A.L. Rifle in South Africa
(Notes on Magazines and Slings included below - Click on
images to enlarge) |
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This history will, of
necessity, be rather vague in some respects as the South African government
has not, at this stage, seen fit to release or give access to the archives of
Armscor, the state armaments procurement agency. This has stunted detailed
research and is preventing the publishing of the full story. Any
documentation which you, the reader, may have which would assist in filling
in some of the gaps will be greatly appreciated. Overview:
Possibly as early as the very late 1950s negotiations were started with
Fabrique Nationale of Liege, Belgium to produce a quantity of these rifles
for the South African Defence Force. The first batch (or batches) of rifles
arrived in the SA in 1960 or 1961 and were of the early M1 type (no
flash-hider and standard gas plug). Later deliveries, presumably as a result
of ‘lessons learnt’, were of the FAL type with 22mm grenade launcher
flash-hider and gas plug, some being a unique variation of the folding stock
‘Para’ model as well as the FN-FALO or ‘Heavy Barrel FN’. All the FN made
contract rifles procured for the SA Defence Force were identified, as was
common practice at the time, with the purchasing nation’s coat-of-arms
roll-stamped onto the right hand side of the magazine well. Additional
smaller quantities of non- contract models were purchased by, and for, the SA
Police and the SA Prisons. At some time in the
early 1960s an agreement was signed between FN and Armscor whereby the FAL
would be produced, under licence, by LIW (Lyttleton Ingeneurswerke), an
Armscor/Denel subsidiary located outside Pretoria. The SA produced version
was officially named the ‘R1’ and the first rifle produced, serial numbered
000001, was presented to the then Prime Minister, Dr Hendrik Verwoerd, by
Armscor and is now on view at the National Museum of Military History in
Johannesburg. This rifle is atypical of regular R1 production as it boasts a
wooden stock and leather sling and there is some evidence that it was not
assembled from 100% SA manufactured components. No Para or heavy barrel
versions were produced in South Africa. R Blake Stevens’
excellent series of books “The FAL Rifle” (published by Collector Grade
Publications) has done much to educate and enthuse people around the world in
the lore of the FAL. He is to be highly commended for that. A Long and Useful Life:
The introduction of the ‘FN’ (as it was simply known in those days) into the
South African Defence Force meant the phasing out of the .303 No4Mk1/2 rifles
then in use. Starting with in the National Service training units, the rifles
were issued as they became available but it was many years before all
Commando units received their quota of the new rifles. All arms of the Defence
Force (Army, Air force, Navy and Medical Services) as well as the South
African Police and Prisons Service welcomed the advent of the FN and it was
to serve them through many busy years and on many fronts. It was the standard
issue weapon of all infantry units at the start of the border wars and
internal strife until replaced by the R4 (a locally manufactured version of
the Israeli Galil 5.56mm assault rifle) in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. It
excelled on the shooting range in local and international competition and won
a very special place in the hearts of all servicemen who used it. The End (or nearly
so!): When the FN was finally declared obsolete by the
SA Army in the late 1990s they were withdrawn from service and placed in war
reserve until finally the vast majority of remaining stock (206,454 of
various models to be exact) were destroyed in Operation Mouflon during 2001.
Attempts to preserve a cross-section of these models for posterity were
vigorously pursued but to no avail. A few FNs continue to
serve to this day in the SA Navy (where it is still the official small-arm)
and the SA Police who favour the folding stock ‘Para’ version for highway
patrol duties. The National Parks
Board (specifically in the Kruger National Park) have a large inventory of
FAL/R1rifles, including Para models, which were given to them by the SANDF
and are now carried regularly on patrol by the game scouts/guards and account
for their share of poachers. The Future:
All models of the FN-FAL are eagerly sought by collectors and shooters in
South Africa both for their shooting qualities as well as for their
historical significance. It is not known how many of these fine rifles with a
South African flavour have survived the ravages of time (and an unfeeling and
uncaring government) but those few are rightly treated with great respect and
affection. As this research
progresses, images and more detailed descriptions of the various models will
be added to this site. Some
Technical Details: General points and tips on FN-FAL type
rifles used in South Africa – 1. The earliest
contract rifles were supplied with grey glass-fibre hand-guards. Later
deliveries were of black fibreglass and subsequently (incl. All SA
production) of black ‘cycolac’ (plastic). 2. All contract rifles
were delivered with wooden (walnut?) butts and all SA made rifles (with the
exception of ser. # 000001) are believed to have been produced with black
cycolac butts. 3. All contract and SA
made rifles were built on ‘Type 1’ receivers – some SAP and Prisons purchases
(and possibly some Army sniper models) were of the later ‘Type 2’ and ‘Type
3’ receivers. 4. The Para models were
requested and supplied with the standard FAL 200m – 600m rear sight (rather than the
usual ‘L’ type sight). This change necessitated the re-shaping of the top of
the hinge-block and the relocation of the rear sling-swivel to the bottom of
the L/H side of the hinge-block. These three minor features are unique and
can be used to identify SA contract Para rifles and/or parts.
Left side view of
Belgian made SA contract 'Para' FAL showing unique arrangement of rear sight
(200 - 600 metre sight rather than normal 'L' type Para version), hinge block
modified at top to accept sight and the position of the rear sling
swivel (relocated to bottom of block so as not to interfere with sight).
5. The FN-FALO (heavy
barrel FN) rifles were supplied with wooden furniture - butts, heavily
grooved fore-ends and smooth carry handles (some black, grooved cycolac carry
handles have been noted – but only as replacement parts). 6. Most (if not all)
R1s were proofed and marked with a ‘P’ within an oval located on the receiver in front of
the magazine well. 7. Large quantities of
spares of all types (including crested upper receivers) and tools were part
of the early FN contract purchases. List of known variants used by the SADF
(excluding SA Police and Prisons) 1. M1 – SA Crest, wood butt, steel
butt plate (no butt trap), grey glass-fibre fore-end, no flash-hider, bayonet
lug, M1 bayonet, .303 webbing type sling, std gas plug. 2. FN-FAL - SA Crest, wood butt,
steel butt plate (no butt trap) grey or black glass-fibre fore-end, 22mm
flash-hider, tube bayonet, .303 type sling, Zulu grenade sight/gas plug 3. FN-FAL Sniper – Same as 2) but
with 3.6X OIP mnfr ‘scope (with leather lens covers joined with canvas
covered rubber) in off-centre flexible rings, wooden cheek-piece, adjustable
2” wide web & leather sling 4. FN-FAL or R1 Factory Cut-Away
(known to exist but no samples of either seen). 5. FN-PARA – SA Crest, Folding butt,
black plastic fore-end, 22mm flash-hider, unique SA rear sight/sling swivel
arrangement (as mentioned above), .303 type sling, Zulu grenade sight/gas
plug. 6. FN-FALO - SA Crest, wood butt with
steel butt-plate and shoulder tab (smooth, unlike pressed Israeli version),
short grooved wood fore-end, smooth wood carry handle, forged bipod, .303
webbing type sling, std gas plug. 7. FN-FAL Sniper – FN marked
receiver, Kahles ZF69 Scope in Mannlicher SSG type QD rings, 10rd Mag,
straight line wood butt with rubber recoil pad, black plastic fore-end, 22mm
flash-hider, vinyl covered wood transit case & accessories/tools, .303
type sling, Zulu grenade sight/gas plug. 8. First ‘R1’ – Ser # 000001 in War
Museum, Johannesburg. No Crest, Wood butt etc. same as 2., leather sling.
Almost certain that not all parts were SA made. 9. R1 (early catalogs list as R3) –
No Crest, Black plastic butt and fore-end, “R1 7.62mm” markings, 22mm flash-hider, tube bayonet, R4 type wide
sling (but with wider end straps), Zulu grenade sight/gas plug. 10. Semi-Auto R1 – Same as 9) but
with semi auto safety (sky blue in colour) riveted to prevent
removal/replacement. Shorter locking plate (necessitated by permanent safety)
which clips into notch cut inside lower. ‘K’ (for ‘Kommando’ use) prefix to
serial number - numbers noted were all in the 5XXXXX range and in a smaller
font than normal. It is believed some 30,000 were produced and all (?) were
converted back to standard full-auto rifles in the late 1970s. 11. R1 (61
Base Workshop FTR) – Standard FN-FAL or R1 receiver, new black plastic
furniture, new barrel, all metal (including mag) with brown gun-coat finish,
R4 type wide sling (but with wider end straps). 12. R1 Sniper FTR – 1990s rebuild
with Tasco (?) commercial scope etc. (unseen so further details unknown but
known to exist). 13. SASSA (South African Service
Shooting Assoc) ‘Specials’ – R1 presented each year to the winner of the
National Service Shooting Championships. Standard R1 with custom serial # eg.
‘1979/1’ denoting the winner (Roy Knott of Rhodesia who still has his) in
1979. 14. Short Rifle for Bushman Bns –
Standard FAL/R1 with butt shortened – modification done at unit level and
61BW in the 1970s. 15. Sterile – Standard R1 with NO
MARKINGS other than serial # 16. Israeli FAL – Standard Israeli
FAL with metal/wood hand-guards, ‘L’ safety etc. Known to have been issued in
SWA and also supplied to Rhodesia. Source unknown. MAJOR
ACCESSORIES: Night
Vision Equipment: a. ‘KKV’
(Klein Kaliber Visier) - a locally produced (by Eloptro, another Denel
subsidiary) version of the West German ‘Orion’ night sight, with accessories
in case. Standard ‘Stanag’ interface with mount and brown gun-cote finish.
Mounted onto two variations of mount / dust cover – a spring steel version
with riveted Stanag mount and a QD version with extruded alloy cover (ICN 1005
18 414 3436) secured with four steel plates. b. ‘MNV’ (Mini Nag Visier – nicknamed the
‘Gogga’) – a gen2 sight locally designed & produced by Eloptro,
considerably smaller than the KKV and used on both FAL/R1 and R4/5. Mark 1
and 2 scopes are identical but have different mounting interfaces.
Left and right views of early
(2nd?) contract FAL with South African manufactured 'KKV' Gen2 NV sight
fitted. Made by Eloptro, this is a direct
copy of the West German 'Orion' sight. |
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Peter Wells,
Johannesburg, South Africa - January 2003, updated 11 October 2003.
(Assisted by Chris D
Baragwanath) Please
contact the SAAACA
Office if you can contribute to this subject in any way ! |
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