FN Fal Light Automatic Rifle 7.62 User Manual

							FALUSER’s MANUAL
LIGHT AUTOMATIC RIFLECAL. 7.62 mm
0
” ,1u400 HEWAL (NLCIUM)
f
FADRlQUt NATlONALlE HtltSTALSoci4tb Anonym 
						

							I. INTRODUCTION
The FN Light Automatic Rifle, colibre 7.62 mm
NATO, usually known OS the “F. A. L.” or
“L. A. R.“,has resulted from prolonged research
and 
comoetitive trials made in various countries
and unde; all types of climatic conditions.
Fig. 
IThis rifle, which has been adopted by many
countries both within and outside NATO, was
designed and made by FN to give the user a
rifle which would combine all the essential qua-
lities needed under modern fighting conditions, to
a hitherto unequalled degree.
This booklet is neither for the armourer nor thespecialised officer:its purpose is to familiarise
the user with a weapon which is new to him and to
put sufficient knowledge at his disposal to enable
him to use it with maximum efficiency.
3 
						

							I I. CHARACTERISTICS
AND TECHNICAL DETAILSThe FN Light Automatic Rifle is an automatic
weapon, calibre 7.62 mm NATO, gas-operated and
with a breech block which is mechanically locked
before firing can take place.
Rifle
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.4Weights
a) Rifle without magazine: 4.325 kgs 
(ap-prox. 9.53 Ibs)
b) Magazine (steel) empty: 250 g 
(8+ ots)c) Magazine (steel) filled 20 rounds Ball
Ammn.: 730 g (1 lb 
98 ozs)
d) Barrel. approx.800 g (1 lb 
12a ozs)
Measurementsa) Overall length 
.1,090 mm (approx. 40”)
b) Barrel length 
.533 mm (approx. 21N)c) Sight radius 
.553 mm (approx. 21$“)
System of operation: gas, with regulator and
piston.Method of feed: 20-round 
magazme.Magazine housing 
: underneath the receiver.
Ejection opening :right side of receiver. 
						

							7.
8.
9.10.
11.
12.Cocking handle:left side of receiver.
Chonge lever: left side of trigger frame.
Sights: adjustable, bocksight graduated from
200-600 metres, scaled by 100 m.
Rifling of barrel : 4 grooves, direction-right,
pitch-l in 
305 mm (1 in 12”!Cyclic rote of fire: 650-700 rpm.
Operational rate of fire, semi-automatic: up
to 60 rpm.
Cartridge
1.2.
3.
4.5.
6.
7.
8.Colibre: 7.62 mm NATO (Fig. 2).
Weight of cartridge: (for ordinary ball round
“SS 77”) approx. 24 g (0.86 oz).
Length of cartridge: 7 I mm 
(2.8”).Weight of ordinary bullet: “FN SS 77”:
9.30 g (0.33 oz).
Powder charge:approx. 3 g (0.1 oz).
lnitiol Velocity (VO) in the “F. A. L.“:
840 
m/set (2,754 ft/sec).
Muzzle Energy (EO) in the “F. A. L.“:
335 kgm (2,422 
ft.lbs).Remaining Kinetic Energy at 600 metres
(656 yds): 100 kgm (723 
ft.lbs).N. 
6. For further technical information and
ballistical chorocteristics, also firing tables, refer
5 
						

							to FN booklet for Ammunition calibre 7.62 mm
NATO, or other handbook on thk subject.
Fig. 2
FN 7.62 mm NATO cartrldge wtth SS 77 bullet
6 
						

							III. FUNCTIONING1. COCKING
Before firing, the breech block mechanism is
forward, with the safety applied (change lever set
at 
‘5”).Insert a filled magazine obliquely in the housing
under the receiver, swing it from front to rear and
push fully home:the magazine is then. secured
in the rifle at both front and rear.
Pull the cocking handle, on the left side of the
receiver, fully to the rear, then let it go forward: a
cartridge is thus introduced into the chamber;
the rifle is loaded and cocked.
To fire, set the change lever either at “R” for
semi-automatic fire, or at “A” for automatic fire.
2. REAR MOVEMENT OF THE MECHANISM
Pressing the trigger fires the shot.
When the bullet passes the gas port in the bar-
rel, port of the combustion gases penetrate the
regulator and thence into the gas cylinder.
The.piston is projected to the rear, strikes the 
breech-
block slide, which is also driven rearwards.After
recoiling a few millimetres, the ramps of the slide
force the rear part of the breech block to rise,
thus lifting it out of engagement with its locking
7 
						

							shoulder in the receiver.The mechanism is then
unlocked. The recoil of slide dnd breech block
continues, the extractor removes the spent case
from the chamber: extraction is completed; then
the hammer, pushed by the slide, is forced to pivot
to the rear.
As recoil continues, the base of the spent case
contacts the ejector, an integral part of the receiv-
er; the case is then thrown out of the gun to the
right, through the ejection opening.
buring this rear movement, the return springs,
housed in the butt, are compressed by the slide
rod, hinged to the rear of the slide.
The piston has returned to its forward position,
as its 
spl’ing relaxed.
3. FORWARD ACTION OF THE MECHANISM
The return springs, compressed during the rear
movement of the mechanism, now relax and drive
the breech block assembly forward.The breech
block pushes the next cartridge towards the cham-ber, while the hammer is held in the cocked
position by the safety sear: the front of the
breech block contacts the rear portion of the bar-
rel; the cartridge is chambered and the base of
its case seized by the extractor claw.
The slide acts on the upper shoulder of the
breech block and forces its rear end downwards,
causing its lock shoulder to engage in the locking
recess in the receiver.The mechanism is now
lacked.
The slide continues its forward movement alone:towards the end of its course, the safety sear is
tripped by the shoulder on the rear left underside
of the slide, which causes the sear to pivot and the
hammer to be released; the rear end of the firing
8 
						

							pin protrudes beyond the rear face of the slide,
when the front face of the slide is.fully home.
In automatic fire, it is the safety sear which
releases the hammer and thus causes the shot to
be fired, because the trigger sear is not in action
in this case, except for the first shot of each burst
of fire.
In semi-automatic fire, it is the trigger sear
which finally releases the hammer, after it has
first been released by the safety sear; the me-
chanism has been so designed that the trigger
must be released, then pressed again, to permit
the following shot to be fired (see 4 below).
4. CHANGE LEVER
The lever arm can occupy one of the three fol-lowing positions:a) An uppermost position “5” when the rifle is
at safe:in this position, if the trigger is pressed,
it is impossible to fire because the rounded part of
the change lever arm is over the trigger platform,
preventing it from rising to engage the tail of the
sear.b) A front position “A”, which sets the mecha-
nism at automatic fire: before firing the rear tip
of the trigger is now so positioned in relation to
the deeper bent in the change lever axis that
pressing the trigger causes the sear to pivot 
up-words: the nose of the sear is consequently disen-
gaged from the hammer bent and firing takes
place.In addition, the nose of the trigger sear has
been swung downwards so that it cannot contact
the hammer, which is controlled by the safety
sear only, so long as the trigger is not released;
OS firing depends on the safety sear, this frees
9 
						

							the hammer each time the mechanism closes after
the breech is completely locked: firing is auto-matic,When the firer releases the trigger, the nose
of the sear rises, catches hold of the hammer,
which then pushes the sear slightly to the rear;
this positions the tail of the sear over the heel of
the trigger and the mechanism is then cocked,
ready to fire the next burst.
c) A rear position“R”, which sets the 
mecho-nism at semi-automatic (single shot); the rear tip
of the trigger is now against a shallower bent in
the change lever than in position “A”, pressing
the trigger therefore pivots the sear to a lesser
degree so that after the first shot has been fired,
the hammer will be caught by the sear. This
moves slightly forward under the action of its
spring and is thus placed in front of the heel of the
trigger, i.e. no longer in contact.
Firing another
cartridge is therefore impossible if pressure on the
trigger is maintained.
To continue firing, the trigger must be released;
when this is done, the hammer turns slightly under
action of its spring;
OS it is in contact with the
sear, it pushes the sear towards the rear so that
the tail of the sear comes over the heel of the
trigger; pressure on the trigger will now fire the
second shot, and so on.
Note :If automatic fire is not required, the
change lever can be removed and another change
lever fitted with indent for semi-automatic fire
only, i.e. with 2 instead of 3 settings.
Any sol-
dier can easily make this substitution.
10 
						

							5. HOLDING OPEN DEVICE.When the magazine is empty, its platform
pushes the holding open device upwards, in the
pathway of the breech block, which is thus held
to the rear, and the firer knows that his magazine
is empty.After a filled magazine has been insert-
ed, depress the lever of the holding open device
so that the breech block is released and can con-
tinue its forward movement.
11