The FAMAS was also susceptible to malfunction on occasion because of poorly-built, or rather improperly used, magazines. For instance, many plastic pieces on the rifle easily broke, including critical parts like the cheek riser on the butt's pad below where the cheek is to go. While a capable rifle, the F1 had numerous problems to overcome. Approximately 400,000 FAMAS F1 assault rifles were produced by MAS. (right): 3-round burst or full automatic selectorĪfter adoption by the French military, the FAMAS F1 replaced both the elderly MAS 49/56 rifle and MAT-49 submachine gun.Fire control selector: Safety, semi-automatic, automatic.Flash hider/ 22 mm rifle grenade launcher.Can be reversed for right or left-handed shooter. In late 1978, the French military accepted the FAMAS as their standard-issue rifle, the FAMAS F1. While the Heckler & Koch HK33 was considered, with a batch of 1,200 examples tested, it was ultimately turned down in favor of the SIG SG 540, built under licence by Manurhin ( Manufacture de Machines du Haut Rhin) as a temporary resort, until enough domestically-built FAMAS rifles were produced to issue to French forces. When production problems delayed the general issue of the new rifles, and with the 1978 Battle of Kolwezi showing an immediate need for a more modern weapon to stand on equal terms with assault rifles armed enemy forces, the French Army began searching for an emergency temporary rifle until the FAMAS came into full production. The FAMAS project began in 1967 under the direction of General Paul Tellié (1919-2014) and the first prototype was completed in 1971, with French military evaluation of the rifle beginning in 1972. General Marcel Bigeard was also against the idea of relying on foreign weapons while visiting the Manufacture d'Armes de Saint-Étienne, he asked the engineers to develop a homemade French 5.56 mm automatic rifle, which subsequently led to the creation and adoption of the FAMAS. However, simply adopting the German-designed HK33 rifle was considered unsatisfactory for many members of the French high command. At the same time, the French embraced the idea of developing a new 5.56 mm automatic rifle. In the 1960s, MAS began to manufacture under licence the Heckler & Koch G3 battle rifle and later on the Heckler & Koch HK33 assault rifle as temporary substitutes. Ĭutaway of the muzzle of a FAMAS F1 on display at the Weapons Department in the Museum of Art and Industry in Saint-Étienne, France. ![]() However, the United States adoption of the M16 rifle and 5.56×45mm cartridge caused the French to rethink their approach, and consequently the Type 62 was not adopted. Nevertheless, approximately forty different 7.62×51mm NATO calibre prototype rifles were developed between 19, most notably the FA-MAS Type 62. Since France was engaged in the First Indochina War at the time, and was also the second-largest contributor to NATO, the research budgets for new types of weapons were limited and priority was given to the modernisation and production of existing service weapons. ![]() 30 US Carbine, 7.92×33mm Kurz, 7.65×38mm (Made by Cartoucherie de Valence) and some other intermediate calibers. The first French bullpup rifles were developed between 19 at the AME ( Atelier Mécanique de Mulhouse) and MAS, testing rounds such as. Beginning in 2017, the FAMAS was replaced in most frontline units in the French Army by the HK416F, and the FAMAS is expected to remain in limited service until 2028. The FAMAS is recognised for its high rate of fire at 1,100 rounds per minute. It is known by French troops as Le Clairon (The Bugle) due to its distinctive shape. The FAMAS ( Fusil d'Assaut de la Manufacture d'Armes de Saint-Étienne, "Assault Rifle from the Saint-Étienne Weapon Factory") is a bullpup assault rifle designed and manufactured in France by MAS in 1978, a year after the Austrian Steyr AUG. ![]() Rear aperture fitted with tritium night inserts, front post 30-round detachable box magazine ( STANAG) (G2).
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