“The New Rifle”

I came across this British newsreel from 1954. It talks about the replacement of the SMLE bolt action rifle used by the British Army in the Great War (WWI), World War II, and the Korean Way. The replacement was the British variant (L1A1) of the Belgian FAL and obviously it was big news if it made the newsreels of the day.

You do have to wonder if the US Army had adopted the FAL or its British variant, would they have kept it in service longer than the M14. As it was, the “not invented here” syndrome was still strong in the Army’s Ordnance branch in the late 1940s and early 50s.

A 5.56 FAL?

Yes, there really was a FAL in 5.56×45. It was the SAR-4800 made by Imbel in Brazil and imported by Springfield Armory. According to Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons, only about 700 were imported into the United States and these came with those ugly post-ban thumbhole stocks.

He discusses the history of it while examining one that was converted to the FAL Para configuration. While it probably is a bit heavy, it is still pretty cool.