Features
FAMAS
Caliber :5.56 mm.
Length :757 mm.
Barrel length :488 mm.
Weight of the weapon loaded :4.025 kg
Magger capacity :25 rounds.
Rate of fire :900-1,000 strokes/min.
Initial speed :960 m/s.
During the years before and after the Second World War, the French arms industry seemed to have been overtaken by its foreign competitors in the development of small arms, but with the FAMAS assault rifle it has does more than catch up. It is a very modern weapon, very efficient, and a good example of the "stocky" character specific to compact models, in which the trigger assembly is placed in front of the magazine. Even so, however, the FAMAS is particularly short and manoeuvrable, and must be one of the smallest assault rifles currently in service.
It is now the regulatory weapon of the French army, which will be enough to keep the production lines installed in SaintEtienne in service for the next ten years. The first examples built were distributed to certain paratrooper units or special forces; French troops used it in 1983 in Chad and Lebanon. The FAMAS is easy to recognize, as its external appearance is unlike any other.
It uses the American 5.56 mm M193 cartridge and has a long carrying handle above the body of the weapon that supports both the rear sight and the front sight. The butt is imposing and massive. An alidade placed at the front of the barrel allows the throwing of grenades. It is possible to attach a small bayonet, and a bipod completes the standard equipment. The fire selector has three options:single shot, automatic, three-round burst. The device that controls this last possibility is housed in the stock, with the trigger assembly, which is a fairly complex mechanism. We used plastic everywhere we could and the finish was not the subject of any particular care:this is how the barrel, made of steel, is not internally chromed.
Despite its very particular look, the FAMAS is easy to handle and use and its operation does not present any particular problem. Aiming and throwing grenades have been specially designed for greater convenience. In service, the weapon proved to be easy to handle. We have even been able to reduce training costs thanks to a version that uses compressed gas cartridges, which projects pellets, during target shooting exercises:this weapon is, moreover, completely in conformity with the regulatory model
ndw:All my youth!! I loved this weapon; its small size its super studied strap for multiple carrying its more than honest precision given the caliber and the length of the weapon ... weak point .. it takes up too much space in a bag sleeping area (more in width than in length compared to the FSA)
anecdote:the Mat 49/FSA generation had an excellent bottle opener on the trigger guard of the MAT ...for the FAMAS generation it was the belt ... to believe that the French general staff has always had at heart that its soldiers can quench their thirst in all circumstances...