GUNS & AMMO
The African Rifles: The HK
G3 and FN FAL
T
o many, the words Africa and rifle together conjure
up images of a side-by-side Holland and Holland
chambered in a dangerous game cartridge such
as .500 Nitro Express. While these fine pieces have certainly found themselves in the hands of those privileged
few who pay the big bucks to travel to the Dark Continent in search of the Big 5, they have not toppled empires, fought proxy wars or defended the colonial interests of aging European monarchies. That title belongs to
a few 7.62x51mm battle rifles, specifically the FN FAL,
the Heckler and Koch G3 and the regional variants of
both.Prior to World War One, only the African countries
of Ethiopia and Liberia were independent states while
the rest of the continent existed under European colonial
rule. Often viewed as a purely American problem, the
Great Depression of the 1930s sent Europe and its colonies into an economic tailspin, causing them to rely more
and more on African agriculture, which in turn caused
increasing animosity between the native people and European rulers. With the onset of World War Two, native
Africans learned firsthand that empires could be won
and lost through direct action and violence. The death
toll of the great European empires had sounded, and the
second half of the 20th century would see the FN FAL
and HK G3 become forever carved into African history.
Making its debut in 1954 after a 7-year development
process, the Fabrique Nationale Fusil Automatique
Leger (FN FAL) took the world by storm. As the first
NATO standard select-fire battle rifle, the FAL fires the
venerable 7.62x51mm cartridge from a tilting breechlock
or bolt, utilizing an adjustable gas block and short stroke,
spring-loaded piston. The recoil spring mechanism is
contained within the buttstock on fixed stock models and
is modified heavily to fit under the top cover of folding
stock paratrooper models.The FAL was quick to success, with 90 countries worldwide adopting the rifle.
Many nations bought the firearm directly from FN in Belgium, while others obtained licensing rights to domestically produce their own FAL variant. Notable examples
of variants produced under license are the Austrian
STG-58 and British L1A1. West Germany briefly adopted the Belgian-built version under the German nomenclature Gewehr-1 or G1. However, negotiations to license the FAL for production in West Germany fell
through and interest turned towards a Spanish-built rifle
designed by German ex-pat Ludwig Vorgrimler: the CETME Model A. With a fair amount of back-channel wheeling and dealing, eventually licensing was granted to
Heckler and Koch as well as Rheinmetall to produce the
CETME rifle in the full power 7.62×51 NATO round. The
resulting Gewehr-3 or G3 was a closed bolt, roller
locked, fluted chamber, delayed blowback select-fire
battle rifle that would be adopted by 44 countries. Of
these, several, including Portugal, began to produce the
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