FAMAS F1 and Famas G-2 Assault Rifle Bullpup Variant

The FAMAS or Fusil d'Assault de la Manufacture d'Armes de St-Etienne assault rifle has been developed in the late 1960s. The lead designer was the Paul Tellie. First prototype of this rifle was built in 1971. In the early 1970s this weapon was tested and evaluated by the French Army. It was adopted in 1978 and soon became the standard issue infantry rifle with the French Army. Initial production version was the FAMAS F1. It is reported that over 400 000 of these assault rifles were produced when production switched to it's improved versions.

 

The FAMAS F1 is still in service with the French Army. The original version has also been exported to some countries, including Senegal and United Arab Emirates. FAMAS is one of the relatively rare systems that uses a lever delayed blowback action, borrowed from the French AAT-52 machine gun, but originally invented by the Hungarian designer Paul de Kiraly prior to the Second World War, and improved by the Paul Tellie for the FAMAS rifle. This system consists of the two-part bolt (breech block) with the delay lever interposed between the light forward part (the bolt itself), which has a bolt face and the provisions for extractor mountings, and the heavier rear part (the bolt carrier).

The lever is pivotally mounted on the front part of the breech block (bolt), with its lower legs resting against the cross pin in the receiver and the upper legs resting against the face on the bolt carrier (assuming that the bolt group is in its forward position). Gun is fired from the closed bolt. When cartridge is ignited and fired, the gas pressure against the cartridge base pushes the cartridge case back in the fluted chamber, against the bolt face.

Currently there are about 15 operators of this assault rifle and it's variants. The FAMAS is selective fire weapon with delayed blowback action and bullpup layout. It is chambered for a standard NATO 5.56 x 45 mm (.223 Remington) round. This weapon seen action during the Desert Storm and peacekeeping operations. It proved itself as a reliable design. The FAMAS is fully ambidextrous. There are spent case ejection ports from either side of the gun. One of the ejection ports is always closed as required.

FAMAS F1 Specifications
Caliber 5.56 x 45 mm
Weight (empty) 3.61 kg
Length 757 mm
Length (with folded stock) -
Barrel length 488 mm
Muzzle velocity 960 m/s
Cyclic rate of fire 900 - 1 000 rpm
Practical rate of fire 40 - 100 rpm
Magazine capacity 25 / 30 rounds
Sighting range m
Range of effective fire 300 m