The CAL (''Carabine Automatique Légère'', ''Light Automatic Carbine'') is a
Belgian assault rifle that was manufactured by
Fabrique Nationale
, trading as FN Herstal and often referred to as Fabrique Nationale, or simply FN, is a leading firearms manufacturer based in Herstal, Belgium, and former vehicle manufacturer. It was the largest exporter of military small arms in Europe .
FN ...
. It was the first 5.56 mm rifle produced by the
Fabrique Nationale
, trading as FN Herstal and often referred to as Fabrique Nationale, or simply FN, is a leading firearms manufacturer based in Herstal, Belgium, and former vehicle manufacturer. It was the largest exporter of military small arms in Europe .
FN ...
. It resembled the company's highly successful
FN FAL
The FAL (, English: Light Automatic Rifle) is a battle rifle designed in Belgium by Dieudonné Saive and manufactured by FN Herstal and others since 1953.
During the Cold War the FAL was adopted by many countries of the NATO, North Atlantic Trea ...
, but was an original design. Unlike the FAL, it was a market failure, although its development led to the more successful
FN FNC
The FN FNC () is a 5.56×45mm NATO assault rifle developed by the Belgian arms manufacturer FN Herstal and introduced in the late 1970s.
Development
The FNC was developed between 1975 and 1977 for NATO standardization trials, as a less expensive ...
.
Design details
Prior to the development of the CAL, FN had already constructed a scaled-down FAL prototype before shelving the idea as unmarketable. Noting the growing sales success of the cheaper and simpler
HK G3 rifle, FN decided that for any future rifle to be competitive in the marketplace, it would need to use fewer expensive precision-machined parts. These would be replaced by less expensive castings and stampings where possible. While the construction of the new CAL reflected these design principles, it was still relatively expensive and complex, and met with no significant sales. It was eventually dropped for the even less expensive
FN FNC
The FN FNC () is a 5.56×45mm NATO assault rifle developed by the Belgian arms manufacturer FN Herstal and introduced in the late 1970s.
Development
The FNC was developed between 1975 and 1977 for NATO standardization trials, as a less expensive ...
. A small number of FN CALs were sold to the civilian market in the US.
Operation
Although the weapon resembled a scaled-down
FN FAL
The FAL (, English: Light Automatic Rifle) is a battle rifle designed in Belgium by Dieudonné Saive and manufactured by FN Herstal and others since 1953.
During the Cold War the FAL was adopted by many countries of the NATO, North Atlantic Trea ...
, it in fact used a
rotating bolt
Rotating bolt is a method of locking the breech (or rear barrel) of a firearm closed for firing. Johann Nicolaus von Dreyse developed the first rotating bolt firearm, the "Dreyse needle gun", in 1836. The Dreyse locked using the bolt handle ra ...
, unlike the FAL, which used a
tilting bolt
Tilting bolt action is a type of locking mechanism often used in self-loading firearms and, rarely, in straight-pull repeating rifles. Essentially, the design consists of a moving bolt driven by some mechanism, most often a piston with gas pres ...
design. The earlier models of the CAL had a three-round selector system, which allowed the weapon to fire a three-round burst with each trigger pull. The CAL could also fire in fully and semi-automatic modes.
The gun used long stroke gas piston to operate the bolt carrier, and the bolt itself had
interrupted lugs to lock it into the chamber.
Locking lugs were cut diagonally at a steep angle. So while the bolt is rotating to unlock, bolt face is slowly moving back, giving primary extraction of the case. Similar feature can be seen on
MG 30
The ''Maschinengewehr'' 30, or MG 30 was a German-designed machine gun that saw some service with various armed forces in the 1930s. It was also modified to become the standard German aircraft gun as the MG 15 and MG 17. It is most notable as th ...
,
MG 15
The MG 15 was a German 7.92 mm machine gun designed specifically as a hand-manipulated defensive gun for combat aircraft during the early 1930s. By 1941 it was replaced by other types and found new uses with ground troops.
History
The MG ...
,
MG 17 and
MG 34
The MG 34 (shortened from German: ''Maschinengewehr 34'', or "machine gun 34") is a German recoil-operated air-cooled general-purpose machine gun, first tested in 1929, introduced in 1934, and issued to units in 1936. It introduced an entirely ...
.
Users
*
*
*
[Jones, Richard D. Jane's Infantry Weapons 2009/2010. Jane's Information Group; 35 edition (January 27, 2009). .]
* :
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...
* :
Lebanese Forces
The Lebanese Forces ( ') is a Lebanon, Lebanese Christianity in Lebanon, Christian-based political party and Lebanese Forces (militia), former militia during the Lebanese Civil War. It currently holds 19 of the 128 seats in Lebanon's Parliamen ...
* :
People's Movement for the Liberation of Azawad
*
* :
Royal Moroccan Gendarmerie
The Royal Moroccan Gendarmerie (, ) is the national gendarmerie force of the Kingdom of Morocco, and comes under the joint-authority of the Minister Delegate to the Head of Government in charge of the administration of National Defense, Ministr ...
* :
Karen National Liberation Army;
captured by the Myanmar junta
* :
National Guard
National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards.
...
and
Sandinistas
*
*
For trials
* : Tested the CAL for consideration to the Imperial Iranian Army, but was never adopted.
* : Tested the CAL in the late 1960s and early 1970s for military adoption. It had a
MAS-49/56 style rifle grenade launching system. But was never adopted.
[ ]
See also
*
FN FAL
The FAL (, English: Light Automatic Rifle) is a battle rifle designed in Belgium by Dieudonné Saive and manufactured by FN Herstal and others since 1953.
During the Cold War the FAL was adopted by many countries of the NATO, North Atlantic Trea ...
, 7.62mm NATO predecessor
*
FN FNC
The FN FNC () is a 5.56×45mm NATO assault rifle developed by the Belgian arms manufacturer FN Herstal and introduced in the late 1970s.
Development
The FNC was developed between 1975 and 1977 for NATO standardization trials, as a less expensive ...
, successor
*
List of assault rifles
Assault rifles are full-length, select fire rifles that are chambered for an Intermediate cartridge, intermediate-power rifle cartridge that use a Magazine (firearms), detachable magazine. Assault rifles are currently the standard service rifles in ...
References
{{FN Herstal firearms
5.56×45mm NATO assault rifles
Assault rifles of Belgium
CAL Cal or CAL may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Cal'' (novel), a 1983 novel by Bernard MacLaverty
* "Cal" (short story), a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov
* ''Cal'' (1984 film), an Irish drama starring John Lynch and Helen Mir ...
Trial and research firearms
Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1966