Editing FN FAL (section)

=== FN production variants ===
Depending on the variant and the country of adoption, the FAL was issued as either [[semi-automatic rifle|semi-automatic]] only or [[selective fire|select-fire]] (capable of both semi-automatic and fully automatic firing modes).{{cn|date=November 2023}}

==== LAR 50.41 & 50.42 (FAL HBAR & FALO) ====
Also known as FALO as an abbreviation from the French ''Fusil Automatique Lourd'', it had a heavy barrel for sustained fire with a 30-round magazine as a [[squad automatic weapon]];
Known in Canada as the C2A1, it was their primary squad automatic weapon until it was phased out during the 1980s in favor of the [[FN Minimi|C9]], which has better accuracy and higher ammunition capacity than the C2. In the Australian Army, as the L2A1, it was their primary squad automatic weapon in the 1960s. However it was generally disliked and replaced by the F89 Minimi in the late 1980s. The L2A1 or 'heavy barrel' FAL was used by several Commonwealth nations and was found to frequently experience a failure to feed after firing two rounds from a full magazine when in automatic mode.
The 50.41 is fitted with a synthetic buttstock, while the 50.42's buttstock is made from wood.

==== FAL 50.61 (FAL Type 3 PARA) ====
{{stack|float=right|[[File:Un FN FAL version Para.jpg|thumb|FAL 50.61 variant.]]}}

Folding-stock, standard 533&nbsp;mm (21.0&nbsp;in) barrel length.

==== FAL 50.62 (FAL Type 3 Para 18) ====
[[File:FN FAL PARA Right Side.jpg|thumb|right|FAL Para]]
Folding-stock, shorter 457&nbsp;mm (18 inch) barrel, [[paratrooper]] version.

==== FAL 50.63 (FAL Type 2 Para 16) ====
Folding-stock, shorter 440&nbsp;mm (17.35 inch) barrel, paratrooper version, folding charging handle. This shorter version was requested by Belgian paratroopers. The upper receiver was not cut for a carry handle and the charging handle on the 50.63 was a folding model similar to the L1A1 rifle. The shorter length and folding stock allowed the rifle to fit through the doorway of their [[C-119 Flying Boxcar]] when worn horizontally across the chest with the stock folded.

==== FAL 50.64 (FAL Para 3) ====
Folding-stock, standard 533&nbsp;mm (21.0&nbsp;in) barrel length, '[[Hiduminium]]' aluminium alloy lower receiver made it lighter than the 50.61, which was heavier than 50.00.

==== Early prototypes ====
* The FN Universal Carbine (1947) was an early FAL prototype chambered for the [[7.92×33mm Kurz]] round. The 7.92mm Kurz round was used as a placeholder for the future mid-range cartridges being developed by Britain and the United States at the time.
* FAL .280 Experimental Automatic Carbine, Long Model (1951): A FAL variant chambered for the experimental [[.280 British]] (7×43mm) round. It was designed for a competition at [[Aberdeen Proving Ground]] in the US. Although the British [[bullpup]] design [[EM-2 rifle]] did well, American observers protested that the small-bore .280-caliber round lacked the power and range of a medium-bore .30-caliber round. British observers in return claimed the experimental American .30-caliber T65 round (7.62×51mm) was too powerful to control in automatic fire. Britain was forced to abandon the .280 round and adopt the American-designed .30-caliber T65 as the [[7.62×51mm NATO]] cartridge. The EM-2 could not be rechambered for the longer and more powerful cartridge and the Americans did not yet have a working service rifle of their own. Britain and Canada adopted the Belgian 7.62mm FN FAL instead as the L1 Self-Loading Rifle (SLR).
* FAL .280 Experimental Automatic Carbine, Short Model (1951): A bullpup-frame version of the FAL chambered in .280 British designed to compete with the British EM-1 and EM-2 bullpup rifles. It also was demonstrated at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds tests, but was never put into full production.