The FA-MAS Type 62 was the result of 40 rifle prototypes designed by MAS between 1952 and 1962 for the French Army, including a Bullpup variant. All variants were designed to take the 7.62x51mm NATO round. It shows a resemblance to the FN FAL as well as performance, and came close to being adopted by the French military as a replacement for the MAS-49, until the new 5.56x45mm NATO cartridge become popular. However, it is also to note the FA-MAS Type 62 bayonet is used on the FAMAS.
Variants[]
MAS-54[]
The MAS-54 rifles were rejected due to the 7.62x51mm NATO round being difficult to control in a bullpup rifle configuration and the round being difficult to control on full-auto in the non-bullpup rifle configurations.
MAS-55[]
The MAS-55 has its gas piston underneath its barrel and operated in a similar way to the FM1924/29 machine gun but resulted in a heavy rifle for its type.
FA56[]
The FA56 was a simpler alternative to the MAS-55 and was closer to the FN FAL.
FA59[]
The FA59 came with an improved stock and foregrip. It also came with a folding stock, bipod and infra-red sight as the AP61.