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Description

The Fusil de asalto modelo 1960 or FA-60 is a selective fire battle rifle produced by the Venezuelan armaments manufacturer Compañía Anónima Venezolana de Industrias Militares (CAVIM). It is chambered in the 7x50 mm Venezuelan or the slightly smaller 6x45 mm intermediate cartridge.

Development of the rifle began as early as 1951 when the Venezuelan army requested a modern infantry firearm that could replace the world war two era M1940 and its modernized variant the M1950. The requirement called for a rifle with a greater rate of fire, lighter weight and easier to produce, following the trend of the era the engineers at CAVIM designed a selective fire battle rifle that fired 20 to 30 rounds from a detachable box magazine and with a weight of between 4 to 4.2 kilograms. Accuracy was comparable to the previous generation of rifles although slightly inferior but this wasn’t considered as a problem since experience in the second world war and during the Venezuelan intervention in the Chinese civil war demonstrated that targets were usually engaged at ranges of up to 400m making rifles like the M1940 with their 800m range unnecessary and impractical due to their size and weight.

The first prototypes were ready for testing in 1958, by this time the army had grown impatient and a batch of FN FAL’s was acquired for testing and were presented as an alternative to the Venezuelan rifle. While the FAL’s performance was deemed acceptable by the military, the government was strongly in favor of the indigenous rifle and it ordered that a competition be made to decide which was the better weapon. The competition began in late 1958 with the CAVIM rifle demonstrating better controllability especially in full auto, but this was attributed to the fact that the FAL used the 7.62 NATO round and the Army requested that some of the FAL’s were rechambered for the 7mm Venezuelan cartridge expecting this would tip the scale in favor of the FAL, but much to the army’s disappointment the FAL remained effective only in semi auto mode while accuracy between the two rifles remained equal. By early 1959 after the tests had been finished it was decided that the national rifle was better suited for the army’s needs and it was ordered into production as the FA-60 with the first example reaching frontline units in 1960.

Description

The Fusil de asalto modelo 1960 or FA-60 is a selective fire battle rifle produced by the Venezuelan armaments manufacturer Compañía Anónima Venezolana de Industrias Militares (CAVIM). It is chambered in the 7x50 mm Venezuelan or the slightly smaller 6x45 mm intermediate cartridge.

Development of the rifle began as early as 1951 when the Venezuelan army requested a modern infantry firearm that could replace the world war two era M1940 and its modernized variant the M1950. The requirement called for a rifle with a greater rate of fire, lighter weight and easier to produce, following the trend of the era the engineers at CAVIM designed a selective fire battle rifle that fired 20 to 30 rounds from a detachable box magazine and with a weight of between 4 to 4.2 kilograms. Accuracy was comparable to the previous generation of rifles although slightly inferior but this wasn’t considered as a problem since experience in the second world war and during the Venezuelan intervention in the Chinese civil war demonstrated that targets were usually engaged at ranges of up to 400m making rifles like the M1940 with their 800m range unnecessary and impractical due to their size and weight.

The first prototypes were ready for testing in 1958, by this time the army had grown impatient and a batch of FN FAL’s was acquired for testing and were presented as an alternative to the Venezuelan rifle. While the FAL’s performance was deemed acceptable by the military, the government was strongly in favor of the indigenous rifle and it ordered that a competition be made to decide which was the better weapon. The competition began in late 1958 with the CAVIM rifle demonstrating better controllability especially in full auto, but this was attributed to the fact that the FAL used the 7.62 NATO round and the Army requested that some of the FAL’s were rechambered for the 7mm Venezuelan cartridge expecting this would tip the scale in favor of the FAL, but much to the army’s disappointment the FAL remained effective only in semi auto mode while accuracy between the two rifles remained equal. By early 1959 after the tests had been finished it was decided that the national rifle was better suited for the army’s needs and it was ordered into production as the FA-60 with the first example reaching frontline units in 1960.