Steyr StG 58
Steyr-Daimler-Puch (later Steyr Mannlicher) · Battle Rifle · Out Of Production · 1958
Also known as: Sturmgewehr 58, StG58, Austrian FAL, Steyr FAL
Overview
The Steyr StG 58 (Sturmgewehr 58) was the standard service rifle of the Austrian Bundesheer from 1958 until its replacement by the Steyr AUG / StG 77 began in 1977. It is a license-built variant of the FN FAL, chambered in 7.62x51mm NATO, distinguished from its Belgian and Argentine cousins by a number of distinctly Austrian features: a multi-purpose muzzle device that combined a flash suppressor, 22 mm rifle-grenade launcher, and barbed-wire cutter; a folding integral bipod that stowed in dedicated grooves on the handguard; a stamped sheet-metal handguard pattern borrowed from the West German G1; the conspicuous absence of a bayonet lug (the Bundesheer of the 1950s did not issue bayonets); and, on later production, a polymer buttstock and pistol grip in place of the original wood furniture, which dropped overall weight by several hundred grams. The first 20,000 rifles were built by FN in Belgium under contract while Steyr-Daimler-Puch tooled up at the Steyr plant in Upper Austria; from 1959 onward Steyr produced the rifle at a steady rate of 8,000 to 10,000 units a year for nearly two decades, eventually exceeding 150,000 rifles delivered to the Bundesheer. The selector offers safe, semi-automatic and full-automatic, with a cyclic rate of approximately 650-700 rpm - though, as with all 7.62 NATO FALs, full-auto fire from the shoulder is essentially uncontrollable and was reserved for use from the bipod. The aperture rear sight is graduated from 100 to 600 metres. After the AUG was adopted as the StG 77 in 1977, the StG 58 was gradually withdrawn from frontline service over the next decade and held in war-reserve storage; in the 1990s and 2000s the Austrian Ministry of Defence sold off most of its StG 58 inventory as parts kits, with American importer DSA acquiring more than 40 tons of rifles, parts, tooling and blueprints for civilian semi-automatic reproduction.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 4250 g (149.9 oz) |
| Weight (loaded) | 4750 g (167.6 oz) |
| Overall Length | 1137 mm (44.76") |
| Barrel Length | 533 mm (20.98") |
| Action Type | Gas Operated Short Stroke |
| Firing Mechanism | Hammer Fired |
| Trigger Type | Single Stage |
| Magazine Capacity | 20 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Detachable Box |
| Muzzle Velocity | 838 m/s (2749 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 3346 J (2468 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 600 m (656 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 3000 m (3281 yd) |
| Rate of Fire | 675 rpm |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Rifling Twist | 305 mm (12.01") |
| Number of Grooves | 4 |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Polymer |
| Finish | Phosphate |
Calibers
- 7.62x51mm NATO · primary · 7.62x51mm NATO — also known as .308 Winchester, 7.62 NATO, .308 Win
Features
- Firing modes: Semi Automatic, Full Automatic
- Feed systems: Detachable Box Magazine, Fal Pattern 20 Round Magazine
- Safety mechanisms: Manual Safety Selector, Tilting Bolt Lock
- Features: Select Fire, Tilting Bolt Locking, Stamped Steel Handguards, Folding Integral Bipod, Combination Flash Hider, Rifle Grenade Launcher, Barbed Wire Cutter, Aperture Rear Sight, Carrying Handle, No Bayonet Lug
Variants
- StG 58 (FN-built, first 20,000 units) — Early Production
- StG 58 (Steyr-built) — License Production
- StG 58 Scharfschutzengewehr (sniper/marksman variant) — Marksman Rifle
Base model
Service history
Operators
- Austrian Bundesheer · adopted 1958 · as Sturmgewehr 58
- Austrian Federal Police (Bundespolizei) · as StG 58
- Bolivian Armed Forces
Conflicts
- UNFICYP (UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus) (1972-1990)
- UNDOF (UN Disengagement Observer Force, Golan Heights) (1974-1990)
Production
Estimated total produced: 170,000 · Production years: 1958-1977
First 20,000 rifles built by FN Herstal in Belgium under contract before Steyr completed tooling. Steyr-Daimler-Puch then produced approximately 8,000-10,000 rifles per year through the late 1970s, for a total combined production exceeding 150,000 units (some sources cite as high as 170,000). Production wound down after the 1977 adoption of the StG 77 / AUG. Large quantities of demilitarised parts kits were sold off through the 1990s and 2000s, primarily to DSA Inc. in the United States.
Origin
Country of origin: Austria
Designer: FN Herstal (base FAL design by Dieudonne Saive); Austrian modifications by Major Stoll of the Bundesministerium fur Landesverteidigung purchasing commission
Discontinued: 1988
Notes
Weight figures vary widely between sources because of two distinct production configurations: early rifles with full wood furniture weigh approximately 4.45 kg empty, while later polymer-stocked rifles weigh about 4.25 kg empty. The Small Arms Review figure of 4.25 kg without bipod is for the polymer variant. Barrel length is consistently given as 533 mm (21 inches). The 1:12 twist rate (305 mm) is optimised for the original M80-pattern 147-grain FMJ projectile. Muzzle velocity is typically cited as 838 m/s with NATO M80 ball ammunition; the Small Arms Review figure of 2,750 fps (838 m/s) ±40 fps is the documented Austrian acceptance specification. Stoll, the Austrian purchasing-commission officer responsible for the rifle's adoption, is credited with the design of the distinctive triple-purpose muzzle device. The StG 58 was retired from frontline Bundesheer service following the 1977 adoption of the AUG, but reserve and territorial units continued to carry it well into the 1990s. UN peacekeeping use was limited but Austrian contingents in Cyprus (UNFICYP) and the Golan Heights (UNDOF) carried the StG 58 throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s before transitioning to the AUG.
Background
Austria's StG 58 is the only standard-issue FAL ever fielded without a bayonet lug - when the Bundesheer evaluated the rifle in the mid-1950s, it concluded that bayonets had no place on a modern rifle and refused to pay for the lug. The same purchasing commission also insisted on a single muzzle device that could function as a flash suppressor, rifle-grenade launcher, and barbed-wire cutter all at once, reasoning that an Alpine soldier crossing the Iron Curtain frontier would need to deal with concertina wire as often as with enemy infantry.