The G1 (Gewehr 1) was the name given to those FN FAL rifles made specifically for the West German army (Bundeswehr) in 1957 and 1958. This example is missing its magazine. The G1 was withdrawn from German service after only a few years, reportedly because of bitterness over the Belgium's refusal to grant a license for production of the weapon in Germany.

The FAL (Fusil Automatique Léger) was introduced in 1953 and manufactured at the Fabrique National de Herstal (FN) in Belgium. It was a self-loading ‘selective fire’ weapon, offering both semi- and fully-automatic modes. Unlike assault rifles designed for medium-power rounds, it was a heavy ‘battle rifle’, firing the new standard NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) full-power 7.62x51mm round from a 20-shot magazine.

Due to its use by more than fifty NATO and non-Communist countries during the Cold War (with the exception of the United States), the FAL was sometimes referred to as ‘the right arm of the Free World’. It is estimated that more than one million have been made.