French Foreign Legion

The history of sniping at the 4^th Company

Sniping is one of the two specialties of the 4^th Company of the 2e REP. During the famous Kolweizi operation in 1978 the company’s “tireurs d’elite”, carrying FRF-1 rifles, were highly successful in neutralizing enemy personnel and supporting the progression of the other infantry units. More recently, the skills taught and maintained by the company proved their worth in the Ex-Yugoslavia and Kosovo conflicts, where the marksmen of the 4^th Company were able to successfully engage isolated rebel/insurgent shooters that harassed the civilian population and the multi-national NATO “casque bleue” peacekeeping force.

In the mid- to late-1990s the 4^th Company’s snipers were all concentrated in the first section (platoon), with a total of over 10 qualified “tireurs d’elite” in a combat unit that normally contains only two. As such, many exotic and invariably much more modern weapons and optics than the ubiquitous FRF-2 were tested to enhance the capabilities of the sharpshooters. This included the civilian-oriented Swarovski Habicht NOVA 2.2-9X42 riflescope (at the time the standard scope for the FRF-2 was the aging APXL-806 with a magnification of 3.85X), the Accuracy International L96 rifle in the .338 Lapua Magnum calibre (being called simply the “Super Magnum”), the American Barrett M82A1 “Light Fifty” semi-automatic .50 calibre rifle and, ultimately, the Franco-Belgian PGM 12.7mm rifle. The last was finally adopted as the standard heavy sniping/anti-material rifle of the French Armed Forces.

The following set of photos are from that epoque. I dug them up, as a set of colour slides, from our “magasin”, a storeroom for everything that is not needed at hand and yet cannot be thrown away. Many of these photos were used later on in Yves Debay’s pictorial book titled “2e REP”, showcasing the entire regiment and its history. The vast majority of the men portrayed in the photos are gone now, either in civil or with other companies or regiments. The only person whom I can personally recognize is a Chef de Groupe (squad leader) who was a Sergeant back then – now he is an Adjudant (Warrant Officer) and a Chef de Section (platoon leader).

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A pose with the "Super Magnum"; the Accuracy International L96 in .338 Lapua Magnum calibre. Recently this very weapon has been renovated and the barrel has been reconditioned.

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Embarking onto a Super Puma helicopter. The weapon in the foreground is an LRAC anti-tank rocket launcher; it has now been superseeded by the throwaway AT4CS rocket.

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Just after landing. The paratrooper seems to be performing a simple wraparound of the parachute around his arms rather than the slower, but neater, method of folding and stuffing the parachute back into the open sack.

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This side-on shot demonstrates the effectiveness of the "heshen rags" type gillie suit in camouflaging a sniper and his weapon amongst the typical Corsican maquis.

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In position to take a shot with the Barrett "Light Fifty". Today two of these American heavy sniper rifles remain in the company's armoury, albeit in a non-functional state.

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Another pose with the Barrett.

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The stalwart precision rifle of the French Armed Forces, the GIAT FRF-2. On the ground can be seen a Longview high-magnification observation optic.

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A kneeling position with the Super Magnum.

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The gillie suit is to the sniper what the bulletproof vest is to the ordinary soldier - his best means of protection. In the Corsican vegetation this sort of camouflage pattern was found astoundingly effective.