Fabrique Nationale de Herstal
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Fabrique Nationale de Herstal, more often abbreviated as Fabrique Nationale or simply FN, is a Belgian manufacturer of firearms. The official company name is FN Herstal.
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[edit] History
FN originated in the small city of Herstal, near Liège. The Fabrique Nationale d'Armes de Guerre (French for National Factory of Weapons of War) was established in 1889 to manufacture 150,000 Mauser rifles ordered by the Belgian Government.
In 1898 the company entered into a long lasting relationship with John Moses Browning, a well-known firearms designer.
FN became an important manufacturer of motor vehicles in Belgium, cars were produced in Herstal in the early 20th century, production of FN motorcycles continued until 1965, trucks until 1970.
One of Fabrique Nationale's weapons, a Model 1910 semi-automatic pistol in 7.65 × 17 mm (.32 ACP) (serial number 19074) was used to assassinate Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the event that triggerred World War I.
The British .303 Browning aircraft machine gun introduced in the late 1930s and used in World War II was actually a license-built FN Browning design, not a "Colt-Browning" as often referred-to.
FN owns the U.S. Repeating Arms Company (Winchester) and the Browning Arms Company (an American gun company founded by John Moses Browning's family). FN and John Moses Browning also jointly developed the Browning GP35 'High Power' (sometimes written as Hi-Power) pistol, the GP standing for Grande Puissance or "high power" in French.
FN Manufacturing in Columbia, SC is part of the military division of FN. It is primarily responsible for the development of U.S. government contracted military and law-enforcement weapons, including M16 rifles, M249 SAW light machine guns, M240 medium machine guns, and FNP series pistols.
[edit] Weapons made by FN
- FN Five-seveN— modern lightweight semi-automatic pistol that uses 5.7 × 28 mm rounds
- FN Forty-Nine— 9 × 19 mm semi-automatic pistol
- FN M1900— .32 ACP blowback semi-automatic pistol
- FN M1903— 9 × 20 mm SR blowback semi-automatic pistol
- FN M1905— vest pocket blowback semi-automatic pistol .25 ACP
- FN M1910— semi-automatic pistol chambered for .32 ACP and .380 ACP
- FN P90— advanced personal defense weapon that uses 5.7 × 28 mm rounds
- FN M249 SAW- Squad Automatic Weapon
- FN F2000— modern 5.56 × 45 mm NATO bullpup assault rifle, especially as part of system with computerized sight and 40 mm smart/dumb grenade launcher
- FN FAL— Fusil Automatique Leger , 7.62 × 51 mm NATO battle rifle
- FN CAL— Carabine Automatique Legere, early 5.56 mm caliber assault rifle
- FN FNC— Fabrique Nationale Carabine, 5.56 mm caliber assault rifle
- FN SCAR— SOF Capable Assault Rifle, modular assault/battle rifle system with dedicated versions in 5.56 mm and 7.62 mm, and capable of some other rounds
- FN Model 1949— a semi-automatic rifle for 7 × 57 mm Mauser, 7.65 × 53 mm Mauser, .30-06 Springfield, and 7.92 × 57 mm (8 mm Mauser)
- FN SPR— a 7.62 × 51 mm bolt-action sniper rifle
- FN PBR— 7.62 x 51mm bolt-action sniper rifle intended for police patrol cars
- FN Minimi— Mini-mitrailleuse, 5.56 × 45 mm NATO machine gun in use with several nations and known in U.S. use as the M249 SAW and Mk 46 Mod 0
- Mk 48 Mod 0— 7.62 × 51 mm NATO variant of the M249 machine gun
- FN MAG— Mitrailleuses D'Appui General , 7.62 mm machine gun, also known as the L7 and M240 machine guns
- FN 303— less-lethal projectile launcher
- BRG-15— developmental heavy-caliber machine gun for 15.5 × 115 mm
- FN Tactical Police Shotgun— 12-gauge shotgun with 8-shell magazine
- FN FNP-9— 9 × 19 mm pistol
- FN FNP-9m— compact 9 × 19 mm pistol
- FN FNP-40— .40 S&W pistol
- FN SLP— 12-gauge self-loading police shotgun
