FN Model 1949

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SAFN Model 1949
Type	Service rifle
Place of origin	Belgium
Service history
In service	1949—1988
Used by	Argentina, Belgium, the Belgian Congo, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Indonesia, Luxembourg, Venezuela
Wars	Korean War, Congo Crisis, Suez Crisis
Production history
Designer	Dieudonne Saive
Designed	1949
Manufacturer	Fabrique Nationale (FN)
Produced	1949—1956, 1961
Number built	more than 176,000
Specifications
Weight	4.31 kg (9 lb 8 oz)
Length	1116 mm (43.54 in)
Barrel length	590 mm (23.23 in)
Action	Gas-Operated, tilting bolt
Feed system	10-round box magazine feed with stripper clips

The Fabrique Nationale Model 1949 (often referred to as the FN-49, FN49, or FN AL) is a semi-automatic rifle designed by Dieudonne Saive and manufactured by Fabrique Nationale. It was used by the militaries of Argentina, Belgium, the Belgian Congo, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Indonesia, Luxembourg, and Venezuela.

While it is well-regarded for its reliability in comparison to the rifles of the time, its practical use was limited, as it was not deployed in time for use in World War II (when self-loading semi-automatic rifles were most popular) but later, after many militaries had already begun the switch to selective fire assault rifles.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Development 1.2 Production lifetime 2 References

[edit] History

[edit] Development

Dieudonne Saive, Fabrique Nationale's then-chief firearm designer, experimented with a number of recoil-operated rifle designs in the early 1930s. While little came of these experiments, they would become the basis for a gas-operated self-loading rifle, which he patterned in 1936 and prototyped in 1937. (Protographs of these prototypes still exist, and they show a number of characteristics that would later appear in the FN-49.

The German invasion of Belgium in May 1940 interrupted development of Saive's self-loading rifle, as Liège, home of FN's factory, was occupied by the German military. Despite this setback, Saive was able to escape to England in 1941, where he continued work on what would become the FN-49.

By 1943, Saive was back to working on his experimental rifle. Late that year, the Royal Small Arms Factory, Enfield ordered 50 prototypes (designated "EXP-1" and sometimes referred to as "SLEM" or "Self-Loading Experimental Model"). Based on tests with these prototypes, Enfield placed an order for 2000 rifles for troop trials, but a last-minute problem with the gas-operated action (as well as the impending end of World War II led to the cancellation of this order. Despite this, Saive (who had returned to Liège shortly after its liberation in September 1944) continued work on the rifle, and finalized the design for the FN-49 in 1947.The FN49 was used in combat by the Belgian Army during the Korean conflict.At one point a Belgian position was attacked by an all night human wave assault that was beaten back with heavy enemy losses.The FN49's laid down a tremendous amount of accurate fire saving the position from being overrun.Safn1949 02:36, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Production lifetime

The first order for the FN-49 came from Venezuela in March 1948, and production began in 1949 (giving the rifle its name, the "Model 1949"). While at least 26 nations ordered the FN-49, mostly in small quantities for use in trials, the only nations to make larger production orders were Argentina, Belgium, the Belgian Congo, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Indonesia, Luxembourg, and Venezuela.

[edit] References

• Johnson, Wayne; & Vanderlinden, Anthony (December 2005). "The Last of its Kind: FN's Model 1949 Self-Loading Rifle", American Rifleman: 60-63, 94.