Thus, the FN-49 was ultimately factory produced in four different chamberings: 7.92x57 mm for Egypt, 7x57 mm for Venezuela and. One of the many positive attributes of the rifle is the fact that it could be adapted to chamber different cartridges. Eventually, Luxembourg, Argentina, Indonesia, the Congo and Colombia ordered it, but the most prolific user by far was the Kingdom of Belgium, with 87,777 units. While the rifle was being referred to initially as the SAFN (“Semi-Automatic Fabrique Nationale”), when delivery of the Venezuelan and Egyptian guns began in 1949, the designation FN-49 came into common use. Venezuela placed the first order for 2,000 rifles on March 31, 1948, followed by Egypt on May 30. In 1947, the design had been finalized and the time had come to market it to customers. By then it had become a 43.5-inch long, stripper-clip-fed 10-shot weighing 9 pounds, 8 ounces with a 23.2-inch barrel and handsome walnut furniture. Back at the FN factory, he continued working on his semi-automatic rifle with renewed energy. In September 1944, Allied forces liberated Belgium and Saive was able to return to Herstal. (r.) Hinting at the full-power nature of the FN-49’s chamberings, a dedicated muzzle brake graced the end of the barrel. (l.) Fairly conventional in appearance, the top of the FN-49 had a stripper-clip guide, calibrated rear sight and proofmarks. When testing concluded favorably, an order was placed for 2,000 EXP-1/SLEM-1 semi-automatics, but as the end of the war neared, the contract was canceled. This improved version showed even more promise than the pre-war prototype, which is why the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield expressed serious interest in it by ordering 50 rifles for test and evaluation. It was there, while living in exile, that he continued work on his semi-auto rifle.īy 1943, it was a clip-loading, five-round version chambered for the 7.92x57 mm Mauser cartridge and designated “EXP-1” (“SLEM-1”/”Self-Loading Experimental Model 1” according to some sources). Saive slipped out of the country before the enemy got there and made his way to England via Portugal. Then in 1940, the Germans invaded the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France and Belgium, capturing the Liège area and the FN factory compound in Herstal on May 12. As a direct result, FN Herstal increased production of bolt-action rifles and machine guns in a move that put the development of a semi-automatic rifle on the back burner. In 1939, the Germans invaded Poland and the war began. As work proceeded through 1938, a five-round version was scheduled for release the following year, but the political situation in Europe was quickly becoming volatile. His gas-piston-operated, semi-automatic rifle design was patented in 1936 and followed by a prototype in 1937. As Chef de Service at Fabrique Nationale d’Armes de Guerre, he was an experienced and gifted weapon designer who had previously worked as John M. During the years before World War II, at a time when numerous countries were attempting to develop a semi-automatic, military-service rifle, Dieudonné Joseph Saive created a promising design in what would eventually become known as the FN-49.
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