![]() ![]() ![]() In late 1944 the Allied forces liberated Belgium. A few prototypes were made but wartime production demands did not allow for diversion of resources to an un-tested project. During this time the SAFN-49 design was perfected. He ended up in England and went to work in the Royal Ordnance Corp Small Arms Design Unit. He fled Belgium, taking the plans for the design and several other FN engineers with him. Saive vowed he would never work for the Nazis or allow his design to fall into their hands. Unfortunately for Saive and FN, Germany occupied Belgium in May, 1940. Dieudonne Saive, chief design engineer at FN in the 1930s came up with the design for a self-loading rifle that used a fixed magazine. ![]() It was actually designed just before the outbreak of WWII. It is also known as an SAFN (semi-automatic Fabrique National) model of 1949. I am referring to the Fabrique National model 1949 rifle. ![]() Added to this history is another design that could have ended up on either side of the conflict but instead spent the war on the design table. There were other designs in use as well but they were not mass-produced or issued for general military use. M-1 Garand, Soviet SVT 38 & 40, and the German G-43 all saw action. WWII Saw the first widespread use of semi-automatic battle rifles. This was to be accomplished under the license from Mauser, with technical assistance of Ludwig Loewe of Berlin. In 1889, Fabrique Nationale (or FN) was founded by a group of Belgian investors for the purpose of manufacturing Mauser rifles for Belgian army. The top of the receiver is marked with a faded Argentinean crest. Markings: There is no visible import mark. Caliber: 7.62 NATO (7.62x51mm) Action Type: Semi Auto, Detachable Magazine. The highest serial number I've seen is 6337. There were about 6,000 Luxembourg contract FN-49s delivered. The rifle is in original excellent condition, as most of these tend to be today. This is a discussion on SPR serial numbers within the FN Bolt Action Rifles forums, part of the FN Rifles & Shotguns Forum category I have an FN/USRA SPR bought early 2005 serial 'FG106XX' The serial is engraved with an etching tool and is rough and crude. Fn 49 Rifle Serial Numbers By netfrapowsno1972 Follow | Public ![]()
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