The Fabrique Nationale Model 1949 (often referred to as the FN-49, SAFN, or AFN (automatic rifle version) is an autoloading battle rifle designed by Belgian small arms designer Dieudonné Saive in 1947. It was adopted by the militaries of Argentina, Belgium, the Belgian Congo, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Indonesia, Luxembourg, and Venezuela. The selective fire version produced for Belgium was known as the AFN.
While well regarded for its high build quality and reliability in comparison to the rifles of the time, its marketability was limited, as it was not developed in time for use in World War II but later, as many militaries had already begun the switch to selective fire battle rifles. About half of FN-49s were produced as selective fire automatic rifles, but the small 10 round box magazine limited the usefulness of the fully automatic feature.
The FN-49 found itself in direct competition with a number of more modern rifles such as the Heckler & Koch G3 and Fabrique Nationale de Herstal's own FN FAL, resulting in limited sales.
History
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 semi-automatic rifle, which he patented in 1936 and prototyped in 1937. (Photographs of these prototypes still exist, and they show a number of characteristics that would later appear in the FN-49.)
FN's new rifle was still in development in late 1938 – early 1939, and a version with a 5-round magazine was about to be marketed. When German armies invaded Poland, these plans were delayed to increase production of bolt-action rifles and machine guns.
The German invasion of Belgium in May 1940 interrupted any plans for the production of the new model, as Liège, home of FN's factory, was occupied by the German military. Despite this setback, Saive was able to escape to England via Portugal in 1941, where he continued work on what would become the FN-49.
By 1943, Saive was back to working on his experimental rifle, now in 7.92×57mm Mauser. Late that year, the Royal Small Arms Factory, Enfield ordered 50 prototypes (designated "EXP-1" and sometimes referred to as "SLEM-1" or "Self-Loading Experimental Model"). Based on tests with these prototypes, Enfield placed an order for 2,000 rifles for troop trials, but a last-minute problem with the moderation of the gas pressure (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 FN Model 1949 is not ammunition specific, since it has an adjustable gas port or valve to adjust the rifle to various propellant and projectile specific pressure behavior, in which the gas port can be adjusted with a special wrench. This also requires removing the upper forward handguard for the adjustment.
Production lifetime
thumb|right|300px|Egyptian SAFN with telescopic sight
The contracts for the SAFN 1949 rifle started in 1948 with the first order placed by Venezuela on March 31, 1948, delivered exactly four months later. The last production contract of complete rifles was ordered by Indonesia on December 19, 1960, and delivered by February 19, 1961.
Some sources claim pre-production models for demonstration and testing were produced in 1948, making rifle ready for contract orders and mass production. Other sources however claim the rifle was trialed with the Royal Netherlands Navy in 1947, The Netherlands Navy trials did not however lead to a sales contract.
FN started looking for customers, but the communist states were not an option (as they were required to buy or build Soviet designs). The Western European nations had vast stocks of World War II firearms. They also could get American and British weapons aid, which was inexpensive or free. So FN decided to market to the non-aligned countries, who did not want to commit to Western or Soviet doctrine, which was inevitable when accepting aid.
The first contract production of the SAFN 1949 rifle was delivered to Venezuela by May 31, 1949. It composed of 2,000 rifles in caliber 7×57mm Mauser, with an additional 2,012 rifles including cut-away training demonstration rifles delivered by July 31, 1949.