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nations, on the other hand, were awash in American and British military aid weapons which were either extremely inexpensive or given away
gratis. Finally FN settled on the non-aligned (what we today think of as the "Third World") nations that were unwilling to accept the policy
impositions and restrictions that came with free western military aid.
The final rifle was traditional in apperance, with a machined steel receiver, heavy wooden stock, fixed protruding box magazine, and a separate
wooden handguard attached to the upper portion of the barrel using a barrel band. It had an adjustable tangent sight mounted on the rear
portion of the receiver close to the shooter's firing eye. Like its contemporaries (the M1 Garand and Tokarev SVT-40) it was a big gun, weighing
in at 9.6 pounds unloaded and with an overall length of some 44 inches.
The Belgian Army was the first to adopt the rifle, between 1949 and 1951, in caliber 7.62x63mm (.30-06), designating it the ABL SAFN-49. ABL
is an interesting acronym that recognizes the lingual bifurcation of Belgium between the French speaking Walloons and the Flemish speaking
Flemings; the "AB" of ABL stands for Arme Belge - the French words for "Belgian Army," while the "BL" stands for Belge Leger - the Flemish
words for Belgian Army. SAFN stands for, depending on which story you choose to believe, either Saive Automatique, Fabrique Nationale, or
Semi-Automatique, Fabrique Nationale. The rifle gave a good account of itself in the Korean War in the hands of Belgian troops. One major
criticism was the rifle's tendency to break the original one piece firing pin. Some 125,072 SAFN's were manufactured in 7.62x63mm caliber for
the armies of Belgium, the Belgian Congo, Luxembourg, the Dutch East Indies, Colombia, and Brazil.
Venezuela adopted the SAFN in 1950 -1951, buying some 8,003 rifles in 7x57mm caliber. The Venezuelan guns are notable for their corrugated
sheet steel buttplates and muzzle brakes.
Argentina purchased some 5,541 SAFN's in caliber 7.65x54mm for the Argentine Navy ("Armada de la Republica de Argentina-" ARA). In 1962,
under an upgrade program devised and supervised by FN, the ARA upgraded their SAFN's in the following manner: A new barrel in 7.62mm
NATO was fitted, a new triggerguard with provision for retaining a 20 round detachable box magazine was installed, and the converted rifles
were provided with a supply of 20 round detachable box magazines.
The Egyptian monarchy, under King Farouk purchased 37, 641 in caliber 7.92mm Mauser. The Egyptian version was very similar to the original
EXP-1 developed in England. The Egyptian guns bear King Farouk's royal cypher above the chamber and have the sight graduations marked with
Arabic numerals.
At least five were manufactured in caliber 6.5x55mm Mauser for testing in Sweden, one in caliber 7.5x54mm for testing in France, and one in
caliber 7.62mm NATO for testing in the United States.
Several variants of the SAFN-49 were created:
* Sniper rifle. The sniper rifle was the standard rifle fitted with a telescopic sight and mount. The 7.62x63mm and 7x57mm guns were made
with a scope mounting rail milled into the the left side of the receiver.
*Select fire rifle. The select fire version of the SAFN-49, manufactured only in 7.62x63mm, was not an outstanding success, suffering from
the same shortcomings as its contemporaries (the US T20 and the Soviet AVT-40) and heirs (the M14, FAL, and G3). Specifically, while the
rifle functioned flawlessly, the heavy recoil, severe muzzle jump, and ten round magazine combined to limit the AFN-49's (as the select fire
rifle was called) effectiveness. Additionally, firing the rifle in fully automatic mode tended to exacerbate the rifle's tendency to break the
early one piece firing pins. Not to mention that some 48 pounds of pressure are needed to move the selector lever out of its detent to move
between full and semi-automatic firing positions.
* Caliber conversions. See the information on the Argentine SAFN-49's above.
The SAFN-49 was an excellent battle rifle by World War Two standards - easily as good as, if not better than the M1 Garand and SVT-40.
However, by the time it reached series production in 1949 it was already obsolete, the way to the future having been shown by true assault rifle
designs such as the German StG 44, the Soviet AK-47, and the Spanish CETME. Nevertheless, the SAFN may properly be considered the
epitome of a mid-20th century battle rifle collection. The rifle was and is, accurate, powerful, reliable, and sturdy. For much more, this author
does not think an infantryman can ask.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Gangarossa, Gene, FN. . . Browning, Armorer to the World, (Stoeger Publishing Company, Wayne, New Jersey: 1999)
Poyer, Joe, The SAFN-49 Battle Rifle, A Shooters and Collector's Guide, (North Cape Publications, Tustin, California: 1998)
Stevens, R. Blake, The FAL Rifle, (Collector Grade Publications, Toronto: 1993)
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shows approximately 95% original enamel finish as does the gas check valve, front sight assembly and the front stock mounts. The middle band
also shows better than 98% of original black enamel. The triggerguard and magazine assembly show 95-98% of black enamel with the clip latch
being Parkerized and two small dents on the bottom of the magazine that do not effect performance at all. The correct bayonet and scabbard
show better than 98% original finish with some very minor scarring to the wooden handle. Upper handguard and buttstock are in good condition
but have numerous dings and dents throughout, with the added cheekpiece showing slightly lighter in color. The brass buttplate shows no wear
or damage at all. The scope and mount show better than 90% of their original finish with the rubber eye piece and front scope cap soft and
pliable and optics are crystal clear. Mechanics are very tight and crisp and bore shows bright and shiny. A very nice example of a FN49 sniper
rifle. 4-34078 BK134 (2,500-3,500)
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