FN Model 1949 The Fabrique Nationale Model 1949 ( often referred to as the FN - 49 or SAFN ) is a semi - automatic rifle designed by Dieudonné 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 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 assault rifle s . As a result , it 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 . But 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 . Production lifetime . The contracts for the SAFN 1949 rifle started in 1948 with the first order placed by Venezuela on March 31 , 1948 , delivered by May 31 , 1949 . The last production contract of complete rifles was ordered by Indonesia on December 19 , 1960 and delivered by February 19 , 1961 . Pre - production models for demonstration and testing were produced in 1948 , making rifle ready for contract orders and mass production . 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 composed of 2000 rifles in caliber 7×57mm Mauser with an additional 2012 rifles including cut - away training demonstration rifles delivered by July 31 , 1949 . The remaining rifles of the Venezuelan contract of 8012 rifles were sold as surplus in the United States , and are prized by US collectors , sportsmen , and hunters because of the unique features ordered by Venezuela , the general good to excellent condition of the surplus rifles and the superb accuracy of the 7×57mm Mauser cartridge . The second contract was for the Egyptian government ordered on May 30 , 1948 and delivered by June 10 , 1949 , 100 rifles chambered to fire the 8×57mm Mauser cartridge . While initially a small contract delivery Egypt would eventually purchase 37 , 602 SAFN 1949 rifles total . The third contract was ordered by the Belgian government starting with thirty test rifles on May 12 , 1949 , received on August 31 , 1949 , and made a second larger order for 100 test rifles delivered by December 12 , 1949 . The Belgians would make a contract for production of the SAFN 1949 rifle on August 24 , 1950 for 6000 rifles in caliber . 30 - 06 Springfield . The Belgians designated the rifle as the " ABL SAFN - 49 " , ABL is an acronym for the Belgian Army in both French and Flemish ; " AB " for the French " Armée Belge " and " BL " for the Flemish " Belgisch Leger " . SAFN stands for Semi - Automatique , Fabrique Nationale . The contracts for the SAFN 1949 rifle made by FN for Belgium totaled 87 , 777 rifles total , composing almost half of all SAFN 1949 rifles ever produced . The rifle worked well in the Korean War in the hands of Belgian troops . Many military reports list the FN - 49 rifle as both more reliable and more accurate than the US made M1 Garand rifle . A majority of the SAFN 1949 rifles were manufactured in 7 . 62x63mm caliber for the armies of Belgium , the Belgian Congo , Luxembourg , Indonesia , Colombia , and Brazil ( rifles were ordered by Brazilian Navy , in 1954 , and are marked " 1954 - Marinha do Brasil " ) . Luxembourg was the fourth country to order the SAFN 1949 rifles with the first order placed on October 4 , 1950 and taking possession of the first 1500 rifles by May 5 , 1951 . The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg would eventually purchase a total of 6 , 306 rifles including rifles specifically for Luxembourg ' s Gendarmerie , which were FN - 49s that comprised standard models , training cut - away rifles , and sniper variants , all in caliber . 30 - 06 Springfield . The Luxembourg models except for the Gendarmerie contract were sold as surplus in the United States , some were distributed to purchasers in larger US chain retail outlets . The Luxembourg models are sought after for two reasons : first , because of the particularly good condition of the Luxembourg surplus rifles ; and second , because of the fact that these FN - 49 rifles were chambered for the . 30 - 06 Springfield , a cartridge popular in the US sport shooting and hunting communities . Very few . 30 - 06 FN - 49 rifles from other contracts have been imported into the United States , making the Luxembourg rifles the only affordable option for an FN - 49 in that caliber . Indonesia , the Belgian Congo , and Colombia would make up the fifth to seventh contracts all produced in caliber . 30 - 06 . Argentina requested the eighth contract ordering 5 , 536 SAFN 1949 rifles in caliber 7 . 65×53mm Argentine on July 29 , 1953 for use by the Argentine Navy after an initial order of one test rifle in 1948 . Several prototypes were made in other calibers , including at least five in 6 . 5×55mm for testing in Sweden , one in caliber 7 . 5×54mm French for testing in Syria , one in caliber . 30 - 60 for testing in the United States , and one in caliber 7 . 62×51mm NATO for Brazil . Argentinian modification . Contrary to some speculation FN did not contract or produce the Argentine conversion of SAFN 1949 rifles from 7 . 65×53mm Argentine to 7 . 62mm NATO . While FN did receive and then later deliver an order for a conversion of a single rifle in March 1967 the remaining armory stock of the Argentine rifles were converted domestically by Metallurgica Centro a company formerly known as Fábrica de armas Halcón . Metallurgica Centro provided and installed in each rifle a new barrel in 7 . 62mm NATO , modified each ejector , and modified each trigger guard to take a new 20 round detachable box magazine . The converted rifles were provided with proprietary 20 round detachable box magazines manufactured by Metallurgica Centro to fit the SAFN 1949 rifle conversions . The 20 round steel magazines are proprietary but were made to share the magazine loading charger with the FN FAL rifle used by the Argentine Army . These chargers are the same as for the Mauser Kar - 98k , and thus not interchangeable with standard NATO stripper clips . A very small number were later used in the Falklands War as sniper rifles .