Fabrique Nationale de Herstal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| FN Herstal | |
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| Type | Private |
| Founded | 1889 |
| Headquarters | Herstal, Belgium |
| Industry | Defence and Law Enforcement |
| Website | http://www.fnherstal.com/ |
Fabrique Nationale de Herstal, more often abbreviated as Fabrique Nationale or simply FN, is a Belgian manufacturer of firearms. The official company name is FN Herstal. FN is a subsidiary of the Herstal Group. Herstal also owns the U.S. Repeating Arms Company (Winchester) and Browning Arms Company (an American gun company founded by John Moses Browning's family). Together these divisions form the Herstal Group.[1]
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[edit] History
FN originated in the small city of Herstal, near Liège. The Fabrique Nationale d'Armes de Guerre (French for National Factory of Weapons of War) was established in 1889 to manufacture 150,000 Mauser Model 89 rifles ordered by the Belgian Government.
In 1898 the company entered into a long lasting relationship with John Moses Browning, a well-known firearms designer.
FN became an important manufacturer of motor vehicles in Belgium, cars were produced in Herstal in the early 20th century, production of FN motorcycles continued until 1965, trucks until 1970.
One of Fabrique Nationale's weapons, a Model 1910 semi-automatic pistol in 7.65 x 17 mm (.32 ACP) (serial number 19074) was used to assassinate Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the event that triggered World War I.
The British .303 Browning aircraft machine gun introduced in the late 1930s and used in World War II was actually a license-built FN Browning design, not a "Colt-Browning" as often referred-to.
John Moses Browning began development of the Browning GP35 'High Power' (sometimes written as Hi-Power) pistol, the GP standing for Grande Puissance or "high power" in French. However, the weapon was finalized by Dieudonné Saive and did not appear until nearly a decade after Browning's death.
FN Manufacturing LLC in Columbia, South Carolina is part of the military division of FN. It is primarily responsible for the development of U.S. government contracted military and law-enforcement weapons, including M16 rifles, M249 SAW light machine guns, M240 medium machine guns, FNP series pistols and M2 machine guns.
[edit] Weapons made by FN
[edit] Sidearms
- FN Barracuda:double action multi-caliber revolver that can be switched between three calibers (9 x 19 mm Luger, .38 Special and .357 Magnum) by changing parts of the cylinder
- FN Five-seveN:lightweight high-capacity 5.7 x 28 mm pistol
- FN FNP-357:.357 SIG pistol
- FN FNP-40:.40 S&W pistol
- FN FNP-45:.45 ACP pistol
- FN FNP-9:9 x 19 mm Luger pistol
- FN FNP-9m:compact 9 x 19 mm Luger pistol
- FN Forty-Nine:pistol chambered for 9 x 19 mm Luger and .40 S&W
- FN Browning Hi-Power:single action pistol chambered for 9 x 19 mm Luger and .40 S&W
- FN HP-DA:9 x 19 mm Luger pistol, double action variant of the Browning Hi-Power
- FN M1900:.32 ACP blowback semi-automatic pistol
- FN M1903:blowback semi-automatic pistol chambered for .32 ACP and 9 x 20 mm Long Browning
- FN M1905:.25 ACP vest pocket blowback semi-automatic pistol
- FN M1910:single action pistol chambered for .32 ACP and .380 ACP
[edit] Submachine guns
- FN P90:high-capacity personal defense weapon that uses 5.7 x 28 mm rounds
- FN PS90:civilian semi-automatic sporting version of the P90 with a 16-inch barrel
[edit] Rifles
[edit] Automatic and semi-automatic rifles
- FN F2000:modern 5.56 x 45 mm NATO compact bullpup assault rifle, part of system with computerized sight and 40 mm grenade launcher or 12 gauge shotgun
- FN FS2000:civilian semi-automatic version of the F2000
- FN FAL:Fusil Automatique Leger , 7.62 x 51 mm NATO battle rifle/squad automatic weapon
- FN CAL:Carabine Automatique Légère 5.56 x 45 mm NATO Fabrique Nationale's first 5.56 mm rifle.
- FN FNC:Fabrique Nationale Carabine, 5.56 x 45 mm NATO caliber carbine
- FN Model 1930 BAR:license-built version of the M1918 BAR, re-chambered for 7.92 x 57 mm Mauser
- FN Model 1949:a semi-automatic rifle chambered for 7 x 57 mm Mauser (7mm Mauser), 7.62 x 51 mm NATO, 7.65 x 57 mm Mauser, .30-06 Springfield and 7.92 x 57 mm Mauser (8 mm Mauser)
- FN SCAR:SOF Combat Assault Rifle, modular assault/battle rifle system with dedicated versions in 5.56 x 45 mm NATO, 7.62 x 39 mm and 7.62 x 51 mm NATO
[edit] Bolt-action rifles
- FN 30-11: 7.62 x 51 mm NATO bolt-action sniper rifle developed from FN-built Mauser Kar 98K rifles
- FN PBR:7.62 x 51 mm NATO bolt-action rifle intended for police patrol cars
- FN SPR:bolt-action sniper rifle chambered for 7.62 x 51 mm NATO and .300 Winchester Magnum, used by the FBI and SWAT teams
[edit] Machine guns
- FN BRG-15:experimental heavy machine gun chambered for 15.5x115mm
- FN MAG:Mitrailleuse d'Appui General , 7.62x51mm NATO general purpose machine gun, also known as the L7 machine gun and M240 machine gun
- FN MINIMI:Minimitrailleuse, 5.56x45mm NATO light machine gun in use with several nations and known in U.S. use as the M249 SAW and Mk 46 Mod 0
- FN Mk 48 Mod 0:7.62x51mm NATO variant of the M249 machine gun
[edit] Other weapons
- FN 303:less-lethal 17mm multi-shot projectile launcher
- FN Self-Loading Police Shotgun:12-gauge self-loading shotgun with 7 or 9 round capacity
- FN Tactical Police Shotgun:12-gauge pump-action shotgun with 5 or 8 round capacity
- FN EGLM:40mm Grenade Launcher that can be used on the F2000 or SCAR Rifles
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ FNHerstal.com "The Herstal Group includes Herstal, parent company and two main subsidiaries , FN HERSTAL, active in the Defense and Law Enforcement fields, and Browning / U.S. Repeating Arms Co., specializing in hunting /shooting marksmanship and outdoor sporting goods."
