FAL kiss of death in English speaking countries?

[Lee Enfield]

Just thinking, all of the English speaking companies which produced the inch pattern FAL have died.

Enfield Lock ~ gone
ADI Lithgow ~ gone
CAL LongBranch ~ gone
H&R ~ gone (several successor companies in name only, but dead)
High Standard ~ (several successor companies in name only, but dead)
BSA ~ (several successor companies in name only, but dead)

NOTE* (Yes RFI still exists, but aren't really English speaking) and the IA1 isn't really "inch pattern"

 

[Claven2]

A lot of ppl in Belgium speak english...

 

[Lee Enfield]

A lot of ppl in Belgium speak english...

I belief Dutch, Flemish and French are official languages in Belgium.

Lord knows what Walloon's speak...

Pretty sure the only "inch pattern" guns FN built were for Libya, and they used "metric" mags...

 

[TGC]

I read some where that the FAL was the next in line from the MP44, as its designe was taken from that weapon.

 

[JP]

No, FN FAL was based on the SAFN 1949, which was a pre-WW2 design and before the MP-44. You are thinking of the MP-45/Spanish Cetme/G3 design.

 

[tjhaile]

The MP 45 wasn't an MP 44 derivative, either. The MP 44 was gas operated with a tilting bolt and long stroke gas piston. The MP 45 was a roller-delayed blowback gun, as were the later CETME and HK designs.

The only thing the FAL has in common with an MP 44 is that the first prototypes were built in 7.92x33mm.

 

[JP]

Neither Post said it the MP-45 was derivative of the MP-44, but only it was the next in line design.

 

[Lee Enfield]

I read some where that the FAL was the next in line from the MP44, as its designe was taken from that weapon.

Pretty much all firearms are developed from modifying previous designs, and adding other features which are (almost always) previously used elsewhere.

The fabled AK-47 can be described as a Garand trigger group combined with a Remington Model 8 bolt & safety and a stamped action and barrel trunion influenced by an MP43/44...

Let the cries of "patent infringement" begin.

ALL of the genius MG designer John Browning's machine gun designs are clearly infringements of Maxim's patents....

The FN49 is a direct development of a pre-war design "allegedly" based on the gas-piston system of the Tokarev AVT38.

Of course the Belgians claim that the piston and tilting bolt were developed by Saive indendently.

AVT38/FN/Llungmann AG42/SKS45/FAL all use similar tilting bolts in carriers locking into a slot in the frame. The major differences are in the systems of gas action upon the bolt carrier....

The FAL was certainly influenced by the MP-43/44, but not the "next in line" and certainly it is not based upon it.

 

[Claven2]

ALL of the genius MG designer John Browning's machine gun designs are clearly infringements of Maxim's patents....

Personally, I would lean towards Browning's early machine gun designs being more influenced by the Colt machine guns from the 1890's. Hatcher alludes to as much in his book, though Browning himself designed part of the Colt mechanism as well... confusing, huh?

 

[Lee Enfield]

Personally, I would lean towards Browning's early machine gun designs being more influenced by the Colt machine guns from the 1890's. Hatcher alludes to as much in his book, though Browning himself designed part of the Colt mechanism as well... confusing, huh?

The 1895 Colt "potato digger" is an obvious infringement of Maxims gas patents...

The early Browning pistols are infringements of his "blow back" patents...

Interesting that Maxim (and 10 years later later Browning as well) used Winchester '66/73(unclear but probably '73s) rifles as the basis for their first automatic weapons...

Borchards & Lugers utilized recoil to unlock a Winchester toggle action...