The FN MAG is a Belgian general purpose machine gun designed in the early 1950s by Ernest Vervier and Dieudonne Saive at Fabrique Nationale. It entered production in 1958 and remains in service today across more than eighty countries. The weapon fires the 7.62 by 51 millimeter NATO cartridge from a belt feed and combines a locking mechanism modeled on the Browning M1918 automatic rifle with a feed system derived from the German MG 42. It is gas operated, features a quick change barrel for sustained fire, and has an adjustable cyclic rate between 650 and 1,000 rounds per minute. More than 200,000 units have been produced, including licensed production in Canada, Britain, Argentina and India, and it is used both as an infantry weapon and mounted on armored vehicles. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Classification
Service Status Weapon ClassGeneral-purpose machine gun 2 Introduced Year Weapon Class
Weapon Class (category) FAQs
Why does the FN MAG borrow from both the Browning Automatic Rifle and the MG 42?
The designers flipped the BAR action upside down and mated it with the MG 42 belt feed.
After World War II the Swedish Army wanted a belt-fed replacement for its Browning Automatic Rifle derived guns. The Swedish firm FFV-Carl Gustaf tried a derivative, but its belt feeding mechanism, placed below the action like on the BAR, did not pass military trials. FN Herstal was then approached, and its Belgian designers came up with the idea to flip the BAR action upside down and mate it with the proven MG 42 belt-feeding mechanism.
Connections
In the Other Atlases
Manufactured By
Also in Business Atlas: the manufacturer of this subject.
Source Wikidata: FN MAG
Sources
1. Wikipedia: FN MAG
Article text
Kulspruta 58: Ksp 58, adopted in 1958 using the 6.5×55mm rifle cartridge which at that time was the standard cartridge in the Swedish Army. Kulspruta 58B: In the early 1970s, the weapon was modified with a new gas regulator and at the same time the barrels were replaced to the new standard 7.62×51mm NATO, same as used by the Ak 4.
Infobox: cartridge
7.62×51mm NATO
Infobox: service
1958-present
- Used In: South African Border War, infobox wars field: 'South African Border War'
- Used In: Six-Day War, infobox wars field: 'Six-Day War'
- Used In: Nigerian Civil War, infobox wars field: 'Nigerian Civil War'
- Used In: Vietnam War, infobox wars field: 'Vietnam War'
- Used In: Yom Kippur War, infobox wars field: 'Yom Kippur War'
- Used In: Falklands War, infobox wars field: 'Falklands War'
- Used In: Sri Lankan Civil War, infobox wars field: 'Sri Lankan Civil War'
- Used In: Gulf War, infobox wars field: 'Gulf War'
- Used In: Burundian Civil War, infobox wars field: 'Burundian Civil War'
- Used In: War in Afghanistan (2001-2021), infobox wars field: 'War in Afghanistan (2001-2021)'
- Used In: Iraq War, infobox wars field: 'Iraq War'
- Used In: Syrian Civil War, infobox wars field: 'Syrian civil war'
- Used In: Russo-Ukrainian War, infobox wars field: 'Russo-Ukrainian War'
Operated By: British Army, Wikipedia article text
The L7A2, general-purpose machine gun, replaced the L7A1 in service with the British Army.
In Group: General-Purpose and Medium Machine Guns, Infobox: type
General-purpose machine gun
View the Source2. Wikipedia: FN MAG
Lead, first sentence
Belgian 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun
Lead, production
It first entered production in 1958
View the Source3. Wikidata: FN MAG
Wikidata Q842066, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source Reader Challenges (0)
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