T48 rifle

The T48, marked Rifle, Caliber .30, T48, was a battle rifle tested by the United States military in the mid 1950s in trials to find a replacement for the M1 Garand. It was a licence-produced copy of the Belgian FN FAL, which had been redesigned to fire the new 7.62x51mm NATO cartridge as American and NATO interest in standardized small arms grew. The Army bought test rifles from Fabrique Nationale of Herstal, Belgium, from Harrington and Richardson of Worcester, Massachusetts, and from the High Standard Company of Hartford, Connecticut, and also received heavy-barrel FAL rifles designated T48E1. It competed against the T44, a developed M1 Garand with a detachable magazine. In the December 1953 arctic trials the T48 suffered gas system problems, and the T44 was chosen for its lighter weight, fewer parts and ability to use existing machinery. The T44 became the M14 in 1957, so the T48 never entered service.