The T48 was the designation of the FN FAL entered into the competition to replace the M1 Garand. The T44 (later called the M14) won the competition but the Marines appear to have kept their quote of T48 rifles. These have been meticulously photographed by an Australian who visited Quantico in 2008.
[ Many thanks to jdun1911 for emailing me the link. ]
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Nice FALs bet they will be in a museum soon.
Dad always said (and he was in Ordnance corp) that the FAL really won, but that FN wouldn’t license out the manufacture, so the M14 was chosen. I’ve never been able to verify that. In either case, there’s something just a little more special to me about the old wood furniture in a FAL, CETME and such.
With the exception of the AR10, the three battle rifles of that era, the FN FAL was the best follow by M14 and G3 came in last.
The AR10 didn’t see any meaningful production at that time. It only starting to come into the spotlight the last 25 years.
The only thing that I didn’t like the FAL are the iron sight. Whoever decided to place the front sight on the upper receiver and the rear sight on the lower receiver was smoking some good stuff.
G3<M14<FAL<AR10
FALAR10 … hmmm.
I would have to say as a battle rifle the FAL>AR10 simply because the AR10 was never used as a battle rifle. Although design wise the AR-10 was obviously a revolution and the design has never been more popular now, decades later.
The FAL (known as SLR in AU and NZ) was a great rifle and well thought of by those who carried it. Apparently the VC in Vietnam did not like the Ozzies and Kiwis as the 7.62 could punch throught trees etc better than the 5.56 could dream of. Still a lot of SLR’s in civilian hands here in NZ.
I think that may be a rare prototype to the left of the FAL’s.
What appears to be a large, bulbous even, fore end is the clue. I’m remembering pictures of a prototype for the BAR role. Winchester, maybe.
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm……fal, they’re like dogs, better get two cause one would just get lonely by itself.
This is popping into my memory, but I may well be conflating vague memories. (I only know what I read.) How about “Winchester Automatic Rifle – W.A.R.” ?
These rifles are not T48 rifles or prototypes but late production L1A1 rifles judging by the design of the fore grip. Also, the colour of the wood on the pistol grip and butt stock indicate that they may be amongst a small number of Lithgow manufactured L1A1 rifles manufactured in the 1980s specifically for the US market which subsequently were prohibited by the BATF due to the ease of converting these rifles to full auto functioning.
Mike,
Click on the link to the Fal Files…Pat’s detailed workup of the T-48 is there. Beautiful stuff.
Best,
JBR
Another light machine gun of great promise was developed privately by Industry, and even given the green light to the extent of being “adopted” for issue in 1944. This was the W.A.R., variously called Winchester Automatic Rifle or Williams Automatic Rifle.
Utilizing the short-stroke gas piston development of David Marshall “Carbine” Williams, the W.A.R. was hand built in a lot of twelve at the Winchester New Haven shops for test and engineering study. With folding bipod and light alloy combination flash hider and muzzle brake, the W.A.R. was a magnificent piece of manufacturing, but perhaps too costly and too sophisticated for issue in times of industrial stress.
The breech group and safety concept of the WAR was further refined and reappeared in the 1950s on the ill-fated experimental .224 caliber “Winchester Light Rifle”.
SHOOTING TIMES DECEMBER, 1966
William B. Edwards [AKA George C. Nonte]
http://img63.imageshack.us/img63/5439/winchesterautoriflewar1.jpg
Andy,
I have seen claims of just the opposite. FN reportedly offered the US Army a royalty-free license for the manufacture of the FAL for US military issue. I would imagine that their management believed that US adoption of the FAL would result in it becoming the de facto standard infantry rifle for NATO and the rest of the Free World.
Daniel, thats interesting.