The Fabrique Nationale Model 1949 (often referred to as the FN-49) is a Belgian self-loading rifle that was designed by Dieudonné Saive in 1947. The selective fire version produced for Belgium was known as the AFN. It was available in various calibers, mainly 7.62mm NATO and .30-06 Springfield.
While well regarded for its high build quality and reliability in comparison to the rifles of the time, its marketability was limited, as it was not developed in time for use in World War II but later, as many militaries had already begun the switch to selective fire battle rifles. An unknown number of FN-49s were produced as selective fire automatic rifles, but the small 10 round box magazine limited the usefulness of the fully automatic feature.
The FN-49 found itself in direct competition with a number of more modern rifles such as the Heckler & Koch G3 and FN Herstal's own FN FAL, resulting in limited sales.
