Belgian Arms & Weapons

Overview

Belgium is a small country with an enormous impact on world weapons history, driven almost entirely by Fabrique Nationale d'Armes de Guerre (FN Herstal), founded in Liège in 1889. The Liège region has been a center of European gun-making since the 16th century. FN's partnership with American designer John Moses Browning produced some of the most influential firearms of the 20th century.

FN Herstal and John Browning

Browning, after falling out with Winchester, brought his designs to FN, which produced and sold them globally:

• FN Browning M1900 — Among the first successful semi-automatic pistols; widely sold; introduced the slide mechanism that became standard
• FN Browning M1903 — 9mm; influenced the Swedish m/07 and others
• FN Model 1910 — Compact pistol; the weapon used to assassinate Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914, triggering WWI
• Browning Hi-Power (FN GP35) — 9mm; 13-round magazine; completed by Dieudonné Saive after Browning's death; the most widely adopted military pistol of the 20th century; used by over 50 nations
• Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) — Designed by Browning; produced in various forms for the US and Belgium

FN Post-WWII Designs

• FN FAL (Fusil Automatique Léger) — "The right arm of the Free World"; 7.62×51mm NATO; selective fire; adopted by over 90 nations; one of the most widely used military rifles in history
• FN MAG (M240) — 7.62mm belt-fed GPMG; the NATO standard medium machine gun; used by over 80 countries
• FN Minimi (M249 SAW) — 5.56mm light machine gun; adopted by the US and NATO
• FN SCAR — Current modular assault rifle; used by US Special Operations Forces

Historical Context

Belgium was invaded and occupied in both World Wars, with FN's factories producing weapons under German occupation in WWI and again in WWII. Belgian weapons ended up on both sides of both wars as a result.

This article is a stub. Contributions covering FN's history, specific weapons, and Belgian military history are welcome.