Fabrique Nationale de Herstal

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Fabrique Nationale de Herstal, more often abbreviated as Fabrique Nationale or simply FN, is a Belgian manufacturer of firearms. The official company name is FN Herstal. FN is a subsidiary of the Herstal Group. Herstal also owns the U.S. Repeating Arms Company (Winchester) and Browning Arms Company (an American gun company founded by John Moses Browning's family). Together these divisions form the Herstal Group.[1]

Contents

History

FN originated in the small city of Herstal, near Liège. The Fabrique Nationale d'Armes de Guerre (French for National Factory of Weapons of War) was established in 1889 to manufacture 150,000 Mauser Model 89 rifles ordered by the Belgian Government.

In 1898 the company entered into a long lasting relationship with the famous American firearms designer, John Moses Browning.

A 1913 FN motorcycle with four cylinder in-line engine and shaft drive sold for $58,000 in a 2007 auction

FN became an important manufacturer of motor vehicles in Belgium, cars were produced in Herstal in the early 20th century, production of FN motorcycles continued until 1965, trucks until 1970.

One of Fabrique Nationale's weapons, a Model 1910 semi-automatic pistol in 7.65 x 17 mm (.32 ACP) (serial number 19074) was used to assassinate Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the event that triggered World War I.

The British .303 Browning aircraft machine gun introduced in the late 1930s and used in World War II was actually a license-built FN Browning design, not a "Colt-Browning" as often referred-to.

John Moses Browning began development of the Browning GP35 'High Power' (sometimes written as Hi-Power) pistol, the GP standing for Grande Puissance or "high power" in French. However, the weapon was finalized by Dieudonné Saive and did not appear until nearly a decade after Browning's death.

FN Manufacturing LLC in Columbia, South Carolina is part of the military division of FN. It is primarily responsible for the development of U.S. government contracted military and law-enforcement weapons, including M16 rifles, M249 SAW light machine guns, M240 medium machine guns, FNP series pistols and M2 machine guns.

Weapons made by FN

Cypriot National Guard with a FN P90 at a parade in Larnaca

Sidearms

Submachine guns

Rifles

Semi-automatic and select-fire rifles

Bolt-action rifles

Machine guns

Other weapons

References

  1. FNHerstal.com "The Herstal Group includes Herstal, parent company and two main subsidiaries , FN HERSTAL, active in the Defense and Law Enforcement fields, and Browning / U.S. Repeating Arms Co., specializing in hunting /shooting marksmanship and outdoor sporting goods."

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