Dieudonné Saive

Dieudonné Saive

Dieudonné Joseph Saive (1889–1973) was a Belgian small arms designer who designed the FN Model 1949[1] and the FN FAL. He became the head firearms developer of Fabrique Nationale after the death of John Browning. After John Browning's death, Saive continued with several projects for modernizing and improving firearms originally designed by Browning. Saive finished Browning's original concept for the GP-35 self-loading pistol, becoming the Browning Grand Puissance, or Browning Hi-Power. It was the first 9 mm handgun to utilize a true staggered-column magazine. The large magazine enabled the weapon to carry a total of fourteen cartridges without an excessively oversized or protruding handgrip. The Hi-Power was a sales success, and was extensively used in World War II by German and British Commonwealth forces. After the war, the Browning Hi-Power was adopted as the standard military service sidearm of many Western countries, including the United Kingdom and Belgium. Modern versions remain in production today, three-quarters of a century later.

In 1932, Saive improved the operating mechanism of the .30 M2 Browning AN aircraft machine gun, increasing its rate of fire to 1,200 rpm. In 1938, he made additional improvements to the M2 increasing the rate of fire further, to 1,500 rpm.[2]

Saive is most famous for his series of gas-operated self-loading rifle designs, which used a tipping bolt to lock the action. His FN-49 rifle went into production, and was later developed into the widely successful FN FAL selective-fire battle rifle.

References

  1. ^ Cruffler.com (1999-10-01), HISTORIC FIREARM OF THE MONTH, http://www.cruffler.com/historic-october99.html, retrieved 2007-08-19 
  2. ^ Goldsmith, Dolf L., The Browning Machine Gun, Volume II: Rifle Caliber Brownings Abroad, Collector Grade Publications, 1st ed. (2006)
  • Johnson, Wayne, and Anthony Vanderlinden (December 2005). "The Last of its Kind: FN's Model 1949 Self-Loading Rifle", American Rifleman: 60–63, 94.

Further reading

  • Johnson, Wayne.The FN-49 The Last Elegant Old-World Military Rifle. Greensboro, NC: Wet Dog Publications, ?. ISBN 0970799721. The second chapter is (apparently) a biography of Dieudonne Saive.



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  • Dieudonné Saive — Dieudonné Joseph Saive (1889–1973) est un concepteur belge d armes à feu individuelle qui a créé le SAFN 1949[1] et le FN FAL. Il est devenu responsable de développement à la Fabrique Nationale de Herstal après le décès de John Browning. Après la …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Saive (homonymie) — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Toponymie Saive est une commune de Belgique Patronymie Saive est le patronyme de : Dieudonné Saive (1889–1973), concepteur d armes à feu légères… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • FN Model 1949 — Infobox Weapon name= FN Model 1949 caption= Egyptian SAFN with military telescopic sight origin= flagcountry|Belgium type= Service rifle is ranged=yes service= 1949 1988 used by=See Users wars= Korean War, Congo Crisis, Suez Crisis designer=… …   Wikipedia

  • Browning Hi-Power — Infobox Weapon|is ranged=yes caption= Belgian Army Browning name=Browning Hi Power type=Semi automatic pistol origin=flagcountry|Belgium flagcountry|United States era= 20th century design date=1921–1935 designer=John Browning, Dieudonne Saive… …   Wikipedia

  • FN Model 1949 — FN Modell 49 Allgemeine Information Zivile Bezeichnung: Saive Gewehr Entwickler:/Hersteller …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • FN Modell 49 — Allgemeine Information Zivile Bezeichnung …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • SAFN 49 — FN Modell 49 Allgemeine Information Zivile Bezeichnung: Saive Gewehr Entwickler:/Hersteller …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • FN FAL — FAL 50.63 variant, featuring a folding stock and reduced barrel length. Type Battle rifle Place of  …   Wikipedia

  • FN FAL — Tipo Fusil de asalto País de origen …   Wikipedia Español

  • FN FAL — У этого термина существуют и другие значения, см. FN. FN FAL FN FAL Тип: Автоматическая винтовка Страна …   Википедия

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