Overview of FNMAG machine gun

MAG58 universal machine gun

Caliber: 7.62×5 1 mm NATO

FN MAG was developed by FN Company in 1950' s, and its chief designer is M. Ernest Vervier. It was finalized and put into production in the late 1950 s, so it is usually called FN MAG 58. MAG is the abbreviation of "d 'appui general for rifles" in French. As the name implies, FN MAG can be used as a light machine gun with only biped, or as a heavy machine gun mounted on a tripod or a vehicle-mounted launcher.

Because of its reliable performance, FN MAG has been adopted by the armies of more than 70 countries around the world, including Belgium, Britain, Australia, Canada, the United States, Sweden and other countries. FNMAG is used for infantry, various vehicles, helicopters, tanks, armored vehicles, etc. Like the PKM series in Russia, it is also one of the most popular general machine guns in the world, which is widely used in armed conflicts all over the world.

FN MAG machine gun adopts the working principle of air conduction and the locking mechanism of locking rod lifting, and can only fire automatically. Automata is improved from American M 19 18 BAR, but the locking position of the locking lever lifting locking mechanism is changed.

The bullet chain feeding mechanism copied the two-way feeding device of German MG42 machine gun, and the firing mechanism was also an improvement of MG42.

1974, when the U.S. military tested the M73/2 19 machine gun, it took American M60E2, German MG3, British L7A2, French AAT NF 1, Canadian C 1, Soviet PKM, FN MAG58 and M2 19 machine guns.

Therefore, the reliability of FN MAG is much higher than that of M60. Therefore, the US military later adopted FN MAG instead of M60E2 and M2 19 as tank machine guns, named FN MAG M240, and then gradually replaced M60 with M240.

FN MAG produced in other countries also includes L7 series in Britain, C6 series in Canada, Ksp58 series in Sweden, and many countries such as Chile, Israel and Mexico. The imitation FN MAG in Taiwan Province Province is called Type 74 machine gun.