The SLEM-1 (Self Loading Experimental Model 1) was a semi-automatic battle rifle. The weapon is gas-operated, semi-automatic and has a 10-round magazine.
Development
Fabrique Nationale
, trading as FN Herstal and often referred to as Fabrique Nationale, or simply FN, is a leading firearms manufacturer based in Herstal, Belgium, and former vehicle manufacturer. It was the largest exporter of military small arms in Europe .
FN ...
's Belgian design team, led by
Dieudonné Saive
Dieudonné Joseph Saive (; 23 May 1888 – 12 October 1970) was a Belgian small arms designer who designed several well-known firearms for Belgian armsmaker Fabrique Nationale, including the Model 1949 and the FAL (''Fusil Automatique Leger'' ...
, worked in Britain throughout the war, having escaped the German occupation of Belgium in 1940. They worked for the Small Arms Design Department which had been moved from Enfield to the drill hall at Cheshunt, about five miles away. When the British General Staff decided in 1944 that the future British infantry cartridge would be the
8×57mm IS, already in production for the
Besa machine gun
The Besa machine gun was a British version of the Czechoslovak ZB-53 air-cooled, belt-fed machine gun (called the TK vz. 37 in the Czechoslovak army"TK" from ''těžký kulomet'' "heavy machine gun"; "vz" from ''vzor'' "Model").
The name ca ...
and generally more suitable to autoloading weapons than rimmed
.303 British cartridge, the Belgian team designed the SLEM-1 (Self Loading Enfield Model 1).
When the
8×33mm Kurz was tested everything changed and the British set up the Small Arms Calibre panel that led to the and rounds. The Belgian team then redesigned the SLEM to become the prototype FAL, first in 8mm Kurz and then in
.280 British. The extractor groove of the .280 was changed to meet US specification and became the .280/30.
After the war, the SLEM was further developed into the
FN Model 1949 and subsequently the
FN FAL
The FAL (, English: Light Automatic Rifle) is a battle rifle designed in Belgium by Dieudonné Saive and manufactured by FN Herstal and others since 1953.
During the Cold War the FAL was adopted by many countries of the NATO, North Atlantic Trea ...
.
See also
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EM-2 rifle
The EM-2, also known as Rifle, No.9, Mk.1 or Janson rifle, is a British assault rifle. It was briefly adopted by British forces in 1951, but the decision was overturned very shortly thereafter by Winston Churchill's incoming government in an ef ...
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FN Model 1949
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FN FAL
The FAL (, English: Light Automatic Rifle) is a battle rifle designed in Belgium by Dieudonné Saive and manufactured by FN Herstal and others since 1953.
During the Cold War the FAL was adopted by many countries of the NATO, North Atlantic Trea ...
*
List of battle rifles
Battle rifles are full-length, semi-automatic or select fire rifles that are chambered for a full-power rifle cartridge, and have been adopted by a nation's military. The difference between a battle rifle and a designated marksman rifle is often ...
References
External links
{{cite book , last=Walter , first=John , date=2006 , title=Rifles of the World , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Eq2Dnj4sDZIC , location=Iola, WI , publisher=
Krause Publications, Inc. , page=107 , isbn=978-0-89689-241-5
Rifles of Belgium
7.92×57mm Mauser battle rifles
Trial and research firearms of the United Kingdom