T48 rifle

The T48 (marked as "Rifle, Caliber .30, T48") is a battle rifle tested by the U.S. military in the mid 1950s during trials to find a replacement for the M1 Garand. It was a license-produced copy of the Belgian FN FAL rifle. The rifle did not enter service, as the U.S. military decided to adopt the M14 rifle instead.

Origin

In the wake of World War II, the NATO "Rifle Steering Committee" was formed to encourage the adoption of a standardized NATO rifle. The Committee and the US interest in the FAL proved to be a turning point in the direction of the FAL's development. The U.S. and NATO interest in small arms standardization was the primary reason why the FAL was redesigned to use the newly developed 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge, instead of the intermediate cartridge designs originally tested by FN. Two political factors are worth noting: the U.S. Government tacitly indicated to NATO, and specifically to the United Kingdom, that if the FAL were redesigned for the new American 7.62×51mm cartridge, then the FAL would become acceptable to the U.S., and they would presumably adopt it. Secondly, FN had indicated that it would allow former WWII Allied countries to produce the FAL design with no licensing or royalty costs as a gift to the World War II Allied countries for the liberation of Belgium.

T48

T48 or T-48 may refer to: