T48
- Category
- Battle Rifle
- Barrel
- 533 mm
- Weight, empty
- 4.31 kg
- Introduced
- 1951
About
What it is, and why it matters
The T48 is a select-fire battle rifle, the United States trials designation for the license-produced Belgian FN FAL. Chambered in 7.62x51mm NATO and built on a gas-operated, tilting-breechblock action, it was evaluated by the U.S. Army in the mid-1950s as a candidate to replace the M1 Garand. Roughly 500 examples were produced under contract by Harrington & Richardson, with additional rifles supplied by FN Herstal and the High Standard Company. The T48 ultimately lost the trials to the T44, which became the M14, owing to the T44's lighter weight, simpler design, and self-compensating gas system.
The T48 trials pitted the Belgian FN FAL against the American T44 in the search for the M1 Garand's successor. Though many NATO allies adopted the FAL, the U.S. chose the T44/M14, a decision shaped as much by the desire to field a domestically designed rifle on existing Garand machinery as by the marginal weight and reliability differences.
Marked 'Rifle, Caliber .30, T48' in U.S. service. During December 1953 arctic trials the T48's gas system suffered cold-weather stoppages, contributing to the decision to adopt the T44/M14 instead.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- FN Herstal
- Category
- Battle Rifle
- Country
- Belgium
- Status
- Prototype
- Produced
- 1951 to 1957
- Variant of
- Trials
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 533 mm
- Overall length
- 1100 mm
- Weight, empty
- 4.31 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Gas operated
- Firing mechanism
- Hammer fired
- Trigger
- Single action
- Capacity
- 20
- Magazine
- Detachable box
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- Phosphate
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 840 m/s
- Muzzle energy
- 3361 J
- Effective range
- 600 m
- Maximum range
- 3000 m
- Rate of fire
- 650 rpm
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Tilting breechblock
Adjustable gas system
Pistol grip
Select fire
Iron sights
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 86 7.62x51mm NATO battle rifles | 4.31 kg | 4.30 kg | Heavier than about 60% |
| Overall lengthAmong 85 7.62x51mm NATO battle rifles | 1100 mm | 1025 mm | Longer than about 80% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 87 7.62x51mm NATO battle rifles | 533 mm | 458 mm | Longer than about 80% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 87 7.62x51mm NATO battle rifles | 20 | 20 | Near the median |
Answers
Questions about the T48
How much does the T48 weigh?
The T48 weighs 4.31 kg (9.50 lb) empty.
What caliber is the T48?
The T48 is chambered in 7.62x51mm NATO.
How many rounds does the T48 hold?
The T48 holds 20 rounds, fed from a detachable box magazine.
How long is the T48?
The T48 is 1100 mm (43.3 in) long overall, with a 533 mm (21.0 in) barrel.
Who makes the T48?
The T48 is made by FN Herstal (Belgium). It was designed by Dieudonné Saive.
When was the T48 introduced?
The T48 was introduced in 1951 and discontinued in 1957.
How does the T48 operate?
The T48 uses a gas operated action, and its firing mechanism is hammer fired.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- United States Army
- United States
Provenance
Confidence in this record
82%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/rifle-t48' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "rifle-t48", "name": "T48", "manufacturer": { "id": "fn-herstal", "name": "FN Herstal", "countryCode": "BE", "foundedYear": 1889, "website": "https://www.fnherstal.com", "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-02-11 23:44:38", "updatedAt": "2026-02-18 03:43:43", "version": "868b12ac455d24b965edddf486bafb1892f606961311b1ab9907556e3a23b075" }, "category": { "id": "battle-rifle", "name": "Battle Rifle", "description": "Selective-fire rifles chambered in full-power cartridges" }, "country_of_origin": "BE", "year_introduced": 1951, "barrel_length_mm": 533, "weight_empty_g": 4310, "action_type": "gas_operated"}