Editing FN MAG (section)

== History ==
After World War II the [[Swedish Army]], who used two [[6.5×55mm]] versions of the [[Browning Automatic Rifle]] (BAR) since the 1920s, wanted to replace them with a belt-fed version. [[Carl Gustafs Stads Gevärsfaktori|FFV-Carl Gustaf]] tried to design a derivative, but their belt feeding mechanism (placed below the action, like on the BAR) did not pass military trials.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gotavapen.se/gota/artiklar/kg/swedish_kg2.htm|title=The Swedish BAR light machineguns|website=www.gotavapen.se}}</ref> Therefore [[FN Herstal]] was approached, and Belgian designers came up with the idea to flip the BAR action upside down and mate it with the proven [[MG 42]] belt-feeding mechanism.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forgottenweapons.com/fn-mag-best-of-the-western-gpmgs/|title=FN MAG: Best of the Western GPMGs - Forgotten Weapons|first=Ian|last=McCollum|date=April 6, 2022|website=www.forgottenweapons.com}}</ref> The work was started in the late 1940s by [[Dieudonné Saive]] and finished by Ernest Vervier in 1953, with Swedish trials beginning in 1955.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Military Review |date=1976 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jm8vAQAAIAAJ&pg=RA1-PA93 |page=93 |access-date=26 June 2023 |publisher=Command and General Staff School |language=en}}</ref>

The MAG served as a complement to the [[FN FAL]] battle rifle.{{Sfn|McNab|2018|p=11}} It first entered production in 1958 ([[Ksp 58]] chambered in 6.5×55mm), and it is sometimes referred to as the MAG-58.{{Sfn|McNab|2018|p=13}}