I received a great Memorial Day present -- on 26 May, my StG 58 and T48 rifles arrived from Arizona Response Systems.  I'd sent both of these parts kits to Mark Graham for refinishing and assembly.  The story began about 18 months before.  I'd purchased a StG 58 complete front and rear assemblies for spare parts when they were being offered at reasonable cost by DSA in Barrington, Illinois.  Then several of the big parts sellers of FN FAL parts began selling off parts at very low prices and I decided to have the StG 58 assembled into a rilfe.  I purchased two Dan Coonan Industries (DCI) receivers at a good price, while I was piecing together parts for a T48.  I'll discuss the T48 project in this installment and pickup the StG 58 rifle in Part 2.

 

FN-designed T48 rifles were in direct competion with the Springfield Armory produced T44 (a product improved M1 Garand).  The rifle I chose was the rifle purcahsed from FN for early T48 trials.  The problems in building a T48-type rifle are numerous.  Many of the parts were not standardized for series production or were produced in very small numbers.  So, the first problem in building a T48-type rifle replica is to choose which features to replicate and which features to fudge a bit.

 

 

 

 

 

The T48-series rifles were produced by FN, Harrington and Richardson, and High Standard Manufacturing Company.  Springfield Armory, Springfield, Massachusetts also did some limited production of parts and modification of rifles, but the majority of its work was concentrated on the T44 rifles.  At the time the T48 and T44 rifles were in competition, neither design was perfected.  Therefore, a series of trials were conducted with them in the early to mid-1950's.  The first trials weeded out several of the contenders, including the British EM-1 and EM-2 bullpup rifles.  The T44 and T48 were approved for further development.  In the world of the T44, it successfully defeated compeditors such as the T25 and T47 rifles.  Once these two designs were laid to rest, T44 development proceeded at Springfield Armory and the T48 proceeded at FN.  One of the stipulations was that the FN rifle had to be manufactured by American contractors, using American processes, and American measurements.  High Standard and Harrington and Richardson built inch-conversion rifles for the American trials.  The latter manufacturer's rifles were used in the final trials between the FN product and Springfield Armory product.

 

These T48 features were deleted from my rifle: (1) the selective fire capability, (2) the folding arctic trigger guard and hollowed-out pistol grip to accomodate it, (3) the forward locating pins for the U-shaped stripper clips on late rifles, (4) the Type 1 inch-pattern solid handguards that had a mid-handguard band to attach the front sling swivel, and (5) the unique cocking handle of the H&R series T48 rifles.  When the smoke cleared, the choice then became the early FN-built T48.

 

My T48 is  parts gun that replicates the look of the original.  The butt stock and pistol grip were produced by Ironwood Designs.  DSA produced the lower receiver and the T48 short cover with a stripper clip guide; it has a DSA semi-auto selector; a DSA carrying handle; and a DSA T48 trigger guard (non-folding).  The upper receiver is a DCI, the barrel is a new Argentine open ear that takes the Israeli front sight and spring and tall rear sight aperture.  The Argy barrel is threaded for the long FN flash suppressor and uses the front sling/stacking swivel that the original T48 did not.  A replica Israeli handguard spacer was used for the handguard, and a modified L1A1 butt swivel for the front sling swivel.  The handguard was a new, old stock FN product with the barrel band.  Magazines are modified L1A1 with the front latch lug ground to fit the magazine well.