Quote History Quoted:That's akin to saying the AR is the final evolution of the MP44. Totally different weapons of totally different designs in totally different chamberings from totally different nations.
The FAL and SVT 38/40 are both semi-auto battle rifles. The similarities end there.
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The AR and MP44 both share a dust cover; that's got to mean something right?
Seriously though, do you not find the FN-49 and the FAL have similarities? If not, then sure, every unique design IS different. A Chevy pickup is not a Ford pickup.
If you do find similarities, then you should take a hard look at the SVT, which predates both.
From
Wikipedia:
"The SVT-38 is a gas-operated rifle with a short-stroke, spring-loaded piston above the barrel and a tilting bolt.
This configuration gained wider acceptance later. There is some dispute
about who exactly first developed this operating principle, as the
SVT's mechanism (as implemented in 1935 competition prototype) closely
resembles
Dieudonne Saive's design of 1937; Saive eventually designed both the
FN-49 and
FN FAL, which employ similar operating principles."
Saive was also John Browning's assistant at the FN plant.