MAS-49
Manufacture d'armes de Saint-Etienne · Battle Rifle · Out Of Production · 1949
Also known as: MAS Mle 1949, MAS Mle 49, Fusil Semi-Automatique MAS modele 1949, MAS-49/56, MAS Mle 1949/56
Overview
The MAS-49 is a French semi-automatic battle rifle developed by the Manufacture d'Armes de Saint-Etienne and adopted by the French Army in 1951. Chambered in the rimless 7.5x54mm French service cartridge, the rifle grew out of the experimental MAS-44 program and represented one of the first mass-produced service rifles to employ a direct-impingement gas system, in which propellant gases are tapped from the barrel and vented directly against the bolt carrier without an intermediate piston. The original MAS-49 featured a fixed wooden stock, a 10-round detachable box magazine that could be reloaded via five-round stripper clips, and integral launcher sights for firing rifle grenades from a muzzle cup. In 1956 the design was substantially revised as the MAS-49/56, which shortened the rifle, integrated a folding bayonet, added a rubber butt pad, and redesigned the grenade launcher for NATO-standard 22mm rifle grenades. The MAS-49 series equipped French troops and colonial forces throughout the First Indochina War, the Suez Crisis, the Algerian War, and numerous post-colonial interventions in Africa. Approximately 80,000 MAS-49 and 275,000 MAS-49/56 rifles were produced between 1949 and 1978, after which the weapon was replaced in French service by the FAMAS bullpup assault rifle.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 3940 g (139.0 oz) |
| Weight (loaded) | 4280 g (151.0 oz) |
| Overall Length | 1100 mm (43.31") |
| Barrel Length | 580 mm (22.83") |
| Action Type | Gas Operated Direct Impingement |
| Firing Mechanism | Hammer Fired |
| Trigger Type | Single Stage |
| Magazine Capacity | 10 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Detachable Box |
| Muzzle Velocity | 817 m/s (2680 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 3005 J (2216 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 400 m (437 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 3200 m (3500 yd) |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Rifling Twist | 270 mm (10.63") |
| Number of Grooves | 4 |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Wood |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- 7.5x54mm French · primary — also known as 7.5 French, 7.5x54mm MAS, 7.5mm French Service, Cartouche Mle 1929 C
Features
- Firing modes: Semi Automatic
- Feed systems: Detachable Box Magazine, Stripper Clip Reloading
- Safety mechanisms: Manual Safety, Cross Bolt Safety
- Features: Direct Impingement Gas System, Integral Grenade Launcher Sights, Fixed Wooden Stock, En Bloc Clip Charging Guides, Stripper Clip Loading, Integral Bayonet 49 56, Rubber Butt Pad 49 56, Tangent Rear Sight, Hooded Front Sight, Scope Mount Provisions
Variants
- MAS-44 — Prototype Predecessor
- MAS-49/56 — Shortened Successor
- MAS-49/56 7.62x51mm NATO — Caliber Conversion
Service history
Operators
- French Armed Forces · adopted 1951 · as MAS Mle 1949
- French Foreign Legion · adopted 1951 · as MAS Mle 1949
- French Gendarmerie · adopted 1956 · as MAS Mle 1949/56
- Algerian People's National Army · adopted 1962 · as MAS-49/56
- National Liberation Front (FLN) · adopted 1954
- Syrian Armed Forces · as MAS-49/56
- Viet Minh · adopted 1950
- People's Army of Vietnam · adopted 1954
- Senegalese Armed Forces · as MAS-49/56
- Djiboutian Armed Forces · as MAS-49/56
- Moroccan Royal Armed Forces · as MAS-49/56
Conflicts
- First Indochina War (1946-1954)
- Suez Crisis (1956)
- Algerian War (1954-1962)
- Bizerte Crisis (1961)
- Chadian-Libyan Conflict (1978-1987)
- Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990)
- Operation Manta (1983-1984)
Production
Estimated total produced: 355,000 · Production years: 1949-1978
Approximately 80,000 original MAS-49 rifles (1951-1956) plus approximately 275,000 MAS-49/56 rifles (1957-1978), produced exclusively at the Manufacture d'Armes de Saint-Etienne arsenal. Production figures vary slightly between sources.
Origin
Country of origin: France
Designer: Manufacture d'armes de Saint-Etienne
Discontinued: 1978
Notes
The MAS-49 is historically significant as one of the earliest production implementations of direct-impingement gas operation, a system that Eugene Stoner would later adopt and refine in the AR-10 and AR-15 designs. The French system vents gas through a tube above the barrel to strike the bolt carrier face directly, eliminating the operating rod found on contemporary self-loading rifles like the M1 Garand and SKS. After France adopted the FAMAS, surplus MAS-49/56 rifles were sold on the civilian market; many were rechambered in 7.62x51mm NATO by American importers during the 1990s to use readily available ammunition, though these conversions are generally considered inferior to the original 7.5x54mm specification. The rifle has no selector switch and fires only semi-automatically. The integral grenade launcher on the MAS-49/56 allowed infantry to fire the full range of French and later NATO-standard rifle grenades without a separate launcher attachment.
Background
The MAS-49 is the quiet ancestor of every AR-15 and M16 in the world. Its direct-impingement gas system -- propellant gas vented straight down a tube onto the bolt carrier with no piston in between -- predated Eugene Stoner's AR-10 by nearly a decade and is credited as the technical inspiration for the system he made famous. Ironically, the rifle's greatest battlefield reputation came from being turned against its makers: thousands of MAS-49s captured by the Viet Minh at Dien Bien Phu and by the FLN in Algeria ended up in guerrilla hands during France's bloody unwinding of empire.