MAT-49 explained

Pistolet-Mitrailleur de 9 mm modèle 1949
(MAT-49)
Type:Submachine gun
Origin:France
Is Ranged:yes
Service:1949–Present
Used By:See Users
Wars:First Indochina War
Korean War
Suez Crisis
1958 Lebanon Crisis
Algerian War
Vietnam War
Laotian Civil War
Cambodian Civil War
Sino-Vietnamese War
Portuguese Colonial War
Rhodesian Bush War
Western Sahara War
Shaba II
Chadian–Libyan conflict
Lebanese Civil War
Libyan Civil War[1]
Syrian Civil War
Northern Mali conflict[2]
Central African Republic Civil War (2012–present)[3]
Designer:Pierre Monteil
Design Date:1947-1949
Manufacturer:Manufacture Nationale d'Armes de Tulle
Manufacture d'armes de Saint-Étienne
Production Date:1949–1973
Number:~ 100,000
Variants:See Variants
Mass: without magazine
with 32-round magazine
Length:
Cartridge:9×19mm Parabellum
7.62×25mm Tokarev (VPA converted)
Caliber:9mm
Action:Blowback, open bolt
Rate:600 rounds/min[4]
Feed:20 or 32 rounds
35 rounds (VPA converted)
Sights:Iron sights

The MAT-49 is a submachine gun which was developed by French arms factory Manufacture Nationale d'Armes de Tulle (MAT) for use by the French Army and was first produced in 1949.

Development

In 1949, after evaluating several prototypes (including a collapsible design from Hotchkiss), the French MAT factory began production of the MAT-49 9 mm submachine gun. The MAT-49 used a machine stamping process which allowed the economical production of large numbers of submachine guns, then urgently required by the French Government for use by Army, French Foreign Legion as well as airborne and colonial forces to meet the need of a compact weapon.[5]

Production continued at Tulle until the mid-1960s, then switched to the Manufacture d'armes de Saint-Étienne plant (MAS), where the weapon was produced until 1973. In 1979, the French armed forces adopted the FAMAS 5.56 mm NATO assault rifle, and the MAT-49 was gradually phased out of service.

Usage

The MAT-49 saw widespread combat use during the First Indochina War and the Algerian War, as well as the 1956 Suez Crisis.[6] [7] The weapon found considerable favor with airborne forces and mechanized troops, who prized it for its simplicity, ruggedness, firepower and compactness.[7]

After French forces left Indochina, the People's Army of Vietnam and Viet Minh converted many captured MAT-49s to the Soviet 7.62 mm Tokarev pistol cartridge, then available in large quantities from the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China. These converted versions could be distinguished by a longer barrel and a higher rate of fire at 900 rpm.[8] [9]

North Vietnam covertly provided MAT-49s to anti-French occupation groups during the Algerian War after the French left Indochina.[10]

Overview

The MAT-49 had a short, retractable wire stock, which when extended gave the weapon a length of 720mm, and the magazine well and magazine could be folded forward parallel to the barrel for parachute jump or with a 45° angle hence allowing a safe carry until the magazine well is brought back to vertical position before opening fire. Barrel length is 230mm, with the MAT-49/54 manufactured with extended barrels and non-retractable wooden stocks.[5] As issued, the MAT-49 fires a 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge, using a single-column 20-round magazine for desert use or 32-round similar to the Sten magazine.

The MAT-49 is blowback-operated and box magazine-fed, with a rate of fire of 600 rounds per minute on full auto. The MAT 49/54, a modified MAT-49s manufactured for police forces, had two triggers, allowing use of full-auto fire or single shots, but most were manufactured as full-auto only.[5] Minus magazine, the MAT-49 weighs about 3.5kg (07.7lb), which is heavy for a submachine gun. The weapon incorporates a grip safety which is located on the backside of the pistol grip. The rear sights are flip-up and L-shaped, and marked for a range of 50and. Production ceased before the introduction of the FAMAS assault rifle in 1979.

Variants

Users

Adopted by the French army in 1949.[4] Also used by the National Gendarmerie.[4]

Used in small numbers by the Shahrbani.[15]

Received from French government during First Indochina War.[16]

used by police and special forces

[17] Captured MAT-49s donated to Village guards.

used 9mm and 7.62mm MAT-49s.[11]

Non-state entities

See also

In popular culture

In the 2007 video game Team Fortress 2, one of the playable classes, the Sniper, can be armed with a submachine gun, which is heavily inspired by the MAT-49, as one of his standard weapons.[27]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Inferior Arms Hobble Rebels in Libya War . The New York Times . C. J. . Chivers . April 20, 2011 . February 27, 2017 . October 25, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171025022705/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/21/world/africa/21rebels.html?pagewanted=all . live.
  2. Rebel Forces in Northern Mali: Documented weapons, ammunition and related materiel, April 2012-March 2013 . . April 2013 . 2018-06-05 . 2020-11-13 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201113012247/https://www.conflictarm.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Rebel_Forces_in_Northern_Mali.pdf . live.
  3. News: Importante saisie d'armes en Centrafrique . Major seizure of weapons in the Central African Republic . RFI. 16 March 2014 . fr . 29 January 2019 . 13 July 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180713230556/http://www.rfi.fr/afrique/20140315-importante-saisie-armes-centrafrique-rca-misca . live.
  4. Web site: MAT-49 . October 27, 2010 . Modern Firearms . September 14, 2021 . April 13, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210413222737/https://modernfirearms.net/en/submachine-guns/france-submachine-guns/mat-49-eng/ . live.
  5. Web site: MAT 49-54 Police Submachine Gun . Ian . McCollum . January 22, 2020 . . April 26, 2020 . April 27, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200427031941/https://www.forgottenweapons.com/mat-49-54-police-submachine-gun/ . live.
  6. Web site: The French MAT 49 Submachine Gun . Small Arms Review . 2021-09-14 . 2021-06-12 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210612201416/http://www.smallarmsreview.com/display.article.cfm?idarticles=2508 . live.
  7. Book: Leulliette, Pierre . 1964 . St. Michael and the Dragon: Memoirs of a Paratrooper . New York City . Houghton, Mifflin & Co . 29.
  8. Web site: French MAT-49 Sub-Machine Gun . 5rar.asn.au . 2021-09-14. 2020-03-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200322070250/https://www.5rar.asn.au/weapons/mat49.htm . live.
  9. Book: Johnson, Harold E. . Small Arms Identification and Operation Guide – Eurasian Communist Countries . September 1973 . 3rd . 98 . . 2016-11-21 . 2016-03-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304090738/http://www.virginia1774.org/DIA-ST-HB-07-03-74.pdf . dead.
  10. Web site: Vietnamese Guns for Algeria . Ian . McCollum . October 18, 2016 . Forgotten Weapons . September 5, 2017 . September 5, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170905184624/https://www.forgottenweapons.com/vietnamese-guns-for-algeria/ . live.
  11. Book: Ezell, Edward Clinton . Personal Firepower . Bantam Books . 1988 . The Illustrated History of the Vietnam War . 15 . 1036801376 . registration . 18, 35, 42. 978-0-553-34549-0 .
  12. Book: Jones . Richard D. . January 27, 2009 . Jane's Infantry Weapons 2009/2010 . 35th . Jane's Information Group . 978-0-7106-2869-5.
  13. Book: Ezell, Edward. Edward C. Ezell. Small Arms Today. Stackpole Books. 2nd. 1988. 54. English . 0811722805.
  14. fr . Enquête nationale sur les armes légères et de petit calibre en Côte d'Ivoire: les défis du contrôle des armes et de la lutte contre la violence armée avant la crise post-électorale . National survey on small arms and light weapons in Côte d'Ivoire: the challenges of arms control and the fight against armed violence before the post-election crisis . Savannah . de Tessières . . April 2012 . Special Report No. 14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121118234610/http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/C-Special-reports/SAS-SR14-CoteIvoire.pdf . dead . November 18, 2012 . 97.
  15. Web site: Podcast V33: Iranian Submachine Guns (1941-1979) . June 21, 2021 . Silah Report . July 26, 2021 . July 26, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210726045738/https://silahreport.com/2021/06/21/iranian-submachine-guns-1941-1979/ . live.
  16. Book: Conboy, Kenneth . The War in Laos 1960–75 . limited . Men-at-Arms . 217 . 23 November 1989 . Osprey Publishing . 978-0-85045-938-8 . 15.
  17. Web site: Turkish Army Land Forces: Military equipment and vehicles of Turkey . 15 April 2010 . World Army Equipment . 2021-05-03 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180808171857/https://www.armyrecognition.com/turkey_turkish_army_land_ground_forces_uk/turkey_turkish_army_land_ground_armed_defense_forces_military_equipment_armored_vehicle_intelligence.html . 2018-08-08.
  18. News: Libya's Rebels Fight with Ancient, Useless Weapons . Wired . Spencer . Ackerman . April 21, 2011 . March 8, 2017 . December 22, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131222174449/http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/04/libyas-rebels-fight-with-ancient-useless-weapons/ . live.
  19. The Rhodesian African Rifles ~ The Growth and Adaptation of a Multicultural Regiment through the Rhodesian Bush War, 1965-1980 . Michael P. . Stewart . 2012 . 41–42 . MA . Command and General Staff College . Fort Leavenworth, Kansas . 2013-05-03 . dead . 2015-08-21 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150821222415/http://usacac.army.mil/cac2/cgsc/carl/download/csipubs/ArtOfWar_RhodesianAfricanRifles.pdf . The Armageddon group, like the other ZANU terrorists sent into Rhodesia, was armed with a mixture of semi-automatic Soviet SKS 7.62mm rifles, French MAT-49 9mm submachine guns, German Luger 9mm pistols, Soviet F1 and RGD5 grenades.... Quoting Book: Wood, J. R. T. . 2009 . Counterstrike From the Sky: The Rhodesian All-Arms Fireforce in the War in the Bush 1974-1980 . South Africa . 30 Degrees South Publishers . 978-1-92014-333-6.
  20. Book: McNab, Chris . 20th Century Military Uniforms . 2002 . 2nd . Grange Books . Kent . 1-84013-476-3 . 304.
  21. Web site: Những vũ khí viện trợ đã ra trận cùng QĐVN trong trận Điện Biên Phủ . Weapons of the Vietnamese Army in the battle of Dien Bien Phu . vi . 11 November 2014 . tintuc.vn . 10 January 2019 . 10 January 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190110235037/https://tintuc.vn/nhung-vu-khi-vien-tro-da-ra-tran-cung-qdvn-trong-tran-dien-bien-phu-7732 . live.
  22. News: Hallan en Francia un viejo arsenal de subfusiles de ETA de los años 70 . Found in France an old arsenal of ETA submachine guns from the 70s . Ángeles . Escrivá . 10 February 2012 . . es . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20140108142028/http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2012/02/10/paisvasco/1328900209.html . 2014-01-08.
  23. Book: El conflicto del Sahara occidental . The Western Sahara conflict . es . Ignacio . Fuente Cobo . Fernando M. . Mariño Menéndez . amp . . 2006 . 69 . 84-9781-253-0 . 2018-05-28 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190616062508/https://e-archivo.uc3m.es/bitstream/handle/10016/17377/04_conflictos_saharaoccidental_2006.pdf . 2019-06-16 . live.
  24. Book: Abbott, Peter . Modern African Wars (2): Angola and Mozambique 1961 - 1974 . . . 2005 . 978-0-85045-843-5 . 14 . limited.
  25. News: Centrafrique : le Soudan a-t-il armé les ex-Séléka? . Central African Republic: Did Sudan arm the ex-Séléka? . Laurent. Touchard . 17 December 2013 . . fr . 29 January 2019 . 30 January 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190130111716/https://www.jeuneafrique.com/166718/politique/centrafrique-le-soudan-a-t-il-arm-les-ex-s-l-ka/ . live.
  26. Web site: Laemlein . Tom . 2021-10-26 . Small Arms of the Viet Cong . 2024-06-14 . The Armory Life . en-US.
  27. Web site: Team Fortress 2- Internet Movie Firearms Database.

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