MAT-49
| Pistolet-Mitrailleur de 9 mm modèle 1949 (MAT-49) | |
|---|---|
Blowback, open bolt | |
| Rate of fire | 600 rounds/min[4] |
| Effective firing range | 100 m (110 yd) |
| Feed system | 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
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 720 mm (28 in), 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 230 mm (9.1 in), 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
Variants
- MAS-48- prototype variant.
- MAT-49 - main variant.
- MAT-49/54 - gendarme variant with extended barrel and fixed wooden stock with a sling bar.[5]
- MAT-49 silenced - variant fitted with a suppressor.[6]
- MAT-49 M - variant modified by the Viet Minh, firing in 7.62×25mm Tokarev. It had a longer barrel, modified 35-round magazine, and a higher rate of fire (900 rpm). It was distinguished from the 9mm version by having a letter "K" stamped on the top of the receiver's endcap and the side of the compatible magazines. Spare parts were still produced in the early 1970s, the gun being used by the Viet Cong.[11]
-
MAT-49: left and right views; view with stock retracted and magazine in safe position -
Police MAT-49/54 model
Users
Algeria[12]
Barbados [13]
Benin[12]
Bolivia[12]
Burkina Faso[12]
Burundi[12]
Central African Republic[12]
Chad[12]
Comoros[12]
Republic of the Congo[12]
Cote d'Ivoire[12][14]
Djibouti[12]
Equatorial Guinea[12]
Gabon[12]
Guinea[12]
Guinea Bissau
Iran: Used in small numbers by the Shahrbani.[15]
Kingdom of Laos: Received from French government during First Indochina War.[16]
Laos[12]
Lebanon[12]
Madagascar[12]
Armed and Security Forces of Mali
Mauritania[12]
Morocco[12]
Niger[12]
Senegal[12]
Seychelles[12]
Syria: used by police and special forces
Village guards.
Togo[12]
Tunisia[12]
Vietnam: used 9mm and 7.62mm MAT-49s.[11]
Non-state entities
National Liberation Army (Libya)[18]
Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army[19]
Viet Minh,[20] known as Tuyn, from the name of the manufacturer (Tulle).[21]
ETA: Produced unlicensed copies of existing weapons in an underground workshop at Mouguerre after it was raided by police.[22]
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic[23]
FRELIMO[24]- Séléka[25]
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See also
- Gevarm D4
- Halcón ML-63
- Hotchkiss Type Universal
- Sola submachine gun
- Vigneron submachine gun
- MAS-38 replaced in the 1950s by the MAT-49 submachine gun.
In popular culture
In the video game Team Fortress 2, one of the playable classes, Sniper, appears to use a submachine gun, heavily inspired by the MAT-49 but with oversized sights and no stock as one of his standard weapons.[26]
References
- ^ Chivers, C. J. (20 April 2011). "Inferior Arms Hobble Rebels in Libya War". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 25 October 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
- ^ Rebel Forces in Northern Mali: Documented weapons, ammunition and related materiel, April 2012-March 2013 (PDF) (Report). Conflict Armament Research and Small Arms Survey. April 2013. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 November 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
- ^ "Importante saisie d'armes en Centrafrique" [Major seizure of weapons in the Central African Republic]. RFI (in French). 16 March 2014. Archived from the original on 13 July 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
- ^ a b c "MAT-49". Modern Firearms. 27 October 2010. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
- ^ a b c d McCollum, Ian (22 January 2020). "MAT 49-54 Police Submachine Gun". Forgotten Weapons. Archived from the original on 27 April 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
- ^ a b "The French MAT 49 Submachine Gun". Small Arms Review. Archived from the original on 12 June 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
- ^ a b Leulliette, Pierre (1964). St. Michael and the Dragon: Memoirs of a Paratrooper. New York City: Houghton, Mifflin & Co. p. 29.
- ^ "French MAT-49 Sub-Machine Gun". 5rar.asn.au. Archived from the original on 22 March 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
- ^ Johnson, Harold E. (September 1973). Small Arms Identification and Operation Guide – Eurasian Communist Countries (PDF) (3rd ed.). Defense Intelligence Agency. p. 98. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
- ^ McCollum, Ian (18 October 2016). "Vietnamese Guns for Algeria". Forgotten Weapons. Archived from the original on 5 September 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
- ^ OCLC 1036801376.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7106-2869-5.
- ISBN 0811722805.
- ^ de Tessières, Savannah (April 2012). 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] (PDF) (Report). Special Report No. 14 (in French). UNDP, Commission Nationale de Lutte contre la Prolifération et la Circulation Illicite des Armes Légères et de Petit Calibre and Small Arms Survey. p. 97. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 November 2012.
- ^ "Podcast V33: Iranian Submachine Guns (1941-1979)". Silah Report. 21 June 2021. Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
- ISBN 978-0-85045-938-8.
- ^ "Turkish Army Land Forces: Military equipment and vehicles of Turkey". World Army Equipment. 15 April 2010. Archived from the original on 8 August 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- ^ Ackerman, Spencer (21 April 2011). "Libya's Rebels Fight with Ancient, Useless Weapons". Wired. Archived from the original on 22 December 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
- ISBN 978-1-92014-333-6.
- ISBN 1-84013-476-3.
- ^ "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]. tintuc.vn (in Vietnamese). 11 November 2014. Archived from the original on 10 January 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
- ^ Escrivá, Ángeles (10 February 2012). "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]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 8 January 2014.
- ISBN 84-9781-253-0. Archived(PDF) from the original on 16 June 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
- ISBN 978-0-85045-843-5.
- ^ Touchard, Laurent (17 December 2013). "Centrafrique : le Soudan a-t-il armé les ex-Séléka?" [Central African Republic: Did Sudan arm the ex-Séléka?]. Jeune Afrique (in French). Archived from the original on 30 January 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
- ^ "Team Fortress 2- Internet Movie Firearms Database".
External links
- "MAT-49". Modern Firearms.