MAT-49
Summary
| Country | 🇫🇷 France |
| Category | Submachine gun |
| Manufacturer | Manufacture Nationale d'Armes de Tulle |
Technical specifications
| MAT-49 | |
|---|---|
| Fire Rate | 600 rounds/min. |
| Caliber | 9 x 19 mm Parabellum |
| Magazine | 20 - 32 rounds |
| Length | 660 mm (26.0 in) |
| Weight | 3.6 kg (7.9 lb) |
| Range | 100 m (328 ft) |
Description
The MAT-49 submachine gun was developed by the French factory Manufacture Nationale d'Armes de Tulle (MAT) for the French Army. Production began in 1949, and the weapon remained in French service until its phase-out, starting in 1979, following the adoption of the FAMAS assault rifle. The final design was selected in response to a government need for a compact weapon for the Army, French Foreign Legion, airborne, and colonial forces. Production occurred at MAT until the mid-1960s before shifting to the Manufacture d'armes de Saint-Étienne plant (MAS) until 1973.
The MAT-49 is a blowback-operated, box magazine-fed firearm firing the 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge, and was produced using a machine stamping process. Key design features include a short, retractable wire stock, resulting in a length of 720 mm when extended. The magazine well and magazine can be folded forward parallel to the barrel for transport or angled at 45° for safe carry. The barrel length is 230 mm. As issued, it used single-column 20-round magazines for desert use or 32-round magazines similar to those used with the Sten. The cyclic rate of fire is 600 rounds per minute. A grip safety is located on the back of the pistol grip. Rear sights are flip-up and L-shaped, marked for ranges of 50 and 100 meters. The weapon weighs approximately 3.5 kilograms without a magazine. Some police versions (MAT 49/54) had two triggers for selecting between full-auto and single shots, but most were full-auto only.
Several variants of the MAT-49 were developed:
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MAS-48 (prototype)
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MAT-49 (main production model)
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MAT-49/54 (for police forces, with an extended barrel and a non-retractable wooden stock with a sling bar)
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Silenced variant (fitted with a suppressor)
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MAT-49 M (modified by the Viet Minh, chambered in 7.62×25mm Tokarev, with a longer barrel, a modified 35-round magazine, and a rate of fire of 900 rpm, distinguishable by a "K" stamped on the receiver's endcap and compatible magazines)
The MAT-49 saw combat during the First Indochina War, the Algerian War, and the 1956 Suez Crisis, and was favored by airborne forces and mechanized troops for its simplicity, ruggedness, firepower, and compactness. Following the departure of French forces from Indochina, the People's Army of Vietnam and Viet Minh utilized captured MAT-49s in the Vietnam War. North Vietnam provided MAT-49s to anti-French groups during the Algerian War after the conclusion of hostilities in Indochina. Spare parts for the MAT-49 M variant were reportedly produced into the early 1970s, with the weapon being used by the Viet Cong.
Users of the MAT-49 have included Algeria, Barbados, Benin, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, France, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Iran, Kingdom of Laos, Laos, Lebanon, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Senegal, Seychelles, Syria, Turkey, Togo, Tunisia, and Vietnam. Non-state users have included the National Liberation Army, Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army, Viet Minh, ETA, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, FRELIMO, and Séléka.