The MAT-49 is a submachine gun which was developed by the French arms factory Manufacture Nationale d'Armes de Tulle (MAT) for use by the French Army. It was first produced in 1949 and remained in French service until it was phased out following the adoption of the FAMAS assault rifle in 1979.

Development

In 1949, after evaluating several other submachine gun prototypes (including a collapsible design from Hotchkiss), the French MAT factory began production of the MAT-49 9×19mm Parabellum submachine gun. The MAT-49 used a machine stamping process which allowed for 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 for a compact weapon.

Production continued at MAT 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

thumb|right|Paratroopers of the [[2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment|2e REP from the French Foreign Legion storming Kolwezi in 1978.]]

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

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

Overview

The MAT-49 had a short, retractable wire stock, which when extended gave the weapon a length of , 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 , with the MAT-49/54 manufactured with extended barrels and non-retractable wooden stocks.

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File:MAT-49.svg|MAT-49: left and right views; view with stock retracted and magazine in safe position

File:MAT-49 54.svg|Police MAT-49/54 model

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Users

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thumb|[[Togolese Armed Forces#Navy|Togolese sailors equipped with MAT-49 in 2007.]]

thumb|Map with MAT-49 users in blue

  • : In use with customs and prison security forces and in limited service with police forces
  • : Received from French government during First Indochina War.
  • Captured MAT-49s donated to Village guards.
  • FRELIMO
  • 22px National Liberation Army (Libya)
  • 22px Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
  • Séléka
  • Viet Cong
  • 22px Viet Minh: known as Tuyn, from the name of the manufacturer (Tulle).
  • 22px Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army

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.

References