MAS-36
Encyclopedia
The MAS Modèle 36 is a bolt-action
rifle
. It was adopted in 1936 by France
, and was intended to replace the Berthier
and Lebel
series of service rifles. It was manufactured by MAS (an abbreviation of Manufacture d'Armes de St. Etienne
- one of several government-owned arms factories in France).
cartridge that had been introduced in 1924 (then modified in 1929), for France's FM 24/29 light machine gun. The rifle was developed based on French experience in World War I and combines the best features of other rifles used, like the British SMLE rifle (rear locking lugs resistant to dirt), the US M1917 Enfield rifle (turned down bolt, peep sight), and the German Mauser
(five-round box-magazine), to produce an extremely rugged and capable design.
The MAS-36 carries a spike bayonet, reversed, in a tube below the barrel. To use the bayonet, it is pulled out, turned around, and plugged back into its receptacle. The MAS-36 has a relatively short barrel and is fitted with large aperture (rear) and post (front) sights designed for typical combat ranges. It has a five-round, Mauser-style double-column magazine with a removable floorplate. The rifle is somewhat unusual in that the locking lugs are found at the rear of the bolt rather than the front, resulting in a distinctive-looking forward cant of the bolt handle. Typical for French rifles of the period, the MAS-36 has no safety. It was normally carried with a loaded magazine and empty chamber until the soldier was engaged in combat, though the rifle's firing mechanism could be blocked by raising the bolt handle.
and Berthier rifles as well as Berthier carbine
s, budget constraints limited MAS-36 production, and it served along with the former rifles in many French army and colonial units. In World War II
, the MAS-36 was often reserved to front-line infantry units, with other troops and reservists often receiving elderly Berthier and Lebel-type rifles. After the Battle of France
, the Germans took over a large number of MAS36s, which were given the designation Gewehr 242(f) and put to service with their own garrison units based in occupied France and later, to be used by the Volkssturm
.
and the Algerian War, as well as in the Suez Crisis
. During the Suez Crisis, French paratroop marksmen of the 2ème RPC (Régiment Parachutiste Colonial), employed telescope-sighted MAS-36 rifles to eliminate enemy snipers. The MAS-36 remained in service into the early 1960s as an infantry rifle, often serving with indigenous colonial units. It was officially a substitute-standard rifle after France adopted the semi-automatic MAS-49
rifle series in 1949, though its bolt design lives on in a dedicated sniper version of the rifle, the FR F1
(now chambered in 7.62x51mm NATO) and its successor the FR F2 sniper rifle.
After the war, civilian hunting rifle versions were made by MAS and by the gunsmith Jean Fournier. These half-stocked rifles were chambered for the 7x54mm Fournier
(common, 7.5x54mm necked down to 7mm), 7x57mm (very rare), 8x60mm S (less common), and 10.75x68mm (rare). Hunting rifles in the two latter calibers had integral muzzle brakes. Also imported into the United States were a few surplus rifles converted to 7.62mm NATO from 7.5x54mm by a firearms importer. These rifles were modified to chamber the NATO round and also had a SKS rifle safety fitted to them. These rifles are few in number and are not highly sought after by collectors. They are considered by some to be a "wallhanger" type of firearm to own.
Bolt-action
Bolt action is a type of firearm action in which the weapon's bolt is operated manually by the opening and closing of the breech with a small handle, most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the weapon...
rifle
Rifle
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
. It was adopted in 1936 by France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and was intended to replace the Berthier
Berthier rifle
The Berthier rifles and carbines were a family of bolt-action small arms in 8mm Lebel, used in the French Army from the 1890s to the beginning of World War II...
and Lebel
Lebel Model 1886 rifle
The Lebel Model 1886 rifle is also known as the "Fusil Mle 1886 M93", after a bolt modification was added in 1893. It is an 8mm bolt action infantry rifle which entered service in the French Army in April 1887...
series of service rifles. It was manufactured by MAS (an abbreviation of Manufacture d'Armes de St. Etienne
Manufacture d'armes de Saint-Étienne (MAS)
The Manufacture d'armes de Saint-Étienne was a French state-owned manufacturing company located in the town of Saint-Étienne. It has since been merged into the state-owned Nexter defence conglomerate....
- one of several government-owned arms factories in France).
Description
The MAS-36 is a short, carbine-style rifle with a two-piece stock and slab-sided receiver. It is chambered for the modern, rimless 7.5x54 French cartridge, a shortened version of the 7.5x57mm MAS mod. 19247.5x57mm MAS mod. 1924
The 7.5 mm MAS mod. 1924 was a short-lived French rifle ammunition type that was introduced in the mid-1920s to replace the 8 mm Lebel. The "Lebel" round was powerful and accurate but due to its shape it was particularly poorly suited to automatic weapons with large-capacity magazines. The only...
cartridge that had been introduced in 1924 (then modified in 1929), for France's FM 24/29 light machine gun. The rifle was developed based on French experience in World War I and combines the best features of other rifles used, like the British SMLE rifle (rear locking lugs resistant to dirt), the US M1917 Enfield rifle (turned down bolt, peep sight), and the German Mauser
Mauser
Mauser was a German arms manufacturer of a line of bolt-action rifles and pistols from the 1870s to 1995. Mauser designs were built for the German armed forces...
(five-round box-magazine), to produce an extremely rugged and capable design.
The MAS-36 carries a spike bayonet, reversed, in a tube below the barrel. To use the bayonet, it is pulled out, turned around, and plugged back into its receptacle. The MAS-36 has a relatively short barrel and is fitted with large aperture (rear) and post (front) sights designed for typical combat ranges. It has a five-round, Mauser-style double-column magazine with a removable floorplate. The rifle is somewhat unusual in that the locking lugs are found at the rear of the bolt rather than the front, resulting in a distinctive-looking forward cant of the bolt handle. Typical for French rifles of the period, the MAS-36 has no safety. It was normally carried with a loaded magazine and empty chamber until the soldier was engaged in combat, though the rifle's firing mechanism could be blocked by raising the bolt handle.
Background
Though intended to replace the Lebel Model 1886Lebel Model 1886 rifle
The Lebel Model 1886 rifle is also known as the "Fusil Mle 1886 M93", after a bolt modification was added in 1893. It is an 8mm bolt action infantry rifle which entered service in the French Army in April 1887...
and Berthier rifles as well as Berthier carbine
Berthier carbine
The Berthier carbine was a French service rifle adopted in 1892, which was widely used during the First and Second World War....
s, budget constraints limited MAS-36 production, and it served along with the former rifles in many French army and colonial units. In World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the MAS-36 was often reserved to front-line infantry units, with other troops and reservists often receiving elderly Berthier and Lebel-type rifles. After the Battle of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
, the Germans took over a large number of MAS36s, which were given the designation Gewehr 242(f) and put to service with their own garrison units based in occupied France and later, to be used by the Volkssturm
Volkssturm
The Volkssturm was a German national militia of the last months of World War II. It was founded on Adolf Hitler's orders on October 18, 1944 and conscripted males between the ages of 16 to 60 years who were not already serving in some military unit as part of a German Home Guard.-Origins and...
.
Postwar Usage
The MAS-36 was extensively used by French Army and colonial defense forces during France's postwar counterinsurgency operations in the First Indochina WarFirst Indochina War
The First Indochina War was fought in French Indochina from December 19, 1946, until August 1, 1954, between the French Union's French Far East...
and the Algerian War, as well as in the Suez Crisis
Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, Suez War was an offensive war fought by France, the United Kingdom, and Israel against Egypt beginning on 29 October 1956. Less than a day after Israel invaded Egypt, Britain and France issued a joint ultimatum to Egypt and Israel,...
. During the Suez Crisis, French paratroop marksmen of the 2ème RPC (Régiment Parachutiste Colonial), employed telescope-sighted MAS-36 rifles to eliminate enemy snipers. The MAS-36 remained in service into the early 1960s as an infantry rifle, often serving with indigenous colonial units. It was officially a substitute-standard rifle after France adopted the semi-automatic MAS-49
MAS-49
The MAS-49 is a French semi-automatic military rifle that replaced the diverse collection of aging bolt-action rifles that were in French service after the end of World War II...
rifle series in 1949, though its bolt design lives on in a dedicated sniper version of the rifle, the FR F1
FR F1
The FR F1 is a precision rifle used by French sharpshooters. It was manufactured by MAS . It has been upgraded to FR F2 standard, and is still in service with all branches of French armed forces in this version...
(now chambered in 7.62x51mm NATO) and its successor the FR F2 sniper rifle.
After the war, civilian hunting rifle versions were made by MAS and by the gunsmith Jean Fournier. These half-stocked rifles were chambered for the 7x54mm Fournier
7x54mm Fournier
Created by the gunsmith Jean Fournier, the 7x54mm is basically the 7.5x54mm French necked down to 7 mm. The cartridge was designed to be used with the Mas Fournier hunting rifle, which was itself a modification of the MAS-36 rifle....
(common, 7.5x54mm necked down to 7mm), 7x57mm (very rare), 8x60mm S (less common), and 10.75x68mm (rare). Hunting rifles in the two latter calibers had integral muzzle brakes. Also imported into the United States were a few surplus rifles converted to 7.62mm NATO from 7.5x54mm by a firearms importer. These rifles were modified to chamber the NATO round and also had a SKS rifle safety fitted to them. These rifles are few in number and are not highly sought after by collectors. They are considered by some to be a "wallhanger" type of firearm to own.
Variants
- MAS 36 CR39 - A MAS 36 equipped with a folding hollow aluminum stock designed for use by airborne forces.
- MAS 36 LG48 - A MAS 36 equipped with a 48 mm rifle grenadeRifle grenadeA rifle grenade is a grenade that uses a rifle-based launcher to permit a longer effective range than would be possible if the grenade was thrown by hand...
launcher used in the First Indochina War. - MAS 36/51 - A MAS 36 equipped with a 22 mm22 mm grenadeThe 22mm rifle grenade is inserted over the firing mechanism on the front of rifles that are equipped with the appropriate launcher, either in the form of an integral flash suppressor or a detachable adapter. As with most rifle grenades, it is propelled by a blank cartridge inserted into the...
NATO standard rifle grenadeRifle grenadeA rifle grenade is a grenade that uses a rifle-based launcher to permit a longer effective range than would be possible if the grenade was thrown by hand...
launcher. - Fusil modèle FR-G2 - A highly-modified MAS-36 rifle action equipped with a Match barrel with harmonic compensator and telescopic sight for use by designated marksmen (the FRF1 & FRF2 Rifles have not same action than the MAS36)
Users
-
- Khmer RougeKhmer RougeThe Khmer Rouge literally translated as Red Cambodians was the name given to the followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, who were the ruling party in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, led by Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen and Khieu Samphan...
- Vichy FranceVichy FranceVichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
- Free French ForcesFree French ForcesThe Free French Forces were French partisans in World War II who decided to continue fighting against the forces of the Axis powers after the surrender of France and subsequent German occupation and, in the case of Vichy France, collaboration with the Germans.-Definition:In many sources, Free...
: Used during Laotian Civil War. - Viet MinhViet MinhViệt Minh was a national independence coalition formed at Pac Bo on May 19, 1941. The Việt Minh initially formed to seek independence for Vietnam from the French Empire. When the Japanese occupation began, the Việt Minh opposed Japan with support from the United States and the Republic of China...
- Khmer Rouge
See also
- MAS 49
- FA-MAS Type 62