MAS-38
Encyclopedia
The MAS-38 was a French submachine gun
Submachine gun
A submachine gun is an automatic carbine, designed to fire pistol cartridges. It combines the automatic fire of a machine gun with the cartridge of a pistol. The submachine gun was invented during World War I , but the apex of its use was during World War II when millions of the weapon type were...

 designed prior to the Second World War
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...

 and used by French
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 German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 forces.
It derived from a small arms development program that took place between 1918 and 1922 under the control of the Service Technique de l'Armement. A submachine gun, a light machine gun and a semi automatic rifle were developed to replace all the existing small arms. Budgetary constraints due to choices like building the Maginot Line lead to the delay of adoption of these new arms except for the LMG 1924.

History

The Pistolet Mitrailleur MAS modèle 38 (MAS Model 38 Submachine Gun) was developed from the experimental MAS-35, itself derived from the STA 1922 and the MAS 1924 both in 9 mm produced immediately after World War I. Prior to the development of this weapon France used a variety of German and Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 submachine guns.

MAS, the Manufacture d'Armes de Saint-Étienne
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....

(Weapons industry of Saint-Étienne), was a French supplier of arms that manufactured several firearms for the French military, including the MAS-36
MAS-36
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 The MAS Modèle 36 is a bolt-action rifle. It was adopted in 1936 by France, and was intended to replace the Berthier...

 rifle, the 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...

, and the FAMAS. It is now part of Nexter. The French Ministry of War
Minister of Defence (France)
The Minister of Defense and Veterans Affairs is the French government cabinet member charged with running the military of France....

 approved the MAS-38 in 1938, but production did not begin until 1939. Initially the weapon was supplied to the Garde Nationale
National Guard (France)
The National Guard was the name given at the time of the French Revolution to the militias formed in each city, in imitation of the National Guard created in Paris. It was a military force separate from the regular army...

(National Guard) rather than the French Army
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...

.

The MAS-38 was chambered for the 7.65mm Longue
7.65mm Longue
The 7.65×20mm Longue was a straight, rimless cartridge used in the French Modele 1935 pistols, as well as the MAS-38 submachine gun....

 cartridge, although similar to the .30 Pedersen cartridge is not an exact copy. The 7.65 French Longue cartridge is several millimeters longer than its predecessor used by the Pedersen device. This was also the cartridge used for France's M1935 series of service pistols, allowing for limited standardization, but with the effect of preventing French soldiers from using captured enemy ammunition.

Production ended in 1946. By that time 1958 were built before German occupation, and further production is unknown. The French police continued to use the MAS-38 after World War II until it was replaced in the 1950s by the MAT-49
MAT-49
The MAT-49 was a submachine gun developed by French arms factory Manufacture Nationale d'Armes de Tulle for use by the French Army.-Development:...

 submachine gun.

Design details

The MAS-38 is 623mm (24.53 in) long with a 224 mm (8.82 in) barrel; it weighs 2.87 kg (6.33 lb) empty. It uses a 32 round box magazine. The muzzle velocity is 350 m/s (1,148 ft/s) and it has a rate of fire of 600 to 700 round/min.

The MAS-38 is easily recognizable due to its seemingly bent barrel assembly. This is because the receiver and butt diverge in alignment from the axis of the barrel by several degrees. To make the weapon compact its bolt recoils inside a tube running through the buttstock . To allow a natural aiming stance, the butt had to drop while the receiver had remain in alignment. This required that the bolt approach the breech at an angle and the face of the bolt was cut obliquely to allow it to close evenly on the cartridge. The MAS-38 also features an unusual safety catch: the bolt was locked (in either the forward or rear position) by pushing the trigger forward. A valuable feature was that tools were not required for its disassembly.

A very high quality weapon, the MAS-38 was machined from solid steel and only a few parts were stampings. It was designed with a buffered sear assembly to prevent wear and increase the life of the internal parts. A dual range sight system was concealed within the receiver so as to be out of sight until it was flipped up for use.

The odd appearance of the MAS-38 did not detract from its accuracy, but its cartridge was underpowered compared to the German 9mm standard pistol ammunition. However this cannot have made any difference to the outcome of 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...

, and in any event the German army seized the MAS plant in 1940 just as the MAS-38 was entering large-scale production. The Germans accepted the gun as a substitute standard weapon, naming it the 7.65 mm MP722(f). They continued production of the gun for their own armed forces and supplied some to the Vichy French.

On April 28, 1945, it was used by Italian partisans to shoot the former dictator Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....

.
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