The MAC 50 (also known as MAC 1950, MAS 50 or PA modèle 1950) is a standard semi-automatic pistol of the French army and adopted in 1950. It replaced the previous series of French pistols, the Modèle 1935A and Modèle 1935S, and was produced between 1950 and 1970 with around 341,900 being created during that timeframe.
| MAC Mle 1950 | |
|---|---|
 MAC Mle 1950 | |
| Type | Semi-automatic pistol |
| Place of origin | France |
| Service history | |
| Wars | First Indochina War Algerian War[1] Suez Crisis Vietnam War Chadian Civil War[2] Chadian–Libyan conflict Shaba II[3] |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1950 |
| Manufacturer | Manufacture d'armes de Châtellerault MAS |
| Produced | 1950–1970 |
| No. built | 341,900 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 860 g (30 oz) |
| Length | 195 mm (7.7 in) |
| Barrel length | 111 mm (4.4 in) |
| Height | 135 mm (5.3 in) |
| Cartridge | 9×19mm Parabellum |
| Action | Short recoil, locked breech, dropping barrel |
| Muzzle velocity | 315 m/s (1,033 ft/s) |
| Effective firing range | 50 m (160 ft) |
| Maximum firing range | 1,900 m (6,200 ft) |
| Feed system | 9-round detachable box magazine |
| Sights | Fixed iron sights 155 mm (6.1 in) sight radius |
It was first made by MAC (Manufacture d'armes de Châtellerault) then by MAS (Manufacture d'Armes St. Etienne - two of several government-owned arms factories in France)[4]
It is now superseded by the PAMAS G1, the French version of the Beretta 92, and since 2020 by the 5th-generation Glock 17.[5]
History
editIn Châtellerault, 221,900 were made until it was closed in 1963 with production continuing in St. Etienne with 120,000 pistols would be made by 1978.[6]
Design
editIt uses the Browning system like the FN GP 35 with an integral barrel feed ramp, it is a single-action trigger with slide mounted safety that locks the firing pin so the hammer can be lowered by pressing the trigger with safety engaged.[6]
The MAC-50 is primarily based on the Modèle 1935S, for which MAC was the primary manufacturer, although it shares some characteristics with the Modèle 1935A, the design basis for the SIG P210 (SIG licensed the Modèle 1935A design from SACM in 1937).
Users
edit
Algeria[7]
Central African Republic: Armée de Terre and Gendarmerie[8]
France
Ivory Coast[10]
Libya[11]
Morocco[12][13]
References
edit- ^ "L'armement français en A.F.N." Gazette des Armes (in French). No. 220. March 1992. pp. 12–16.
- ^ Windrow, Martin (26 September 1985). French Foreign Legion Paratroops. Elite. Vol. 6. Osprey Publishing. pp. 56-57. ISBN 978-0-85045-629-5.
- ^ Sicard, Jacques (November 1982). "Les armes de Kolwezi". La Gazette des Armes (in French). No. 111. pp. 25–30.
- ^ a b "Mle. 1950". Modern Firearms. 22 October 2010.
- ^ "PSA : GLOCK 17 Gen 5, un bon choix pour remplacer MAC 50 et PAMAS ?" [PSA: GLOCK 17 Gen 5, a good choice to replace MAC 50 and PAMAS?]. TRE - Tactical Response To Efficience (in French). 2020-01-09. Retrieved 2020-01-10.
- ^ a b "MAC 1950: Disassembly & History". Forgotten Weapons. 27 February 2017.
- ^ "Algeria". World Infantry Weapons. 2015. Archived from the original on 24 November 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- ^ Berman, Eric G.; Lombard, Louisa N. (December 2008). The Central African Republic and Small Arms: A Regional Tinderbox (PDF). Small Arms Survey. pp. 35, 42. ISBN 978-2-8288-0103-8. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 2, 2014.
- ^ Wiener, Friedrich (1987). The Armies of the NATO Nations: Organization, Concept of War, Weapons and Equipment. Truppendienst Handbooks Volume 3. Vienna: Herold Publishers. p. 425.
- ^ Anders, Holger (June 2014). Identifier les sources d'approvisionnement: Les munitions de petit calibre en Côte d'Ivoire (PDF) (in French). Small Arms Survey and United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire. p. 15. ISBN 978-2-940-548-05-7. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 23, 2015.
- ^ Jenzen-Jones, N.R.; McCollum, Ian (April 2017). Small Arms Survey (ed.). Web Trafficking: Analysing the Online Trade of Small Arms and Light Weapons in Libya (PDF). Working Paper No. 26. p. 83. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 16, 2017.
- ^ Huon, Jean (1981). Un siècle d’armement mondial [A Century of World Armaments] (in French). Paris: Crépin-Leblond.
- ^ Ezell, Edward (1988). Small Arms Today (2nd ed.). Harrisburg, PA: Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-85368-977-5.