{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}} {{Infobox weapon | name = Pistolet-Mitrailleur de 9 mm modèle 1949<br />(MAT-49) | image = MAT Submachine Gun.jpg | image_size = 300 | alt = | caption = MAT-49 on display. This weapon has the front grip lowered in firing position, but lacks a magazine. | type = Submachine gun | origin = France <!-- Type selection -->| is_ranged = yes <!-- Service history -->| service = 1949–Present | used_by = See ''Users'' | wars = First Indochina War<br />Korean War<br />Suez Crisis<br />1958 Lebanon Crisis<br />Algerian War<br />Vietnam War<br />Laotian Civil War<br />Cambodian Civil War<br />Sino-Vietnamese War<BR>Portuguese Colonial War<br />Basque conflict<br />Rhodesian Bush War<br />Western Sahara War<br />Shaba II<br />Chadian–Libyan conflict<br />Lebanese Civil War<br />Algerian Civil War<br />Libyan Civil War<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/21/world/africa/21rebels.html?pagewanted=all |work=The New York Times |first=C. J. |last=Chivers |title=Inferior Arms Hobble Rebels in Libya War |date=April 20, 2011 |access-date=February 27, 2017 |archive-date=October 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171025022705/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/21/world/africa/21rebels.html?pagewanted=all |url-status=live}}</ref><br />Syrian Civil War<br />Mali War<ref>{{cite report |title=Rebel Forces in Northern Mali: Documented weapons, ammunition and related materiel, April 2012-March 2013 |publisher=Conflict Armament Research and Small Arms Survey |date=April 2013 |url=http://www.conflictarm.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Rebel_Forces_in_Northern_Mali.pdf |access-date=2018-06-05 |archive-date= 2020-11-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201113012247/https://www.conflictarm.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Rebel_Forces_in_Northern_Mali.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref><br />Central African Republic Civil War (2012–present)<ref>{{cite news |title=Importante saisie d'armes en Centrafrique |trans-title=Major seizure of weapons in the Central African Republic |work=RFI|date=16 March 2014 |url=http://www.rfi.fr/afrique/20140315-importante-saisie-armes-centrafrique-rca-misca |language=fr |access-date=29 January 2019 |archive-date=13 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180713230556/http://www.rfi.fr/afrique/20140315-importante-saisie-armes-centrafrique-rca-misca |url-status=live}}</ref> <!-- Production history -->| designer = Pierre Monteil | design_date = 1947-1949 | manufacturer = Manufacture Nationale d'Armes de Tulle<br />Manufacture d'armes de Saint-Étienne | unit_cost = | production_date = 1949–1973 | number = ~ 100,000 | variants = See Variants <!-- General specifications -->| spec_label = | mass = {{cvt|3.5|kg|lb}} without magazine<br />{{cvt|4.2|kg|lb}} with 32-round magazine | length = {{cvt|460|mm|in}}<br/>{{cvt|720|mm|in}} | part_length = {{cvt|230|mm|in}} | width = | height = | diameter = <!-- Ranged weapon specifications --> | cartridge = 9×19mm Parabellum<br />7.62×25mm Tokarev (PAVN converted) | cartridge_weight = | caliber = 9mm | barrels = | action = Blowback, open bolt | rate = 600 rounds/min<ref name="modernfirearms">{{Cite web |url=https://modernfirearms.net/en/submachine-guns/france-submachine-guns/mat-49-eng/ |title=MAT-49 |date=October 27, 2010 |website=Modern Firearms |access-date=September 14, 2021 |archive-date=April 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413222737/https://modernfirearms.net/en/submachine-guns/france-submachine-guns/mat-49-eng/ |url-status=live}}</ref> | velocity = | range = {{cvt|100|m|yd}} | max_range = | feed = 20 or 32 rounds<br />35 rounds (PAVN converted) | sights = Iron sights <!-- For all -->| ref = }}
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.<ref name=MAT-49-54>{{Cite web |url=https://www.forgottenweapons.com/mat-49-54-police-submachine-gun/ |title=MAT 49-54 Police Submachine Gun |first=Ian |last=McCollum |date=January 22, 2020 |website=Forgotten Weapons |access-date=April 26, 2020 |archive-date=April 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200427031941/https://www.forgottenweapons.com/mat-49-54-police-submachine-gun/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
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== [[File:Mortier2.jpg|thumb|right|Paratroopers of the 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.<ref name="SA">{{Cite web |url=https://www.smallarmsreview.com/display.article.cfm?idarticles=2508 |title=The French MAT 49 Submachine Gun |website=Small Arms Review |access-date=2021-09-14 |archive-date=2021-06-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210612201416/http://www.smallarmsreview.com/display.article.cfm?idarticles=2508 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="LEU">{{cite book |last=Leulliette |first=Pierre |date=1964 |title=St. Michael and the Dragon: Memoirs of a Paratrooper |location=New York City |publisher=Houghton, Mifflin & Co |page=29|url=https://archive.org/details/stmichaeldrago00leul/}}</ref> The weapon found considerable favor with airborne forces and mechanized troops, who prized it for its simplicity, ruggedness, firepower and compactness.<ref name="LEU"/>
After French forces left Indochina, the People's Army of Vietnam and Viet Minh continued to use many captured MAT-49s into the Vietnam War. Some were converted to the Soviet 7.62 mm Tokarev pistol cartridge, then available in large quantities from the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China. These converted versions could be distinguished by a longer barrel and a higher rate of fire at 900 rpm.<ref name="5RAR">{{Cite web |url=https://www.5rar.asn.au/weapons/mat49.htm |title=French MAT-49 Sub-Machine Gun |website=5rar.asn.au |access-date=2021-09-14| archive-date=2020-03-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200322070250/https://www.5rar.asn.au/weapons/mat49.htm |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=http://www.virginia1774.org/DIA-ST-HB-07-03-74.pdf |title=Small Arms Identification and Operation Guide – Eurasian Communist Countries |first=Harold E. |last=Johnson |date=September 1973 |edition=3rd |page=98 |publisher=Defense Intelligence Agency |access-date=2016-11-21 |archive-date=2016-03-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304090738/http://www.virginia1774.org/DIA-ST-HB-07-03-74.pdf |url-status=usurped}}</ref>
North Vietnam covertly provided MAT-49s to anti-French occupation groups during the Algerian War after the French left Indochina.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.forgottenweapons.com/vietnamese-guns-for-algeria/ |title=Vietnamese Guns for Algeria |first=Ian |last=McCollum |date=October 18, 2016 |website=Forgotten Weapons |access-date=September 5, 2017 |archive-date=September 5, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905184624/https://www.forgottenweapons.com/vietnamese-guns-for-algeria/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
==Overview== The MAT-49 had a short, retractable wire stock, which when extended gave the weapon a length of {{convert|720|mm|in|abbr=on}}, 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 {{convert|230|mm|in|abbr=on}}, with the MAT-49/54 manufactured with extended barrels and non-retractable wooden stocks.<ref name="MAT-49-54"/> As issued, the MAT-49 fires a 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge, using a single-column 20-round magazine for desert use or 32-round similar to the Sten magazine.
The MAT-49 is blowback-operated and box magazine-fed, with a cyclic rate of fire of 600 rounds per minute. Some of the MAT 49/54s, modified MAT-49s manufactured for police forces, had two triggers, allowing use of full-auto fire or single shots, but most were manufactured as full-auto only.<ref name="MAT-49-54"/> Minus magazine, the MAT-49 weighs about {{convert|3.5|kg|lb|abbr=off}}, which is heavy for a submachine gun. The weapon incorporates a grip safety which is located on the backside of the pistol grip. The rear sights are flip-up and L-shaped, and marked for a range of {{convert|50|and|100|m|yds|sp=us}}. Production ceased before the introduction of the FAMAS assault rifle in 1979.
==Variants== *MAS-48 - prototype variant. *MAT-49 - main variant. *MAT-49/54 - gendarme variant with extended barrel and fixed wooden stock with a sling bar.<ref name="MAT-49-54"/> *MAT-49 silenced - variant fitted with a suppressor.<ref name="SA"/> *MAT-49 M - variant modified by the Viet Minh, firing in 7.62×25mm Tokarev. It had a longer barrel, modified 35-round magazine, and a higher rate of fire (900 rpm). It was distinguished from the 9mm version by having a letter "K" stamped on the top of the receiver's endcap and the side of the compatible magazines. Spare parts were still produced in the early 1970s, the gun being used by the Viet Cong.<ref name="Vietnam">{{cite book |title=Personal Firepower |first=Edward Clinton |last=Ezell |publisher=Bantam Books |year=1988 |series=The Illustrated History of the Vietnam War |volume=15 |oclc=1036801376 |url=https://archive.org/details/personalfirepowe00ezel |url-access=registration |pages=[https://archive.org/details/personalfirepowe00ezel/page/18 18], 35, 42|isbn=978-0-553-34549-0 }}</ref> <gallery> 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 </gallery>
==Users== <!--READ FIRST: This section is for cited entries only. Please do not add entries into this list without a citation from a reliable source. All entries without a citation will be removed. Thank you.--> [[File:Togolese naval honour guard 070521.jpg|thumb|Togolese sailors equipped with MAT-49 in 2007.]] thumb|Map with MAT-49 users in blue *{{flag|Algeria}}: In use with customs and prison security forces and in limited service with police forces<ref name="jones2009">{{cite book |editor-last=Jones |editor-first=Richard D. |date=January 27, 2009 |title=Jane's Infantry Weapons 2009/2010 |edition=35th |publisher=Jane's Information Group |isbn=978-0-7106-2869-5}}</ref> * {{flag|Barbados}} <ref name="SmallArmsToday88austria">{{cite book| last = Ezell| first = Edward| author-link = Edward C. Ezell| title = Small Arms Today| publisher = Stackpole Books| volume = 2nd| edition = | date = 1988 | pages = 54| language = English | isbn = 0811722805| jfm =}}</ref> *{{flag|Benin}}<ref name="jones2009"/> *{{flag|Bolivia}}<ref name="jones2009"/> *{{flag|Burkina Faso}}<ref name="jones2009"/> *{{flag|Burundi}}<ref name="jones2009"/> *{{flag|Central African Republic}}<ref name="jones2009"/> *{{flag|Chad}}<ref name="jones2009"/> *{{flag|Comoros}}<ref name="jones2009"/> *{{flag|Republic of the Congo}}<ref name="jones2009"/> *{{flag|Cote d'Ivoire}}<ref name="jones2009"/><ref name = 'SAS RCI 2012'>{{cite report |language=fr |title=Enquête nationale sur les armes légères et de petit calibre en Côte d'Ivoire: les défis du contrôle des armes et de la lutte contre la violence armée avant la crise post-électorale |trans-title=National survey on small arms and light weapons in Côte d'Ivoire: the challenges of arms control and the fight against armed violence before the post-election crisis |first=Savannah |last=de Tessières |publisher=UNDP, Commission Nationale de Lutte contre la Prolifération et la Circulation Illicite des Armes Légères et de Petit Calibre and Small Arms Survey |date=April 2012 |series=Special Report No. 14 |url=http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/C-Special-reports/SAS-SR14-CoteIvoire.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121118234610/http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/C-Special-reports/SAS-SR14-CoteIvoire.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 18, 2012 |page=97}}</ref> *{{flag|Djibouti}}<ref name="jones2009"/> *{{flag|Equatorial Guinea}}<ref name="jones2009"/> *{{flag|France}}: Adopted by the French army in 1949.<ref name="modernfirearms"/> Also used by the National Gendarmerie.<ref name="modernfirearms"/> *{{flag|Gabon}}<ref name="jones2009"/> *{{flag|Guinea}}<ref name="jones2009"/> *{{flag|Guinea Bissau}} *{{flag|Iran|1964}}: Used in small numbers by the Shahrbani.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://silahreport.com/2021/06/21/iranian-submachine-guns-1941-1979/ |title=Podcast V33: Iranian Submachine Guns (1941-1979) |date=June 21, 2021 |website=Silah Report |access-date=July 26, 2021 |archive-date=July 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210726045738/https://silahreport.com/2021/06/21/iranian-submachine-guns-1941-1979/ |url-status=live}}</ref> *{{flag|Kingdom of Laos}}: Received from French government during First Indochina War.<ref>{{cite book |title=The War in Laos 1960–75 |url=https://archive.org/details/warlaos00conb |url-access=limited |series=Men-at-Arms |volume=217 |first=Kenneth |last=Conboy |date=23 November 1989 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |isbn=978-0-85045-938-8 |page=[https://archive.org/details/warlaos00conb/page/n13 15]}}</ref> *{{flag|Laos}}<ref name="jones2009"/> *{{flag|Lebanon}}<ref name="jones2009"/> *{{flag|Madagascar}}<ref name="jones2009"/> *{{flag|Mali}}<ref name="jones2009"/> - Armed and Security Forces of Mali *{{flag|Mauritania}}<ref name="jones2009"/> *{{flag|Morocco}}<ref name="jones2009"/> *{{flag|Niger}}<ref name="jones2009"/> *{{flag|Senegal}}<ref name="jones2009"/> *{{flag|Seychelles}}<ref name="jones2009"/> *{{flag|Syria}}: used by police and special forces *{{flag|Turkey}}:<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.armyrecognition.com/turkey_turkish_army_land_ground_forces_uk/turkey_turkish_army_land_ground_armed_defense_forces_military_equipment_armored_vehicle_intelligence.html |title=Turkish Army Land Forces: Military equipment and vehicles of Turkey |date=15 April 2010 |website=World Army Equipment |access-date=2021-05-03 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180808171857/https://www.armyrecognition.com/turkey_turkish_army_land_ground_forces_uk/turkey_turkish_army_land_ground_armed_defense_forces_military_equipment_armored_vehicle_intelligence.html |archive-date=2018-08-08}}</ref> Captured MAT-49s donated to Village guards. *{{flag|Togo}}<ref name="jones2009"/> *{{flag|Tunisia}}<ref name="jones2009"/> *{{flag|Vietnam}}: used 9mm and 7.62mm MAT-49s.<ref name="Vietnam"/>
===Non-state entities=== * {{flagicon|Basque Country}} ETA: Produced unlicensed copies of existing weapons in an underground workshop at Mouguerre after it was raided by police.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2012/02/10/paisvasco/1328900209.html |title=Hallan en Francia un viejo arsenal de subfusiles de ETA de los años 70 |trans-title=Found in France an old arsenal of ETA submachine guns from the 70s |first=Ángeles |last=Escrivá |date=10 February 2012 |newspaper=El Mundo |language=es |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108142028/http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2012/02/10/paisvasco/1328900209.html |archive-date=2014-01-08}}</ref> * {{flagicon|Mozambique|1974}} FRELIMO<ref name=angmos>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/modernafricanwar00abbo_283 |title=Modern African Wars (2): Angola and Mozambique 1961–1974 |last=Abbott |first=Peter |publisher=Osprey Publishing |location=Oxford |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-85045-843-5 |page=[https://archive.org/details/modernafricanwar00abbo_283/page/n14 14] |url-access=limited}}</ref> * 22px National Liberation Army (Libya)<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/04/libyas-rebels-fight-with-ancient-useless-weapons/ |magazine=Wired |first=Spencer |last=Ackerman |title=Libya's Rebels Fight with Ancient, Useless Weapons |date=April 21, 2011 |access-date=March 8, 2017 |archive-date=December 22, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131222174449/http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/04/libyas-rebels-fight-with-ancient-useless-weapons/ |url-status=live}}</ref> * 22px Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic<ref>{{cite book |url=https://e-archivo.uc3m.es/bitstream/handle/10016/17377/04_conflictos_saharaoccidental_2006.pdf |title=El conflicto del Sahara occidental |trans-title=The Western Sahara conflict |language=es |first1=Ignacio |last1=Fuente Cobo |first2=Fernando M. |last2=Mariño Menéndez |name-list-style=amp |publisher=Ministerio de Defensa de España & Universidad Carlos III de Madrid |year=2006 |page=69 |isbn=84-9781-253-0 |access-date=2018-05-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190616062508/https://e-archivo.uc3m.es/bitstream/handle/10016/17377/04_conflictos_saharaoccidental_2006.pdf |archive-date=2019-06-16 |url-status=live}}</ref> * Séléka<ref name="CAR">{{cite news |url=https://www.jeuneafrique.com/166718/politique/centrafrique-le-soudan-a-t-il-arm-les-ex-s-l-ka/ |title=Centrafrique : le Soudan a-t-il armé les ex-Séléka? |trans-title=Central African Republic: Did Sudan arm the ex-Séléka? |first=Laurent|last=Touchard |date=17 December 2013 |work=Jeune Afrique |language=fr |access-date=29 January 2019 |archive-date=30 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190130111716/https://www.jeuneafrique.com/166718/politique/centrafrique-le-soudan-a-t-il-arm-les-ex-s-l-ka/ |url-status=live}}</ref> * {{flagicon image|Flag of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam, Flag of South Vietnam (1975–1976).svg}} Viet Cong<ref>{{Cite web |last=Laemlein |first=Tom |date=2021-10-26 |title=Small Arms of the Viet Cong |url=https://www.thearmorylife.com/small-arms-of-the-viet-cong/ |access-date=2024-06-14 |website=The Armory Life |language=en-US}}</ref> * 22px Viet Minh: <ref name="mcnab2002">{{cite book |last=McNab |first=Chris |title=20th Century Military Uniforms |year=2002 |edition=2nd |publisher=Grange Books |location=Kent |isbn=1-84013-476-3 |page=304}}</ref> known as Tuyn, from the name of the manufacturer (Tulle).<ref>{{cite web |title=Những vũ khí viện trợ đã ra trận cùng QĐVN trong trận Điện Biên Phủ |trans-title=Weapons of the Vietnamese Army in the battle of Dien Bien Phu |language=vi |date=11 November 2014 |url=https://tintuc.vn/nhung-vu-khi-vien-tro-da-ra-tran-cung-qdvn-trong-tran-dien-bien-phu-7732 |website=tintuc.vn |access-date=10 January 2019 |archive-date=10 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190110235037/https://tintuc.vn/nhung-vu-khi-vien-tro-da-ra-tran-cung-qdvn-trong-tran-dien-bien-phu-7732 |url-status=live}}</ref> * 22px Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army<ref>{{Cite thesis |url=http://usacac.army.mil/cac2/cgsc/carl/download/csipubs/ArtOfWar_RhodesianAfricanRifles.pdf |title=The Rhodesian African Rifles ~ The Growth and Adaptation of a Multicultural Regiment through the Rhodesian Bush War, 1965-1980 |first=Michael P. |last=Stewart |date=2012 |pages=41–42 |type=MA |publisher=Command and General Staff College |location=Fort Leavenworth, Kansas |access-date=2013-05-03 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2015-08-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150821222415/http://usacac.army.mil/cac2/cgsc/carl/download/csipubs/ArtOfWar_RhodesianAfricanRifles.pdf |quote=The Armageddon group, like the other ZANU terrorists sent into Rhodesia, was armed with a mixture of semi-automatic Soviet SKS 7.62mm rifles, French MAT-49 9mm submachine guns, German Luger 9mm pistols, Soviet F1 and RGD5 grenades...}} Quoting {{cite book |last=Wood |first=J. R. T. |date=2009 |title=Counterstrike From the Sky: The Rhodesian All-Arms Fireforce in the War in the Bush 1974-1980 |location=South Africa |publisher=30 Degrees South Publishers |isbn=978-1-92014-333-6}}</ref>
==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== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{commons category|MAT-49}} *{{cite web |url=https://modernfirearms.net/en/submachine-guns/france-submachine-guns/mat-49-eng/ |title=MAT-49 |website=Modern Firearms|date=27 October 2010 }}
Category:7.62×25mm Tokarev submachine guns Category:9mm Parabellum submachine guns Category:Blowback-operated firearms Category:Cold War weapons of France Category:Submachine guns of the Cold War Category:Infantry weapons of the Cold War Category:Submachine guns of France Category:Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1949