MAT 49: Iconic SMG of Algeria and Indochina

[@gradh3123]

French guns have a very distinct aesthetic

[@baron8107]

岡泉靈子 Very cartoonish, very "Dieselpunk"...

[@sergeantbigmac]

Its the classic French 'weird but works' school of design lol.

[@jameshay7247]

True, except the 'but works' part. ;)

[@g0679]

druidwitch Would like to try some out on a range. Clean them, even.

[@fuzzydunlop7928]

Aesthetique ;P

[@ArnoSchmidt70]

That I found out: There is a french town called Tulle who had a french armoury for small arms until the 80s and there is also a russian town called Tula that is one of the centers of russian small arms manufacturing still today.

[@Zorglub1966]

errm, not geographically related, you noticed :D. And the pronunciation (again) is not the same.

[@Seabreeze756]

At least, it is gun related :D (Afternoon, by the way).

[@PGTRegard]

Or the fact that the National Armories had very little to do and were an expense that could no longer be justified?

[@marathonman1205]

All the Arms factories are coming from mythical "Thule" :-)

[@Andzej3]

Arno Schmidt The same is with name of cities - Brest. You can find them in todays Belarus, and in France. In World War II - in these cities there were heavy battles.

[@jameshealy4594]

This is what machine guns I drew as a kid looked like. Almost like it's made of Duplo.

[@JerryEricsson]

WOW Now I remember! There was a machine gun toy made by Mattel that had that folding magazine thing and looked a LOT like this firearm. Perhaps that's why it looked so good to me!

[@matthew_natividad]

I made a lot of gun out of LEGO as a kid

[@TheArmory4]

Did he call the FAMAS the Hamas?

[@joenathan8594]

it's the gun from Lego Indiana Jones

[@snek9983]

i thought you meant the duplo candy. theyre like long as choclate sticks filled with waffles and sometimes milk cream stuff

[@paulpiscitelli6465]

My father served in the French foreign legion 2nd rep paratroopers in Algeria from 1957 to 1962. He loved his Mat 49 and use to tell me how accurate he was with it thank you forg getting one of these on your show

[@DickHolman]

And let's not forget the killings of the OAS.

[@marathonman1205]

Antoine Garcia We don't know. It was a horrible 3rd generation asymmetrical war. Two civil wars within one conflict. At the end a rebel faction within the French Army in Algeria tried to invade France itself and Paris has to crush both the Army rebels, the Aln/Fln and a new terrible and bloody terrorist organization created by some settlers known as the 'ultras" (the OAS). It wasn't a quiet era.

[@arwidsson3676]

I'm sorry, do you mean the 2nd REP rather than the 2nd REG?

[@roelkomduur7133]

It's 2nd REP....

[@paulpiscitelli6465]

roel komduur yes it is 2nd rep

[@copperandradium]

I want to see a Viet-modified 7.62x25mm MAT-49.

[@stuff9680]

Drift King besides that it's a POS cash grab that crashes every time I try and connect to a server or load the shooting range

[@xmm-cf5eg]

There are homemade PPS-43 clones by the Viets, if you've never seen them.

[@Canukles]

Stuff 96 Try turning off instanced rendering if you haven't already, and/or delete your config folder.

[@Ormil]

the ppsh clones video were up, and they're cool as they features both ppsh and mat 49 designs. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rpuViYSZqLiEqpo

[@stinkbomer]

Bf Vietnam is where I first heard of this gun it was very good in the game as well

[@ghassanmina]

I was 5 years old the first time I saw the Mat 49. I am from Beirut and troops from the Lebanese army where equipped with this gun. My grand mother used to live near a military barrack and the guard was always equipped with a mat 49. I used to ask him always about the name of the weapon and they just used to call it Mat. This was in 1975 unfortunately for the remaining years (15 years) of the war it disappeared from the hands of the fighters. In my area under control of the Christian militia most of the boys where equipped with AK 47, FN Fal, M16 and VZ 58 that they used to call Slavia.

[@cgdeery]

I served in South Lebanon in the 90's with the UN..Beautiful country and people..

[@lapinmalin8626]

Le MAT 49 en 1975 il est en fin de vie Les libanais chrétiens sont très sympas j'en connais un personnellement qui a fait la guerre la bas et c'est rare de voir des gens aussi gentils

[@ghassanmina]

@@lapinmalin8626 Merci beaucoup pour tes mots gentils! Malheureusement, les milices qui défendaient les quartiers chrétiens étaient présentées comme des forces fascistes dans la presse française, alors qu'ils nous attaquaient dans nos quartiers et nous chassé de nos maisons.

[@alexandrelarsac9115]

Sorry for my broken english ;-) I have used the thing a lot during 10 months. Until 2000, we had a mandatory military service in France. Did mine in French Air Force in 1992. The MAT 49 was still the air force official weapon. Famas was for the Army and for Air force commandos only. Yes the magazine was for 32 cartridges but we were taught never put more than 20 rounds because of old/weak spring into the mag. Also like shown in the vid, it was very easy to forgot to bring the charging handle back after cocking the gun. This would often jam the gun. I recall very well that the rate of fire was low enought (600rds/mn) to shoot the gun in semi auto. Instructors wanted us to shoot it in full auto only but with a very light pull on the trigger, like in Ian's video on the M3A1 Grease Gun (450rds/mn), i was able to shoot my 20 rounds one by one making a decent group at 50 meters. Shooting the thing full auto raised the gun to the left. One thing about the grip savety : in 1992 they were already pretty old , used weapons so, releasing the trigger and/or the grip savety was not enough, sometimes, to stop the shooting : the gun would still run until empty. At the range we were told about this. I had once an officer at the range who told us to keep the thing toward the targets if it happened to us. he said " the first one i see turning around in panic because his gun doesn't stop, i shoot him in the head". While we were shooting he had is hand over his MAC50 pistol at the ready to draw standing in our backs.. Made everybody to focus :-D Another issue with the thing that (Can't say if it was a design flaw or just because they were old/used) sometimes the holding of the magazine into his well was not safe. On the ready to fire position, the magazine would sometimes fall down. On the field, we had to use rubber bands to make sure not to lose a magazine. The thing felt very heavy and was very cold during winter. On the field we had to sleep with it in our sleeping bags.. The good things about it : Very strong, solid built, AK47 like. Very compact when fold. Like in the video it was simple stupid to take it appart. . It was a solid, decent , reliable gun. Like a hammer. I would add this gun is still used in the French commando schools. Our navy commandos trainees have to carry them around without magazines to simulate a real active weapon because its heavy and umconfortable to carry around when crawling on a wet rope : kzbin.info/www/bejne/l2HPpWWZp7ych9k (go to 26:40 ) (But this gun won't float :-D ! at 36:50) Just a "dead weight" . Noboby shoot them anymore. kzbin.info/www/bejne/g5nPnmCAabyalck

[@antonioarroyas7662]

My father ended up fighting in Algeria and said that they were issued the magazines fully loaded, one in the gun and two extra. They would keep the mag after an encounter if able and they would be sent in to the armory when empty. The would explain why they didn't have a loading tool integrated into the weapon. When I showed him your video he said that he "slept" with that gun. He also said that the safety was pretty sketchy and that many guys got injured because of the lack of a more intuitive safety system.

[@ubcroel4022]

​@@daouddjekrif cry about it

[@TheDiameter]

@@ubcroel4022 the losers in war never seem to get over it, and site the loss as the cause of every problem they have to this day, even ones that pre existed the conflict.

[@billybobthornton1950]

@@TheDiameter War has lasting consequences m8 Years, decades, centuries later, those consequences will still be felt

[@TheDiameter]

@@billybobthornton1950 So don’t lose? Ask the barbarian tribes that Rome conquered about the lasting consequences. Losing makes you a loser not a victim.

[@billybobthornton1950]

@@TheDiameter what are you even trying to say? Death and killing means nothing if you're killing losers? Grow up lol. War and conflict isn't a game

[@falloutlover5443]

Engineer #1: We have added a revolutionary feature to our smg: an extended bolt face to ensure that any out of battery discharges will safely vent while being fully supported. Engineer #2: Excellent! What type of safety mechanism did you come up with to stop the trigger and sear from moving unintentionally? Rotary, or an old fashioned push through? Engineer #1: The what now?

[@robertmaybeth3434]

Isn't that what the grip safety is for? The main complaint with SMG's (that doubtless caused many deaths) was because just being dropped was enough to make them fire. The Germans "fixed" the problem, in the MP40, at least, by just making the cutout to hold the bolt in place via the bolt handle. But the MAT49 doesn't even have that feature - just the grip safety.

[@EASY7356]

Lucasfilm should take one of these, fold the magazine forward throw a bunch of Juck/Scopes on it and there you have a great Blaster for Star Wars xD

[@GrenadierV]

DUUUUUHHHHHHH, rugrat

[@gabrielgriffon9334]

Basically how they make all their blasters, that's why their gub designs are so unique compared to other sci fi franchises.

[@planescaped]

@@gabrielgriffon9334 You can always tell the star wars guns that are designed off of real guns from the ones made up by a guy who doesn't actually know how guns work. You'll have weapons that seem legit next to ones that feel out of a cartoon...

[@SirDavid290]

@@planescaped Yup, Hans's gun is based off the German C96 with a scope attached to it.

[@Nernj5]

And then have them become even more rare as Star Wars fans butcher the real guns into blaster replicas (looks at C96)

[@kasper7574]

I love the look of this little smg, soo compact but not ugly or disfunctional...

[@eldenboi8354]

Vancle B Yeah lol right, its ugly, but its ugly like a dog would be ugly, so you still love it

[@nunyabizness199]

I like it as well..

[@Meldonator]

Used both and enjoyed more the MAT 😁 it was more fun to use than the FA-MAS but it was only used for non combatant staff or conscripts in the 90s. We still miss a PDW in the French forces.

[@anvior45]

Will the HK416F Short not fill that role to some extent?

[@andrewhackney6286]

Meldonator I have distinct memories of working with Legionnaires in Afghanistan who had access to the P90. Are they outfitted differently than French Soldiers?

[@franciscogaray2530]

I was in the French Foreign Legion, 2éme REP, 3cie, II Section and never heard of anything like that. Not officially. The french foreign legion gets the same equipment of the regular french army and even in some cases gets it later.

[@Meldonator]

The H&K will only be issued to people having access to FA-MAS. IMHO (and it's only my opinion), FA-MAS will be kept in armouries "just in case". For the anecdote, we were given a rifle per vehicle during Gulf War (not a side arm per men or a rifle per men)... but without ammo AND safety piece "because in Ryad you don't need it" :D

[@Meldonator]

People from COS (Commandement des Opérations Spéciales) could have bought "exotic" stuff at will but I don't see any GC (Groupement Commando) get P90 because of the ammo. I know GIGN had some for a time though (but they are more SWAT than Commandos). I only know Air Force and can say that I never seen anything else than MP5 as SMG in the CPA (Commando Parachutiste de l'Air).

[@notcardlinsytaccount1355]

Ah yes, the TF2 Sniper’s stock secondary.

[@someturkishguy8638]

Based comment

[@mohammadwaled409]

Hello reason for watching the video

[@xxepic_swag_gamingxx5238]

No, that’s the MAS-38 without its stock

[@AsadelSultanSaadya]

australium smg

[@M4x.1520]

Yes

[@campbellbrand8038]

Came here to check out the MAT 49 after watching the film The Lost Command with Anthony Quinn about French paras in Indo China and Algeria. Good film worth watching.

[@eralorn.7]

Really good job as always. For information to all, I mention the fact that the model 1949/54, distributed to the French National Police, also existed under another model, the 1949/54 "SB", which is a version intended for prison guards and the security of the French National Bank (Banque de France). The peculiarity of this model is that it could fire only shot by shot, had a wooden stock (like the police version), but with the standard barrel of MAT 49 (23 cm) and not the MAT 49 1949/54 (36.5 cm) barrel. Greetings from France.

[@BRBMrSoul]

Four years late but catching up on this channel haha thanks for sharing, interesting know such a “catch all” gun for your nation. Can’t rem exact but another carbine or smg in history had very similar adoption for many roles beyond combat.

[@eralorn.7]

@@BRBMrSoul You're welcome ! :)

[@razetheraven7240]

I really like the idea of practicality and simplicity behind guns like those. Literally nothing there is unnecessary.

[@tvnshack]

Ian, you forgot to mention two things: What you have here is a Type 2 MAT 49. The Type 1 is very rare because it didn't haver the safety "pédale" (the grip safety). That safety didn't exist originally. This is why it's a simple device. Then there is a Type 3 that is a simplified manufacturing process. It's easy to spot because it doesn't have bakelite grips. Then there is one important detail while using the MAT49 is that the dust cover makes a lot of noise if not held back when it pops open when you cock the bolt. At night, it's so loud that you could shout "Hey I'm here", it would be the same.

[@ForgottenWeapons]

Thanks - good to know! Hopefully I will have a chance to show all three variations side by side at a museum some day.

[@tvnshack]

:-) I've never seen a Type 1 MAT49, even at instruction. I've never seen one at the armory. I didn't like the Type 3 : too cold grip. I was very good at shooting the MAT. Two-shot bursts are easy to achieve. You only need to give a little kick on the butt with the shoulder to compensate the raising of the barrel. I've kept all my instruction manuals.

[@rullow86]

I believe that even the first model has the grip safety as well... that thing made a part of the other design of MAS48 as well. However the first model did have the back upper part of the lower receiver cubic/strictly squared and later model had this part with front edges angled.

[@alexandrelarsac9115]

you're right. Type 1 had a safety grip redesigned for type 2 and 3 with a star on the trigger.

[@dex6147]

Anyone seen Rescue Dawn? There's a scene where a Laotian VC drops a MAT49 and it dumps it's magazine spinning out of control. No idea if that scene was made just for the movie or if it's in Dieter Dengler's account of things that actually happened. Cheers!

[@dutchman2205]

What a clever engineered gun! The Uzi could used that dust cover to! In my army time in the Dutch army, we were quit occupied with removing leaves and sand out of the open ejection port during patrols. During those exercises we had the Uzi ready to fire and on save. But that leaves a huge hole in the gun thart collects every type op debris.

[@sicilientwarkan7109]

"MAT" means : "Manufacture Arms of Tulle" ( Tulle is the city where it was designed and made). For the "MAS 36" rifle , "MAS" means the same thing , but this time , made in the city of "Saint-Etienne" (as for the FAMAS). For the "MAC" 50 pistol , that means it was made in the city of Châtellerault. For the collectors now , some Mosin Nagant rifles were for instance made in Châtellerault's factory.. Greetings from France

[@tvnshack]

If the "Chargette" was lost or not available on the field, we were used to push down rounds down into the mag with the front tip of stock rods that we pulled out of the weapon. Worked well.

[@pigeononbread5477]

*flashbacks to RS2 intensifies*

[@TribuneAquila]

JAAAAA!!!

[@pigeononbread5477]

chad brown SCOUT REPORTING

[@Epiclyspeaking]

Rice=protected

[@nikolaivasilev7371]

what is RS2?

[@bebobebobeb]

@@nikolaivasilev7371 Rising storm 2, a first person shooter based around the Vietnam War.

[@johnoneil9188]

I always find it cool and fascinating that some guns get produced for 30 years or more before they get replaced by something.

[@mercoid]

The Mad Marxist ....the makers need their contracts. Of course changes do eventually become necessary....

[@Mrcaffinebean]

John O ́neil hey look at the AR platform. That gun is going on 55 years of service this year!

[@Briselance]

"A matter of looking good"? Frankly, I know I obviously have no say in that, but... godamm fuckin' it!! Who gives a flying f about how good it looks, as long as it is reasonable in price and maintenance, is practical to use, and gets the bloody job done? As the Mad Marxist said, "If it ain't broken, don't fix it." Upgrade it, yeah, but why changing something if said change is not needed?

[@Briselance]

Incremental changes of an original platform. The One Way we should have followed.

[@joefoam794]

What a simple elegant design. they should still be making them. Excellent review.

[@ineednochannelyoutube5384]

With the mag folded, it looks like something straight out of Star Wars.

[@B52Stratofortress1]

I'm really impressed... that thing is really slick and well designed.

[@ramjb]

Man, dissassembly of this thing is almost as easy as the MAS38. That's some quick easy stuff to do....

[@jessetucker1854]

I have a tradition these past few years when my fiance and I visit my mom. I eat way to much, have some red wine, and commandeer the couch to watch videos Ian has made about french firearms while I slip into torpor. Specifically the MAS 36, MAS 49 and this - the MAT 49, a subgun who's ugly/beautiful appeal is a wonder of stamped metal. It's been three years running now, and I'm starting to get comments. " Yes, it *is* the same video as last time." I reply swirling my pino noir. Thank you Ian. This is how family memories are made.

[@TheBrainQC]

Also used by french Police forces until 2000's, was one of SMG (Pistolet Mitrailleur in french acronym PM) official dotation for interior security, second one was Beretta M12SD made under License by Manufacture d'armes de Saint-Étienne and there were MP5 too. Police version was the same as the model you show here. As always great documented video,appreciate a lot, thank you.

[@andrewince8824]

There are certain firearms whose designs are so simple, reliable or well built that they become legendary weapons carried in all continents. The MAT 49 is one of those firearms sitting alongside the Colt 1911, Mauser 98 action, the Browning M2 amongst just a few others.

[@garyneilson1833]

Never used to care much about French weapons but watching these videos shows me how clever and innovative the designers were.

[@jameshay7247]

In firearms, "innovative" usually means a failed design concept.

[@willtipton100]

Me too! Ian turned me into a bit of a Francophile for weapons haha

[@Tullzter]

@@breizhrudie4757 Except for the Benet Mercié

[@breizhrudie4757]

@@Tullzter Every rule has exception, especially in french lol

[@chuckfinley4292]

Kinda same. Went into this video kinda hating this thing. Now I want a MAT49

[@Evergreen1400]

That is so cool it’s been a while since I’ve seen a gun that amazed me with something. I’m starting to really love all guns with stamped receivers or at least the simplicity of manufacturing

[@nikolayjovanovic423]

RS2 Vietnam, my best friend...

[@firepower7017]

Nikolay Jovanovic My Family will prefer the AK, you can clearly see what side we were on

[@Batmack]

M60s, go big or go home GI.

[@AlexG-xl1cc]

Old Battlefield Vietnam for me

[@ZealothPL]

Playing RS2 Vietnam I can really see why the USA lost, M16's sights are such garbo, I can't see shit through those things.....xD

[@zoixy82]

@Forgotten Weapons you mentioned the VC modded these, were they faster firing than the French version?

[@JoeyP322]

Absolutely love this channel... educational, and informative... and the reoccurring thought “if only I had the money...”

[@edpolk1262]

"Recurring"

[@nestrac]

Keep it simple but not in any way stupid....... There is a lesson to be learned in that.....

[@andrewrobertson3894]

Carsten Langbo... just like the AK.

[@hrldp4394]

my grand father served in Algeria, he was a caporal he never said a lots of his service, he was from sicilian origins and he is born at Tunis (which was a french colony) and served in Algeria when i ask him, with a bit of shyness, what weapons he use, he juste said "un révolver et une mitraillette" the War of algeria was just after ww2 and several french military use some US weapons that stay in stock, like the Thomson but i think he use the MAT. For the revolver i don't know, We have a famous revolver still in use today, the mr73, but it was created in 1973 and war finis at 1962, the other french revolver date to 1882, maybe to old for service, and US army bring a lots of m1911

[@surfgreen34]

Le MAC 50

[@Sturminfantrist]

My father is born in Constantine Algeria and the family moved a few years later to Tunesia and there he grow up in Tunis Rue Okba Ibn Nafaa told me he used such a gun during the Tunesian war of independence, algerian born he was conscripted into French army and served in south tunisia, my Family lived in both countrys and i and my siblings in germany because my mother is german and we all born there. When i was a boy 10 or 11 during holidays in Tunis i stayed for a few days in my aunts house and she and her men had an old intact French Revolver (but no ammo) hanging on the wall for decoration, this beast was heavy as hell for me , because i was a weapon fan all my live i played the whole day long with the gun , i think she was a bit irritated that i was so fixated to guns and because my counsin didnt like to play with the gun. With 12 in germany i joined a gunclub but they let me only shot with Baby Guns and on special occassion with 6mmlong Carbine , when i joined the german Bundeswehr i was happy again because i had a lot of fun with MG-3 (based on MG-42 ) and with my personal Rifle the HK G-3 , i had also fun with le. Panzerfaust and the 20mm FK 20 Flak which we used also in the ground role.

[@dragonfly343]

My father served in Algeria during war, he used the MAT49, the only thing i remember about this gun he told me was that one time, a soldier dropped the gun on the floor and the MAT began to continuesly firing all its ammo turning in circle.

[@masahige2344]

I wouldn't be surprised if it was a St. Etienne Modele 1892 revolver, there were still a lot of them floating around in the French colonies by the end of WWII

[@juki6377]

@@dragonfly343 good way to start a dance

[@PhilippeMarchand-xw1zp]

I used it during my military period and was quite impressed about how simple and efficient it is.

[@swedish_vikings]

Here because of Forgotten Weapons and Rising Storm 2

[@inspecteurjohnson2548]

I was waiting for this one thanks gun jesus

[@rullow86]

I see two mthings that were not addressed in the video - most of the guns have the rear sling attachment on the bottom of the pistol grip. And second and more relevant one - the grip safety presented here is an older model, that has been replace for the bespoken reasons. Those SMG with a new system (blocking also the trigger) have a star stamped visibly onto the trigger....

[@GreatgoatonFire]

Dang, that there is the result of an SMG making angry pointy love to a metal box.

[@willaumep]

Weapon production independance is a big factor for french forces (the move to HK speaks volume of the franco german integartion). When i was in the FAF i shot the MAT both well used (traditionally what conscript got to use) and a spanking brand new. The well used one have lots of felt recoil and muzzle climb (not sure if ot was the same cartige as with the new one). The new one was surprisingly pleasnt to shoot and was much more contrlable. Best result were when you sligtly curve the. we were told to control the burst by reasling the grip safety. with litte pratice you get burts of 3 sometimes 4. (i was trained on Famas, Mac50 and mas 49/56)

[@patrickgofman7402]

Thank you for reminding happy youth memories from the 1er Régiment de Spahis (light armored), which drafted me for year 1971, into French Armed Forces in Germany. We carried and fired FSA 56 too.

[@tomalexander4327]

New C&Rsenal and Forgotten Weapons video's all on the same day. Heaven!

[@fgaudun]

I have used it during my basic training in the navy back in the early nineties. This SMG was a bit challenging for a first timer. We had a short demonstration of "do's and dont" on the shooting range. (The weapon instruction in the classroom was made with the MAS 49/56). You had to remember the safety procedure and we were something like 150 men and women to shoot our 2, 32 rounds magazine. One woman made a mistake loading the cartridge pushing the grip safety and pulling the trigger at the same time. The instructor had managed to keep the weapon in line with the firing range but it was close to an accident. The gun was also known to keep firing when it was very hot even if you stopped pulling the trigger. We kept it in the navy during the nineties and it was finally replaced in the early 2000 by the FAMAS G1.

[@danielarias9047]

1988 c'était mon arme au service militaire, pas évident les premiers tirs.

[@francoislonchamp7623]

@@danielarias9047 26th infrantry regiment in Nancy in '74-75. First weapon we were instructed in during our first 2 months of basic training. So easy to dismantle (with closed eyes we were told), clean and fire. We had the shorter 20 ammo charger. The firing range was from outside a long shack with vertical slits on one end, paper targets of standing soldier inside on the other end. We were told the effective (lethal) range was quite small (less than 50 m). Some tendency to lift sideways when firing. We trained about twice a week, and fired from the hip when the NCO was good-natured, like in films (pretty inaccurate spraying !). It was even possible to fire single shots with training. After 10 months of the 12 month compulsory military service, as 'master' corporals (not NCOs !), we were even ordered to supervise the shooting of (by !) grunts. The main danger were some grunt taking the gun out of the slit and turning his gun towards us yelling 'my gun has jammed'. We were ready to jump on the guy and shove him and the gun against the wall. Jamming was not uncommon, but it was easy to solve. Pull back the lever and the faulty cartridge would normaly eject. We also trained with the Mas 49/56 gun (often as grenade launcher, dummy plastic ammo within the compound, live on the outside shooting range), the 7,62 light machine gun (with red tracers at night), grenade (live once), bazooka (once), and a double .50 machine gun mounted on a truck (once, all during manoeuvers at the Valdahon training camp). I hated my spell in the military, except for these shooting sessions.

[@paulkirkland3263]

Great video. I'm very interested in the French colonial wars after WW2, so this was really interesting to watch. Thank you.

[@giorgio13001]

Very interesting, i'm french and did not even know a thing about this gun. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us sir!

[@sergepetiteau765]

My second weapon in the army after the MAS. We called it "i shoot when i want" or "i shoot where i want". Reasons : in auto, the tendance to go to upper right (very much. some called it blue sky on the right) but the most problematic was that there was a tiny stuff of metal to stop shooting when you stopped firing. BUT as these guns were rather old, this piece of metal was too used to stop the culasse (sry don't know the english name) and a gentle push and a quick release of your finger and the cartridge emptied alla the bullets. Gosh. But fun to use anyway.

[@calvacoca]

Thanks for the video 👍😊 Happy to watch again the little MAT 49 I used to use when I was in the army, in 1984-85. The other guns we had were the 7.5mm MAS 36 rifle and AA 52 machinegun (firing the same bullets) and the 9mm MAC 50 handgun (same bullets as the MAT 49). And also (but not for everybody) the new 5.56mm (.223) FAMAS assault gun.

[@gunner678]

Gendarmery are not police, they are part of the army. They are the armed presence in france ( gens d arme) and therefore undertake police duties through the interior ministry by permission of the defence ministry. They are therefore equipped for policing operations because of their local presence. Generally Gendarme provide policing in remote rural areas and autoroutes whilst police nationale ( actual police) operate in the larger cities and moire densly populated areas. But there are lots of areas where they overlap. There are also local police called police municipal and until recently police rurale (with lesser powers). But the Gendarmery are Gendarmery, most certainly not police!

[@Sociologist66]

A real good weapon. A very interesting review. Thank you so much for sharing with us. Greetings from Peru.

[@TheGel69]

great vid as always, the "e" is silence in Tulle, pronounced "Tul"

[@vroman]

I'm watching "The Battle of Algiers (1966)" for first time and at 22min the protagonist mows down a gangster boss with a submachine gun I'd never seen before. Immediately paused and knew there'd be a Forgotten Weapons about it. After a little googling determined it was the MAT-49 and here I am. Great video, back to the movie.

[@mikes1172]

I got to play with one of these back in the early 90's at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, super neat weapon. Too bad these aren't being built in semi for us who cannot afford the cost of Full Auto weapons.

[@jean-francoislemieux5509]

good to the last drop ! the story of that particular gun in the last seconds ! amazing

[@Treblaine]

Also great for taking out highly paid assassins.

[@tyngchinchillachang838]

What is this about i dont get it.

[@Treblaine]

It's a Spoiler for an awesome movie. Spoilers below: The movie is The Day Of The Jackal. What happens is in the final climactic scene the expert assassin who has been recruited for "rather a lot of money" to assassinate the French President. After a long chase and manhunt across Europe the expert sniper has his custom built sniper rifle lined up on Charles De Gaulle's head when the ace detective who has been hunting him catches up with him just in time. In a tense shootout the Detective is able to pick up an MAT-49 off a slain french police officer just in time to shoot the assassin before the assassin is able to reload and kill him.

[@lib556]

Michael Lonsdale on the trigger dispatching Edward Fox. Lonsdale went on to play the bad guy in the Bond film Moonraker and the "Dr" in Ronin. Loved Fox's Alpha...

[@josephhenry1084]

Chang Watch Day Of The Jackal. Great film, based on true story

[@Batmack]

"I got that reference!"

[@michaelrobinson1945]

I handled one of these in Vietnam in 1970. I was impressed wtih the old school design and liked the rotating magazine well. The mag was empty so I didn't get to fire it.

[@justsceptic3085]

my uncle said weapons is like women when you hold it ...fire!

[@thebotrchap]

I had the chance to fire one full auto, sadly the owner did not know the meaning of the word lubrication and the poor thing refused to cycle. His subsequent gratuitous application of WD40 did nothing to help obviously 🙄

[@legituser4832]

WD40 is fine.

[@thebotrchap]

legit user For its intended purpose yes. It is hopeless as a lubricant though.

[@MikeBaxterABC]

WD-40 is cheap and works fine to clean metal .. my opinion unless the MAT 49 was rusted solid ... it could still be made to work properly with some effort.

[@thebotrchap]

Yeggster Shane It just needed a good dose of machine gun grease.

[@MikeBaxterABC]

Oh Good! .. I might have known :)

[@alexandrelarsac9115]

I forgot something important about the safety grip : In your video you are showing us an older version of the grip safety without a small star on the left side of the trigger.. The new grip safety DOES stop the trigger from moving so it doesn't jam the gun anymore. I recall very well that on the MAT49 i shot with, the trigger would not move at all if the safety was not depressed. Very interesting to see on your video why they changed this on types 2 and 3.

[@soulflakes510]

"This is of course an open bolt gun." Thanks I missed that, really sometimes hard to distinguish

[@r3dcoat397]

I've been waiting for this one, great vid

[@LazyLifeIFreak]

The stock could just be wrapped with some linen or other fabric to increase comfort.

[@tuefelshild]

forgot to add when folded down the REP used to zip them up under their Blouson...ready for instant use on landing...

[@CthulhuInc]

i used to listen to jethro tulle

[@ScreamingSturmovik]

YES i finally get something on the MAT-49 thank you

[@George_Doc]

Le Quadratic SMG

[@harrisonlewis6853]

Thanks Ian on the mat49. I got one when I served in Vietnam. In 1969. I really liked it but I couldn't find or see anyway to smuggle it back to the US. Really would have liked it here.

[@VegasCyclingFreak]

I love the look of that little SMG. I'm wondering though, does a folding mag well cause problems with feeding of the ammo over time due to wear of the parts?

[@tvnshack]

NEVER !

[@floflo8018]

as long as the mag is held tight in the right position!

[@donjones4719]

I like that full size grip/magazine well. So many subs have a slightly extended well that allows a grip half on the well, half on the mag - not the most comfortable or accurate hold. But a long well/grip would be protruding and clumsy during non-combat carry. Mon-dieu! Just make the damn thing fold forward. Viola!

[@JohnDoe-fw4pi]

Hey Ian, you should consider doing a video on why the bullpup design is considered a failure. I'm sure it'd be a very popular video

[@UmamiJarate]

Look towards InRange.

[@PMMM9]

Great to see you did this review.

[@AllenLinnenJr]

I'm signed up for notifications. No notification came - neither in my email nor in my activity tab. I found this because it showed up in the main feed. I should be getting notifications. I'm concerned.

[@michaelw.6957]

Me too.

[@GeFeldz]

Edit: Sorry, i'm an idiot. Acted like a robot and tried to lecture you on the fucking bell. Carry on! Side note; very interesting that the bell doesn't even work anymore...

[@trapjaw7253]

That folding mag well always throws me for a loop everytime I watch this .

[@shadowfoxcorp]

I really like guns that have separating upper and lower receivers.

[@stanfordwillis4841]

My grandfather used one in Indochina and my father did too during his mandatory service (tank crewman), it was a very rugged and compact gun, but my dad complained about the recoil and the sights, it was hard to keep on target during training

[@karlos760]

If the grip safety does not block the trigger or sear, yet can allow the bolt to be released from the sear then you have a potential problem. If the trigger is pressed accidentally, without pressing the grip safety then the bolt will travel forward slightly and stop against the part of the grip safety alongside the sear. This then effectively becomes a second sear as its holding the bolt back, so later when you hold the grip, either to fire or to unload, you will depress the grip safety without touching the trigger and.... Bang ! it will fire one shot.

[@zendell37]

Is it possible the grip safety is more like a double duty grip/drop safety? The fact that Ian doesn't say anything about it leads me to believe the grip won't let the bolt close up as you mentioned. Really, that would be a huge safety oversight, even in the 40s.

[@karlos760]

Hi zendell37. Thanks for your comment, Ian almost gets to the point at 13.55. The grip safety allows full bolt travel when depressed, so if it is holding the bolt, and the bolt is already past the sear, then it looks to me as if the bolt will be released when the grip safety is pressed in and so fire the gun. If that really is the case then you are right, a huge safety oversight. Any manipulation of the gun would start with a firm hold on the grip. I would really like to get my hands on one to check this out, but no chance of that as I am in the U.K.

[@Sedan57Chevy]

I've had questions about this thing since Conflict Vietnam, and now they're being answered! Thank you, Ian!

[@jodc2760]

The MAT49 is still used here and there in Syria and Algeria.

[@marathonman1205]

jo dc Not anymore! I haven't seen anyone since the start of the ongoing Syria war and in Algeria it has been decommissioned in 1985 and replaced by H&K MP5 and Beretta SMG's.

[@estebahnrandolph8724]

What the range on it ? 200 meters and after that you lob the rounds to target .

[@sampointau]

Having travelled around in the back seat with two Gendarmes up front (Ride on) back in the eighties when responding to an armed hold up, I can state that the folding forward magazine was a great safety! Upon receipt of the radio call that started our high speed dodgem car like travel through the town to get to where the bad guys were, the first thing the driver said was "mats in the back", meaning the two MATS that were sitting between the two Gendarmes in the front were basically passed back to me to put on the floor. With further eratic motion of the car I decided to brace myself and hold on to both guns as they were flying back and forth in the footwell, no seat belts in the back seat either. Upon arrival the speed with which they bought them into action by folding down the magazine and shouldering them was fast.

[@M1ndzor]

Wait so will it fire immediately as you press the grip safety if you somehow pulled the trigger while it was engaged?

[@ChaosPootato]

That's a good point... pls enlighten us Gun Jesus

[@KarlEller]

It certainly looks like that would be the case. He did note that the bolt "jammed" up against the safety when he pressed the trigger (around 7:00), but in theory it looks like it would fire if you pressed the grip safety in hard enough.

[@GeFeldz]

That's exactly what i was thinking, it sure seems like the bolt would drop if you pressed the grip safety after the trigger was pulled.

[@md10591]

I remember very well to have one when I was in the army in 1968 , we liked the MAT 49 so much ! , very light , folding very small and very quickly back in action , good gun !

[@Penguinius]

Something I've always wondered about the MAT49 and hope someone might know. If you pull the trigger without the grip safety depressed and it jams up the bolt, is it then possible with a hard squeeze to the grip safety to drop the bolt?

[@Vares65]

6:00 A great presenter anticipates their audience's questions! I was just thinking "I wonder why 32?" and then Ian tells exactly why.

[@bucklittleson5620]

a MAC 10 and grease gun had a baby!!!

[@koskey06]

I hope you been taking pictures and notes of all these awesome rare weapons you get to handle! That way you can publish a book helping to keep these from truly becoming forgotten... Love the videos by the way! Always loved anything to do with military's since i was 4 and my sister had to leave for basic training. My family has had atleast 1 person from every generation serve in the military. Also had someone fighting in every American war... Even before it was America!

[@kut24]

The "e" in Tulle is silent. Thanks for the vid.

[@jonathanmoeg1202]

Ian's pronunciation is correct for French. The ''e" in "tulle" is only silent in English pronunciation when referring to the fabric, which he certainly wasn't. edit. ignore the statement above. Embarrassed as I am, the unbounded arrogance of a non-native speaker pontificating on 'correct french pronunciation', it is left so the following comments retain their sense. @Scorpixel @Th1erry Golo @Krabbenburger

[@scorpixel1866]

@@jonathanmoeg1202 Am baguette, Tulle has a silent "e", like every single "e" at the end of a word without an accent such as "é"

[@th1errygolo997]

@@jonathanmoeg1202 his pronunciation is not correct, even for the "u". His french sucks, but his videos are great. Bonne journée à toi...

[@Doodoofart725]

@@jonathanmoeg1202 ???

[@kennethbowers2897]

It's hard to find videos on this gun, thanks!

[@ThatGuy-a48]

Cause no else is going to say. This is like snipers SMG form tf2 there. Great video Ian always loved late 40s 50s and 60s guns.

[@fvzz1]

The profile of this weapon reminds me of some flamethrower weapons I've seen in tabletop war games like warhammer 40k , that could just be due to the barrel shroud

[@kasper7574]

This gun's stock is way better than the MGD PM9's shitty folding stock...

[@michaelkokot8700]

IAN! The day has finally arrived you review the gun I've been requesting for years and years! The MAT49. BLESS. YOU LADDIE

[@xboxstudent]

The Viet Minh used this gun a lot.

[@Buck_Plankchest]

Great history lesson. Keep it up.

[@bigboytactical8337]

Thats a really nice gun. When you fold the mag well it looks like a blaster from Star Wars

[@Snowman1510ify]

Darth Famine Look up the Sterling SMG. It is actually the E-11 blaster Imperial Stormtroopers use.

[@matthayward7889]

Great, functional looking SMG Never knew it owed so much to the grease gun, but now you say it, it’s obvious!

[@zedhiro6131]

If I remember correctly, it was a favorite of the Viet Cong in Vietnam. The mag pouches for these work well for the cz scorpion evo.

[@titiparisien7485]

Also, maybe they just had large numbers of them seized after France left Indochina.

[@zedhiro6131]

Titi Parisien No doubt, that said as compact a package the mat 49 folded. It makes a very good infiltrators weapon.

[@florentleider222]

VC produced also handmade copies chambered in 7.62., using modified soviet Sudarev magazines.

[@TheRogueWolf]

I really do like the visual design. Compact and no-nonsense.

[@Omgwtfbbqsammich]

First, great video about a gun I’d never heard of. Second, for this video one could play an awesome drinking game if they took a shot every time Ian says “like so”.

[@deeheych1101]

Its pretty nicely designed I love the sprung buttons used to lock and unlock. very clean wish the engineers from back then could use modern manufacturing into account

[@TheGearhead222]

For once, a well designed and durable French gun with a standard NATO round-John in Texas

[@kenhelmers2603]

Nice simple design, thanks for sharing it with us :)