MAS-49 Carabine Mitrailleuse: A French Prototype Lever-Delayed Assault Rifle

[@VegasCyclingFreak]

The French sure did seem to love the idea of a folding magazine well.

[@John-mf6ky]

Don't forget the grip safety too lol.

[@VegasCyclingFreak]

@@John-mf6ky Yes... easier to overlook that one though

[@ericm381]

yeah, it is a nifty idea however.

[@Film21Productions]

And they folded pretty quick after D-Day as well.

[@kutter_ttl6786]

​@@Film21Productions What the hell is that even supposed to mean?

[@enriquekahn9405]

.30 Carbine firearms development after the war has always fascinated me. It's a historical dead end but it's so full of cool and weird ideas.

[@BobSaint]

At the end, M2 carbine was the best of the bunch anyways.

[@Tusk-ruk]

Ian, if not for you I would probably never have taken interest in the historical rifles of my home country. Thanks for your persistently great presentations over all these years. Vive l'amitié 🇫🇷🇺🇲

[@Ozuhananas]

Same thing for me, wouldn't have been interested and learned so much about all our old wacky rifles and various firearms if not for this channel

[@rayg.2431]

@@pegzounet That would be excellent for Ian to be nominated for the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

[@redwithblackstripes]

@@pegzounet Arts et Lettres pour Ian serait absolument justifié et y'en a qui ont eu la Légion d'honneur pour bien moins également...

[@methodeetrigueur1164]

Complètement d’accord !

[@yannickramouillet3742]

Je suis totalement d'accord, il doit bien y avoir un honneur civil ou une médaille adéquate pour Ian qui a tant fait pour faire connaître cette industrie nationale au monde. Les arts et Lettres ou même la légion d'honneur (il y en a qui l'ont eu pour bien moins). Il faudrait en parler ou faire circuler une pétition !

[@Fister_of_Muppets]

John Wick: "Guns. Lots of guns." Juan Wick: "Mas carbines."

[@Deathunter761]

Jean...

[@French-o8u]

@@Deathunter761 Mêche...

[@ROBERTN-ut2il]

An important factor in adopting a full power rifle cartridge in 1949 was that France still had its North African territories and as the US military found out in Iraq and Afghanistan, range is important in such terrain. So much so that the M14 returned from the dead as the Designated Marksman's Rifle in each infantry squad.

[@AdamMGTF]

There has to be some irony there. I mean in that powers with an empire had to use older gun technology to try and subdue the natives.

[@Wetcorps]

The colonies always got the newer stuff way after mainland anyway.

[@matermacej3579]

That looks like something a video game designer would come up with to avoid paying licensing fees for an MP5.

[@DPRK_Best_Korea]

They really can't resist putting folding magazines on everything.

[@Hosenfuhrer]

*Magazine wells. Also grip safeties.

[@Isenlyn]

Ça prend moins de place. ^^

[@DPRK_Best_Korea]

@@Hosenfuhrer I will now develop a folding magazine just to spite your correction.

[@randomgai7531]

Fr as if there target audience are partizan

[@paidwitness797]

@@DPRK_Best_Korea Thats a very French attitude!

[@andrewitalasano6323]

Thanks for being a drama free, highly informative gun guy Ian. Keep up the awesome content

[@Tunkkis]

Mostly drama-free, anyways. The Internet isn't that kind to anyone.

[@CreEpeRneSs125]

​@@Tunkkisbut ian makes an effort to be drama free regardless

[@justindunlap1235]

I love the red rider machine carbine look.

[@gilmour6754]

I'm always going to watch Ian talk about cool, strange prototypes. Great video!

[@messmeister92]

This carbine/SMG combo is pretty neat. The ammo issue would have needed sorting out, but otherwise this makes sense from an engineering, production, and soldier perspective. Therefore, it’s only natural that the French wouldn’t adopt it.

[@MonkeyJedi99]

I also love how much unnecessary mechanical complication is added in for no good reason. Lots of good ways for dirt and debris to get in the action! It's kind of like the development of aircraft between the World Wars, where you get some truly whacky ideas given development money.

[@ЖигимонтАвгуст]

​@@MonkeyJedi99гораздо проще и надёжнее М2.

[@MonkeyJedi99]

@@ЖигимонтАвгуст Which M2? I freely admit the original M2 Browning .50 caliber machine gun was a finicky beast. I had to watch a training film about headspace and timing and how a mistake there could kill the user. Though I read or heard that the problem had been largely remediated. The M2 Bradley is a great vehicle, if you don't try to employ it as if it were a tank. The M2 artillery compass is a fine device, though for orienteering I prefer the lensatic compass. The M2 is also a highway in South Africa, a highway in Australia, a highway in Russia (a.k.a. the Crimea Highway)... - Sorry, I have free time and a search engine. Not trying to be a jerk to you.

[@Albinospenguin]

@@MonkeyJedi99 the US army challenge to not create any original names over the span of a century (astounding success )

[@lairdcummings9092]

​@@AlbinospenguinTriumph of the Bureaucracy!

[@tommyblackwell3760]

What a missed opportunity for France! Hindsight being 20-20, the 3-cartridge 'problem' ended up being what most nations accepted anyway, and it looks like it wouldn't have been too difficult to adapt the basic design to 5.56 and a bullpup configuration a la FAMAS. It's hard to argue with free weapons though, and France at the time was still pretty strongly committed to NATO, but still.....quelle dommage!

[@Bobby_Snoof]

"Quel dommage" ;)

[@tommyblackwell3760]

@@Bobby_Snoof Got me, I can speak & read it fine, but gender & conjugations always trip me up writing!

[@charro7037]

Quel…

[@Bobby_Snoof]

Yes, I know it's complicated, but I'm not criticizing you! I live with 2 Italian girls, and when they talk about someone, I never know if they're talking about a boy or a girl!

[@Charkame]

@@Bobby_Snoof don't worry you good

[@frankbrowning328]

This is such a cool system. It makes for a strong, relatively light, thin compact profile. The commonality between the rifle and submachine gun allows for easy training and possibly some parts interchangability. 9mm & 30 carbine is still OK but today we may use something like 5.56 & 9mm or 300 Blackout & 9mm or 7.62X39mm & 9mm as the 2 calibers

[@LDSG_A_Team]

This is pretty interesting, honestly. I like how simple it is. I'd love to see a modern reproduction of this system

[@oneproudbrowncoat]

Lever-delay could make inroads into the civilian market.

[@Mike_Rogge]

the FAMAS works in a near-identical way, albeit bullpup and nearly unobtanium in the U.S.

[@evanmorris1178]

@@Mike_RoggeBut there is the Croatian cousin, the VHS as the S&W Helion….

[@VickyHong1879]

@@evanmorris1178they’re short stroke rotating bolt though, not great if you’re a big fan of delayed blowback

[@pieterveenders9793]

@@Mike_Rogge The FAMAS is unobtainium pretty much everywhere, I've never seen them for sale in the Netherlands nor Germany. I did see them being advertised for sale in some French gun magazines, which makes sense considering that's its birthplace. And if I remember correctly in the video where Ian tests a FAMAS on the range he mentions them being available for sale in Canada as well, perhaps that video even being shot in Canada.

[@loadedwhenup]

That's the coolest thing I've seen in a long time

[@CATASTEROID934]

I really hope you got a photo of that cartridge and projectile board in the background, I'd love to see it

[@paulhennessy5627]

The presence ( or more often the lack of) grip safety is something I've always wondered about in automatic/battle rifles.

[@chekovsgunman]

I think they were more common on pistols to prevent accidental discharges while holstering.

[@zenjon7892]

I think some SMGs used them as a drop safety

[@shilopnamreg6468]

Usually it’s just an unnecessary feature that adds cost and complexity, that’s why no one uses it.

[@DevinMoorhead]

Sacre bleu fricking early gang

[@RavenWolffe77]

I've never been this early before, wow.

[@Surv1ve_Thrive]

Les plus tôt 🇬🇧👍🇫🇷

[@bchin4005]

Merde

[@tryhardweeb2107]

2 hours late

[@9mmthroatpunch211]

Damn why didn't y'all wake me up

[@Charkame]

Le MAS-48 était sincèrement, et en toute subjectivité, un pistolet mitrailleur magnifique

[@bjf10]

If you think the MA49 is confusing, just wait until you hear about the US M1.

[@turtleman_destro504]

Which one? The M1 Combat Car, M1 Carbine, M1 Garand, M1 Half-Track, M1 Abrams, M1 Armored Car, M1 field artillery, M1 Anti-Aircraft Gun,M1 howitzer, M1 Dual-Purpose Gun,M1 Gernade, M1 flamethrower, M1 Bazooka, M1 Mortar, M1 Thompson, M1 Underwater Defense Gun or the M1 Chemical Mine?

[@bjf10]

@@turtleman_destro504 exactly.

[@alexsis1778]

Watching this video I can just imagine bean counters salivating over the concept of interchangeable parts between their submachine gun and their battle rifles.

[@khaelamensha3624]

😂 Thanks for the laugh and the accuracy of your remark 😁

[@ostellan]

French military: give us a weapon with a folding magazine Mas: just one weapon right? French military: ... Mas: *Just one weapon right!*

[@jefferyfite7122]

Awesome! Always enjoy watching experimental .30 Carbine rifles. Now if we can only locate that rare .30 M1 Smith & Wesson prototype.

[@ja0298]

Rifles scaled to 30 carbine are just cool. Imagine if there was a AR15 scaled to 30 carbine. Now that would be cool.

[@TheTrueNorth11]

It would be basically identical.

[@murrayscott9546]

Nice piece. Very interesting. Thanks, as always, for a great presentation !

[@f4nt4x95]

I'm French and this is the first time I've seen this model. Thank you for this discovery

[@khaelamensha3624]

Et oui, tout le monde n à pas accès au musée de la gendarmerie 😂Thanks Ian for showing us all these prototypes

[@f4nt4x95]

@@khaelamensha3624 😅👍

[@khaelamensha3624]

@@f4nt4x95 Space invaders.. Toute ma jeunesse 😍

[@mouse454]

The French had an assault rifle in 1949. Wow.

[@DarkestVampire92]

A rather underpowered one with highly questionable features, but an assault rifle nonetheless. If thats your basis for an assault rifle though, then the US had an assault rifle in the 1940s with the M2 carbine.

[@edwalmsley1401]

M43 entered the chat

[@redcat9436]

I wouldn't consider .30 carbine to be an intermediate cartridge so this can't be an assault rifle.

[@KarsenKeith]

@@redcat9436 thankfully it doesn't matter what you consider

[@SnoopReddogg]

​@@KarsenKeith on a holistic level, it doesn't matter what anyone thinks

[@bananacheese6864]

I can just feel the giddiness in Ian when he realized he's going to get hands on a prototype French gun

[@JAB6322]

The MP5's long lost French cousin lol

[@stevejohnson6593]

probably hung out inside a wine barrel to mature before Ian found it

[@khaelamensha3624]

​@@stevejohnson6593yep still a bit ripe but with a few years more, it would be great 😂

[@lukehorning3404]

There are some really neat ideas in that gun and I’d love to have one Thanks for another great video on something I’d never seen

[@ianprivitera9617]

Man that MAS 48 Sub gun is beautiful!! They definitely lose some style points on the later models 😂

[@shammy8703]

MAT*

[@USAACbrat]

the wooden stock, lifted from Daisy,

[@jonathantatler]

Always great to see FW video about an unusual gun 👍👍

[@JackedRado71]

Love how no matter what firearm you’re tinkering with, they all have that distinct “snap” when you start pushing buttons

[@michaelguerin56]

Nice bit of history. Thank you to Ian et al and the Gendarmerie Museum.

[@drdoom-skull2244]

1949 was an interesting year for French gun development.

[@khaelamensha3624]

The country was starting to really recover from ww2 (food card stopped in 1949) and Indochina war was in full scale mode or close to it,.

[@jimh6763]

Coolest gun I've seen in a Long time!!

[@Lunageldia]

I feel like *disconnecting the magazine* by folding it out of the way is a perfectly acceptable way of rendering a gun safe like this, especially when comboed with a grip safety. Is it the most expedient way? No, probably not, but it would certainly work.

[@Goc4ever]

Mon dieu, another interesting French firearm, merci monsieur Ian.

[@strangelyjamesly4078]

Other Gun Channels : "Here today on the range in my back yard..." Forgotten Weapons : " Here today in the gun room of the Institut de Recherche Criminelle de la Gendarmerie Nationale, Paris. Class.

[@mohammedcohen]

...I recently bought 400 rounds of French surplus 30 carbine from a fellow collector in our club, Palm Beach Arms Collectors, at the time I assumed it was for the M1 Carbine, but had never heard of the French army being given these weapons post war...this solves that mystery and also the question of whether or not the ammo is corrosive...if you want I can provide photos of the boxes...

[@JohnHughesChampigny]

It probably was for the M1, the gendarmes used to use them (eventually replacing them with mini-14s).

[@kevinoliver3083]

The French, especially the Gendarmerie, made extensive use of M1 Carbines until the 1980s.

[@mohammedcohen]

.Thank you, my friend..is the ammo corrosive - as I suspect???@@JohnHughesChampigny

[@JohnHughesChampigny]

@@mohammedcohen -- that I wouldn't know. I just saw them hanging out in the streets with the carbines, never asked them about the ammo :)

[@MartinMizner]

Nice compact design, would be very iconic if adopted. But there's not much isolation from the heat so the only thing the front hand can hold is the magazine.

[@AndrewAMartin]

A front handguard is definitely needed...

[@gregbrown4009]

A true Fiorgotten Weapon! Awesome! Thanks!

[@KVW22]

Another great video, keep up the good work

[@Emil215p]

Looks nice

[@onpsxmember]

Good sound. I'd love to see a folding mag(well) on something new.

[@smashallpots1428]

its very neat to see them scaled up to a rifle since i really liked the smg model

[@Aeghf]

So is it possible to swap the fire control group from the Assault Rifle to the Sub machine gun vise versa?

[@khaelamensha3624]

No masses are different to accommodate the two types of cartridges

[@BV-fr8bf]

Upon seeing these firearms, truly one of those 'That ought to be interesting to learn about' videos!

[@causewaykayak]

Definitely enjoyable. Very practical weapons.

[@starthere5406]

That barrel must have gotten quite hot, so one could not put your hand forward to hold the rifle up to aim.

[@CreEpeRneSs125]

It definitely looks like its missing a handguard but it doesnt look like theres anywhere that it would attach

[@starthere5406]

@@CreEpeRneSs125It looks like you'd have to grip it by the magazine. 🤨

[@dramaturgius]

Hi Ian, thanks for this vid! Have you thought of aquiring an endoscopic camera for getting into those really hard to see places? Would it even be worth the effort? Keep up the great work! Greetings from Germany!

[@vchalmel]

The old tale of unstoppable force vs unmovable object truely never met a more adequate application than the genius of the french small arm designs vs the abysmal incompetence of the french army bureaucracy.

[@BasedBelkan8492]

lever delayed and folding mags? what else to make it even more french?

[@noobt4eguns]

Nice video again my friend 🇨🇾👍🏻

[@davidhamilton7628]

How can you not like it with that red ryder stock

[@gunnerbhb50]

Why at 2:18 the MAS submachine gun does the stock look like a stolen Daisy's Red Rider BB gun stock? Is it a collaborative effort between MAS and Daisy?

[@paulfryejr2918]

Interesting, another great video

[@Gaspard129]

I think this development lends credence to the fact the .30 carbine is not a pistol cartridge, and the M2 Carbine was a proto-assault rifle of sorts. A 110gr bullet at 2,000fps is A LOT more powerful and has a lot more range than a 115gr bullet at 1,300fps. This MAS49 carbine further evolves that into a form factor that is familiar for the assault rifle.

[@cynthiakoehne7004]

note the dual feed ramp on the barrel!

[@JustTheARplatform]

My thoughts on the sticky barrel removal, I envision a wiggle of that lever (it may be binding), as well as a few taps on the barrel to encourage it out, but of course, rare prototypes.

[@MrHws5mp]

That looks like a really decent idea. What a shame it never got adopted!

[@bfgivmfith]

When it comes to guns, and why they are so fascinating, there is nobody as cool as you!

[@klock_tax3150]

We gotta start a go fund me for Ian to get a wire probe camera to see the internals for firearms like this where it’s hard to get good angles.

[@anderoo9260]

Oh god this is so cool

[@berwickacres]

Is it me, or does this look of the wood stock carbine seem like someone from the daisy red ryder factory had a hand in the design?

[@magicschoolbuscarlos]

Very similar to both the FNAB and OG-44 submachine guns, which strangely enough are both Italian designs from _that_ era. Awesome gun though, would love to see the inner workings of that fire control group, really a genius gun all around, how the mag well folds in such a way as to protect the gun from dirt... it's actually kind of fascinating.

[@Swindle1984]

Between the SMG and StG sharing the same basic operating system and controls, and the appearance of the fore-end and butt stock, you cannot convince me that they weren't working with CETME and what would eventually become HK.

[@AndrewAMartin]

The German engineers that developed what became the G3 did spend some time in France after the war, before heading to Spain and CETME, so it's possible they had some influence...

[@theodoreheintz7891]

I think those bags might be 30 and 40 based on how long they are.

[@stevejohnson6593]

Le MP5 they have at home?

[@johndecker9983]

I can't get that Red Ryder BB gun stock out of my head. 😅

[@lukearcher886]

Very interesting. Thanks!

[@CJBrunt]

Didnt really cover the cocking-handle, but it looks like an external sliding flat plate pushing on the bolt???

[@TheSuburban15]

The wood stock looks like it should have a compass, and that thing which tells time.

[@johndilday1846]

To me it reminds me of the stock on a Daisy air rifle. Cool though.

[@xum-26]

Génial !

[@s_vb2220]

honestly it is kinda crazy that the Gendarmerie allows you in there, that really doesnt strike me as a Gendarmerie kinda thing to do.

[@Jason-fm4my]

France really likes 7.62 cal.

[@FatBoy42069]

Honestly these seem like nice light handy rifles.

[@mrjmorovis]

Small Arms Review had a picture of a .50 cal prototype machine gun. I'd like to see that.

[@Bojangles6]

Im patiently waiting for .30 carbine to be reborn. Someone needs to make an affordable m1 carbine, and cmmg needs to make a banshee upper and mag adapter.

[@ianfinrir8724]

Ian discovers an experimental French rifle and only spends 13 minutes talking about it? Something's wrong, I can feel it.

[@radatoullie]

I would honestly love to see ian take a look at the dsr-1 its an important precision rifle to me because of black ops 2 and would love to see it in full

[@TMFShooting]

Great Stuff Ian 💯💥💥💥💥💥💥💥

[@hendriktonisson2915]

Did they build any prototypes of this design in 7.62 NATO? It would also be interesing to know when did the French first start making rifle prototypes in 7.62 NATO. It seems the French took a little longer compared to other NATO countries as they finalized their 7.62 prototype the MAS Type 62 much later than for example the Belgians with the FN FAL.

[@MrCyaegha]

There were experiments to convert the MAS 49-56 to 7.62 NATO, but they weren't very successful - Ian of course has a video on the subject: kzbin.info/www/bejne/m2mpg62sfp56jdE. Since that didn't work out, the French military was more or less stuck with the 7.5 cartridge until it started replacing its main rifle. When that finally happened (by switching to a 5.56 assault rifle), the AA52 machine guns and FR-F1 precision rifles, on the other hand, could be converted to 7.62 NATO. But I'd say all that is unrelated with this experimental weapon, which was it seems was never designed for a full power rifle cartridge anyway.

[@JeffHenry-cq3is]

Thought France skipped 7.62 and went to 5.56

[@MrCyaegha]

@@JeffHenry-cq3is that's what happened for standard infantry rifles, yes. The MAS 49-56 chambered in 7.5 French remained the standard until the adoption of the FAMAS in 5.56 (and the FN Minimi in 5.56 was also adopted at some point as a squad automatic weapon). But there was still a need for a full power cartridge for other uses, so there was also a transition to 7.62 for those other types of weapons.

[@davitdavid7165]

Folding mags are too cool, they need to be brought back

[@Surv1ve_Thrive]

Did they go for .30 carbine as there were such huge stocks of it after WWII? That and it being viewed quite positively as a round, bien sur.

[@Kkodii]

I like how "The French [...] had seen substantial demonstration of the Sturmgewehr" is a real headscratcher for some people :'D An outstanding move, Mr. McCollum.

[@whodatsaddle]

Does it take PMAGs?

[@ForgottenWeapons]

I will be bringing this up with MagPul at SHOT Show next week. Also FAMAS Pmags. And Chauchat Pmags. Major untapped markets here.

[@cynthiakoehne7004]

you need to get a probe camera, so you can show the inner workings of some guns!

[@alimaleki6316]

the FAMAS we had at home but didn't use for decades

[@AndrewAMartin]

They put it in the wine cellar to mature and forgot about it...

[@thims1961]

I have to ask if you enquired after the MAS 35/38 when you were there or visited the Musée de l'Armée to see their MAS 35 prototype

[@Agent00abe]

The STG we have at home?

[@terdele7177]

You bet i did (enjoy it), sir. Thanks for the video!

[@POWER6367]

Sounds like they have a managerial vacuum caused by taking off before they have all the safety equipment bolted down.

[@mickgyver1068]

It looks almost exactly like my Daisy Red Ryder BB gun I had when I was a kid! LOL.

[@boazplays7239]

You are encyclopedia firearmica ❤

[@davidleonard1813]

Is it really a removable barrel? Or is it that funky French thing let's pack it smaller

[@Tundratreader]

The french are rather famous for being quite creative (and odd) on how they make their firearms look and work

[@himaro101]

You could have ended that sentence after the "odd)" part! Tanks, cars, fashion, cheese and the list could go on. And I am glad for it! They've come up with some fascinating designs over the years.

[@chrisdooley1184]

You should check out their cars too if you like odd and quirky stuff 😂

[@948320z]

@@himaro101 As the saying goes, "The French copies no one, and no one copies the French".

[@Aleksandre-K]

​@@Sven_DonglePlease shut up, you're not funny

[@tibsky1396]

@@Sven_Dongle «These Frenchmen, under the gallant leadership of general Molinié, had for four critical days contained no less than seven German divisions which otherwise could have joined in the assaults on the Dunkirk perimeter. This was a splendid contribution to the escape of their more fortunate comrades of the British Expeditionnary Force » - Winston Churchill, The Second World War. vol. II. Their Finest Hour.

[@mrunaltondre6051]

how do you pull back the bolt I don't see any handles

[@tristanconnolly5675]

Nice.