Lever-Delayed Prototype SMG: The MAS Mle 1948 Series

[@mlp_firewind8129]

These guns simultaneously look like they are from the trenches and from space.

[@vladcrow4225]

...In other words - from france.

[@Juan_Dominguez]

Right?

[@TheLittlemonster333]

Imperial guard level

[@gohunt001-5]

A perfect Star Wars prop gun!

[@adriaanvanwyk662]

@@TheLittlemonster333 Krieg Guardsman: Happy Gasmask noises

[@xboxhomie4]

French Prototype SMG? Ian’s heart is fluttering in his chest

[@alphapapapapa6341]

No wonder he's sitting down....

[@godemperorofmemes992]

His hands are clearly sweating. When the camera cuts off and the curators leave the room, he whispers sweet nothings to the gun in French and delicately strokes the magazine-well.

[@_marlene]

so is mine! these guns are SO cool, they should appear more in media!

[@kriegguardsman9117]

Imagine his joy when he disassembled it and saw it wasn’t put together right.

[@garrysekelli6776]

He is a Frenchie at heart.

[@awmperry]

I'm unreasonably pleased to hear Ian say "full dakka". 🤣

[@wbravenboer]

Red ones go faster!

[@TheCoyote808]

CAN NEVA BE FULL DAKKA! DERE'S NEVA ENUFF!

[@awmperry]

@@justforever96 Nope. But always enjoyable.

[@timblack2885]

Ian is an Ork in disguise. This confirms it

[@Kahzmat]

Ian casually fixing a prototype reassembly. Au calme !

[@bastienrannou6346]

J’ai pas très bien compris ce qu’il a réparé, vous pouvez me donnez le codetime ou me dire ce qu’il’a fait?

[@johnmurcott1273]

​@@bastienrannou6346around 6:20

[@johnmurcott1273]

6:00 sorry

[@bastienrannou6346]

@@johnmurcott1273 thank you.

[@kriegguardsman9117]

Probably made his week

[@gilgamecha]

Ian wandering into museums and fixing stuff he finds there. 😂

[@ForgottenWeapons]

Not the first time or place it's happened! :)

[@amendable5401]

@@ForgottenWeapons I’ve been wondering if there’s a video or known lore available about how Ian came to be? My guess is a love of guns, history, and a degree in mechanical engineering? Mixed with a great teacher’s love of the subject, as well as a humble genuine likability. Whatever it is it’s a spectacular combination. Thank you for all you do Ian and Forgotten Weapons staff.

[@SoupieGuitar]

​@@amendable5401the final form of Ian we see now is the result of many failed prototypes

[@oldscratch3535]

@@amendable5401 I vaguely remember a video long ago where he talked about how he got into doing this. Couldn't tell you what video or when though. And I may just be imagining the whole thing. I realize that's about as helpful as a screen door on a submarine. Sorry.

[@amendable5401]

@@oldscratch3535 Haha. Very much appreciate the efforts though. Thank you.

[@jazzmaster909]

its a Prototype firearm AND ITS FRENCH! this is gonna be a good video

[@-Jester]

It's basically a guarantee it's gonna be some weird shit

[@Rhynome]

"Pierre, where's all the absinthe gone?"

[@clothar23]

​@@Rhynome Into the C4 model obviously.

[@TheApocalypseShovel]

When he starts with "...with their gracious permission", I immediately thought of Ian secretly breaking in to the armory to give us the breakdown of interesting firearms

[@SuperFunkmachine]

Thats the lock picking lawyer crossover.

[@clothar23]

​@@SuperFunkmachine" Click on one , two's binding, three's set , back to one...and we're in...Ian will now take over.."

[@Ian-ot7up]

@@clothar23 "Welcome to Forgotten Weapons - My name is Ian McCullum and we need to be *really quiet today*.

[@cherenkov_blue]

Really aesthetically pleasing gun honestly. A cross between an HK roller delay gun and a MAS38.

[@ericmitchell985]

I love delayed blowback smgs. The designs just scale so much better for pistol cartridges.

[@drdoom-skull2244]

The road to the MAT 49 saw many interesting prototypes. Also, it is interesting how the different state arsenals developed different takes on the same set of specifications. Pity we lost the small firearms industry (except for PGM and Chapuis).

[@kennyroberson5726]

Honestly I always thought the MAT 49 looked like *it* would have been a prototype that never saw field use but here we are lol

[@AllAboutSurvival]

The complexity of the action system is a reminder of the trade-offs in firearm design, but it's a testament to the innovation in post-WWII France.

[@andersjjensen]

And let's not forget that the SMG to rule all SMGs, the MP5, is not a simple blowback gun. The guys who worked on this one clearly knew what they were doing. I imagine the recoil impulse on these wouldn't be too far off the sensation the roller delayed system provides. And even as an undying MP5 and G3 fan I must admit that this system looks more gunk resistent.

[@TeletubbiesRcute]

It's really not that complicated

[@andersjjensen]

@@TeletubbiesRcute Obviously not. But it is still more complicated than a one-piece bolt and a spring, as is what is needed for simple blowback.

[@lukaszpokoju]

Looks strangely similar to the Walther MPL which was developed only few years later. Despite the MPL using a much simpler simple blowback system, there are many odd similarities between the two, like the overall shape, grip angle, bolt architecture, charging handle location, the MPL even has a notch on its front sight protector, just like on the front sight post of many French guns of this era. Probably just coincidental. I believe the Walther MPL is in a way, what the MAS 48 could have become, in the event it would have gone through longer development ( removing the complex delayed-blowback system, replacing grip safety/ double trigger selector, by a selector switch, improving the stock design, using stamped steel for the upper and lower receiver).

[@ianray8823]

So proud of our man Ian "I've got 4 MAS submachine guns under the table" McCollum

[@beter21137]

Frenchies the moment they get liberated: Alright guys time to get funky *Proceeds to make the weirdest SMGs, planes, tanks.

[@baaltaco1876]

On t'aime Ian ! J'espère que t'as bien mangé en France !

[@AYellowPepper]

I really like the look of these guns! They have that perfect 40s-60s "diesel-punk" Scify look!

[@tomaspabon2484]

How to ID a french prototype SMG: Step 1: check if it folds Step 2: check the markings

[@jsquinlan]

I’m loving the Red Ryder inspired fitment of the wood buttstock to the receiver.

[@mtnbound2764]

that little lever mechanism is pretty genius, its soo cool to see all the different soluitions people have come up with.

[@Dunkopf]

Bless you for releasing this while I can't sleep.

[@nannonana]

It's so cool how Ian knows so much about rare prototype firearms that never really saw any duty.

[@jameshall1300]

It's French, so it's understandable. That's kind of his obsession 😂

[@scottdoran3112]

...Ian correcting the museum's wrong assembly of their own machine gun; priceless....

[@alasdairmackintosh]

My Grandpa was Canadian born by Breton parents. His family went back to Brittany, France in response to the great depression of the 1930s. In the time before he was old enough to enlist as a soldier for WW2, he and his brothers spied on roads for the French Resistance. He enlisted at 17 for the French Army and served until 1950, deciding to move back to Canada in 1955 and start a family. He would end up having a family of 6 kids. I always wondered what types of fire-arms he might have handled/relied upon and your videos have really helped give me a better idea of that, thank you!

[@diogoduarte4097]

These are some long barrels for an SMG. They are pretty interesting, but indeed look rather expensive compared to other SMGs, I'm glad the concept was recycled for assault rifles.

[@ozcan_ncy]

The overall silhouette of the gun somewhat resembles an early mp5 a2 with slim handguards when you squint, I wonder if the bolt extension forward goes all the way in the longer version or ends somewhere around that sling loop.

[@flo__60]

as a french it feels good to know that we have some well advised peoples in the gendarmerie who got in touch with Ian to make these video possible.

[@shatterquartz]

Now that they've let Ian in, I don't think they'll ever manage to get him out.

[@cellphone3010]

He's made a nest somewhere in the walls. Just leave him some gun cleaning equipment and occasionally some ammo for the rarer guns and you've now got a free gun fairy.

[@Xaevryn]

I think most museums have learned to keep a little spray bottle full of water handy for when they want Ian to leave

[@I_Automate]

@@Xaevryn They just rattle a box of .32 French outside of the doors and he comes scuttling out

[@ordinosaurs]

14:18 № in French means "numéro", which basically translates to "number". It serves the same purpose as your ubiquitous use of the hash mark "#" in the US.

[@romain.lacroix]

Ian's made me discover my own national treasures. What gorgeous pieces

[@psychopathmedia]

2:13 Looks like an MP5, STG44 and FAL smushed together

[@joaoie]

Me: That doesn't look right for a lever delay is this something really unique? Ian: This is actually assembled wrong. Hard to describe the sheer joy in having called it right.

[@JamesLaserpimpWalsh]

Noyce ! Every now and again you show me something I had never seen or heard of. Thanks Ian. Fine work sir.

[@QruisS]

Reading "Lever Delayed" and instantly being confused as to how that would even work.

[@LOVEMUFFIN_official]

He actually has a series of videos explaining how several of the primary operating systems work, including lever-delayed. It was very helpful, for me at least.

[@ankaynavravens]

Here you go. It is an other over depayed gun brake down by Ian kzbin.info/www/bejne/gIi0d6eIfslra7c&pp=ygUYRm9yZ290dGVuIHdlYXBvbnMga2lyYWx5

[@ulvschmidt7174]

Same principle but insted of rolers accelerating the bolt backwards with angled surfaces there is a lever throwing it back

[@MsJoao101]

I don't think there will ever be anyone else with the kind of access to these things like Ian. I'm sure it didn't come over night and that there is a lot of work behind it, thank you...

[@some_Russian_dude]

I love how cool french firearms are.

[@mathewweathers2788]

I love that Ian goes to a museum and fixes their stuff.

[@cellphone3010]

some archive technician will soon be learning they screwed up and feeling incredibly embarrassed.

[@Mr_Dopey]

The locking surface for the wedge looks like the perfect home for debris.

[@raifsevrence]

These are such cool looking guns. The way the mag well folds up with a mag in place is a very interesting feature. Couple that with the folding stock and you have a fantastically compact package for transportation. Love the operating system too. Shame these never got adopted. Looks like a much better platform than the MAT 49. The MAT 49 seems to have taken the grease gun school of cheap as possible, but still functional design and won out by appealing to the government's wallet. That and I'm betting it weighs several pounds less than these MAS 48's.

[@adamkaneshiro]

i think some manufacturer used a similar concept with a glock pistol where the grip/magwell hinged and made the pistol more compact

[@arielgarcia5065]

By looking at the thumbnail of the video I thought it was an underbarrel granade launcher for CETME of G3 rifles

[@fratercontenduntocculta8161]

Ever since seeing Ian shoot the MAT-49, I too have fallen for French SMG's. For a country not very well known for guns, France has some incredible small arms!

[@clothar23]

You do realise you're talking about the first country to ever develop and adopt a smokeless powder rifle. Than issue it en masse to their troops. Sure the Lebel was a crap rifle but the French have never been in the background of weapons development .

[@User_Un_Friendly]

Best part of the video is Ian saying "Full Dakka". 19:50 😂

[@stumpythedwarf8712]

Thank you Ian, as always. Hopefully they're happy you fixed the gun for them.

[@someoneelse4492]

A whole room full of prototype french sub machine guns .. you're practically glowing :)

[@parttimememedealer7071]

A gun so niche,obscure and French only Ian could love it

[@ChimpOnComputer]

That thumbnail looked like as if they made it into a pistol or machine pistol like some sorta Mauser rival lol, one can dream.

[@gilmour6754]

Very cool video. These are such interesting little guns. I can see how useful it would be to have a loaded smg that can fold up so much

[@smalltownrifleman]

Thank you Ian. I do enjoy your timeline/prototype examinations. Please continue the great work.

[@TheFanatical1]

So the lever works both as a safety and as a delaying mechanism? How ingenious.

[@STRAKAZulu]

The MAS-48 reminds me of the weapon that was included with Dusty V.2 from GIJoe.

[@bercerus]

Those would be great as Star wars blaster.

[@mustafaabdelwahab1478]

These are so cool, I could see these in Marauders

[@psychopathmedia]

3:06 One of the strangest features of French submachine guns is the collapsible magwell

[@clothar23]

I mean I guess it's one way to transport a loaded weapon...Never approved of adding complexity to a weapon though.

[@thomaswashburn3513]

All I could think of during this video was C3PO and C-4 (explosives) 🤷‍♂️

[@johnnyappleseed6415]

Ian says he has more MAS SMG's under the table... Would that be "Blade Runner" style??? If so, where is the Voight-Kampff instrumentation??

[@c1ph3rpunk]

Ian’s in his happy place. But does it come with a lightly browned butter sauce.

[@christinepearson5788]

This bolt and spring arrangement reminds me of an MP5 if we used a lever instead of rollers.

[@me.ne.frego.]

The long barrel version would be awesome in .30 Carbine.

[@notadorf]

a somewhat similar prototype in .30 carbine did exist except it's roller delayed, it's called the ceam modele 1950, notice how this gun has a similar look to an hk g3 because it was "co-developped" by captured german engineers after the second world war. it was a whole branch of research on delayed blow-back mecanism.

[@notadorf]

if you want a video on the ceam 1950 ian made one here kzbin.info/www/bejne/o6OleqCnZapspc0si=W096QrabavQrSiUS

[@me.ne.frego.]

@@notadorf From small arms to long range missiles, almost everything from everyone is based on german tech!

[@quentinburns8298]

these level delayed blowback guns never cease to amaze me that they work at all.

[@jamesdalton2014]

Well, it only works once Ian has foiled the Gendarmes clever attempt to render the gun inoperable by reversing the lever. I wonder if he told them what he'd done or if he just put it back the way it was.

[@spellxthief]

the c4 model or the standard pre-production models with a magazine in the folded position would make a great starwars gun

[@fbisurveillancevan6939]

Hello Ian! Hope you are doing fine! I'm a big fan of your videos. I'd like to know more about the FAMAS and it's development. I think it's an interesting and futuristic design. To me it looks like the French went from super dated to space age, within a few years with the FAMAS and it doesn't even looks old 50 years after the deveolpment. Would be great if you could give us some insights of that topic. Keep up!

[@jamesberry3230]

Ian has a book on that subject

[@bikesfrench8524]

New VCD10 Lebel VCD 15 lebel Verney Carron New model french gun

[@kmech3rd]

The Firefly aesthetic is strong with this one.

[@CyborgBirdie]

the stuff most people have nightmares about, Ian has dreams about

[@stefanosiclari]

I quite like how these guns look

[@Getpojke]

Really interesting. Was there a specific designer or Government/Military, order/edict that sent the French down this route of having ultra compact folding sub-machine guns? I can see the purpose of wanting them small for stowage/transport, especially for paratroopers on in battle taxis. But I sometimes wonder if it was any quicker to engage a folding magazine & well compared to slamming a magazine in place & start firing/having a safety catch in place for a loaded mag? A folding magazine well also seems a natural weak point that could cause feeding failures to me. It does however make them very cool & Heath Robinson (Rube Goldberg if you're American). It just seems that they were designing heavily towards a predominance of paratrooper or sneaky covert use, when for much of their service life most sub-machine guns would be carried ready to use. (Maybe just the old case of "the French copy no one and no-one copies the French!?) Then again I suppose the French Gendarmerie/Gendarme regularly carry sub-guns & it makes them easier to carry without appearing overtly offensive in public!? Thanks for the video, I found it fascinating to see this amazing collection of splendid guns.

[@johanmetreus1268]

Ease of carry also transfer into ease of storage. Short racks and compact crates that makes logistic transportation more economical. Folding magazine well means you don't have to start the process retrieving a magazine from your webbing, which was a far cry from the speed access oriented webbings of today. Their main purposes was to 1) make sure the magazine wasn't lost when crawling and jumping around, 2) prevent dirt to ingress) and 3) prevent damage to them. If that meant secured protected flaps delaying the shooter half a minute, so be it.

[@Getpojke]

@@johanmetreus1268 Yeah, I can see those points being very much part of the design ethos. Maybe just an evolutionary blind alley in gun design, as they're features we rarely see today apart from some very specialised instances. So maybe they weren't worth the drawbacks in the long run!? So saying things like folding/sliding stocks have become common & mag placement in things like to pistol grip/bullpup/longitudinally (eg P90) all can help make things more compact or shorter on Submachine guns & PDWs. But finding that perfect layout while keeping things compact still seems to be a white whale.

[@johanmetreus1268]

@@Getpojke Goatboy, I'm not sure that the design meeting a dead end as much as simple mass-produced submachine-guns not having much value in a world where you can get a five and half mm (5.45 and 5.56) carbine relatively cheaply and in about the same size. As to why we don't see folding magazines on carbines, I think it is because the form factor of magazines today. The SMG-magazine were very long and thin, so you save a lot of space that way. Now most use carbine length of intermediate cartridges, and the more square shaped rectangle doesn't make that much of a difference. So yes, that White Whale is still out there.

[@misterbacon4933]

Nice that Ian is in France enjoying their guns! 👍🇫🇷

[@kwazar221]

Ian as a french guy and french shooter I would thank you for the effort you make to pronouce our towns in French. 🙏🏻

[@enricopaolocoronado2511]

They look so goofy. Like some kid in elementary if you asked him to draw a gun from scratch.

[@Tallus_ap_Mordren]

I love it. Looks like a Walther MPL and a Thompson had a baby. Honestly, except for the stocks, I like them better than the MAT-49

[@revolverDOOMGUY]

Reminds me a lot of the armaguerra og-44

[@yo.mama100]

😂😂 the stock on that machine gun looks like the Daisy BB gun

[@Zilch616]

France's ability to make truly the most bizarre and cool looking guns, even to this very day, is fascinating

[@DavidThomas-sv1tk]

The French copy no one and no one copies the French.

[@VegasCyclingFreak]

Interesting to see the design development process

[@CypherC300]

I initially read the title as 'Laser-delayed' and was super excited to watch this video.

[@oneproudbrowncoat]

That final iteration is beautiful.

[@sealove79able]

A great very interesting video and French experimental smg.Have a good one Mr.GJ.

[@MrCornpop]

that takedown of the first one was yummy

[@kekolo56]

Thank you so much to shed light on French weaponry!!!!

[@smashallpots1428]

im really digging this one

[@veleriphon]

That FCM also looks like a precursor to the AR design.

[@Stevarooni]

"Convergent technology". If it's a good idea, it will happen. Maybe even multiple times, independently.

[@RealCadde]

BUT WHAT HAPPENS if that "lever" is installed backwards? Will it then fire and also not be lever delayed?

[@Cartoondude135]

Nuts! I thought this was the prototype micro Uzi that uses what looks like Glock magazines. But NVM. Keep searching, I know it's out there somewhere. And a friendly reminder: I need at least 6 faces of that weapon so I can turn it into a 3D model in Blender like how a 2D square becomes a 3D 6-sided cube.

[@jasonhall7491]

I love the lever delay action.

[@b-conn6624]

Just love how strange these guns look.

[@possumpatrol45]

La magie spatiale française

[@shinobi-no-bueno]

Omelette du fromage

[@gilgamecha]

"French space magic"

[@g54b95]

Ian is such a gangster. At 6:00 "And this in fact assembled wrong, so let me fix it really quick."

[@avp5964]

Thank you Ian thank you Gendarmerie. Amazing these prototypes getting to see the light of day!

[@TimPimentel3006]

Anyone else getting Daisy Red Rider from those wooden stocks? Particularly where they attach to the hinge assembly.

[@Sir_Baddington]

Pretty neat little gun.

[@duanequam7709]

I did enjoy the video. You have yet to make one that I haven't. My wife also watches and told me your voice is your signature and makes your videos pleasant to listen to.

[@FunkBastid]

Ian fighting every urge to keep both hands above the table

[@cedhome7945]

It's amazing how many countries had a go at making new new new patterns when there where lots of well built and relatively reliable patterns already in use .

[@ricardomiles2957]

A mixture of pride, nationalism and politics. If we are going to use a weapon it must be MADE by US, we can't de depend on other nations like that also if we OUR new gun turn out good other nations might buy from us making THEM depedent on US

[@jeandelacroix6726]

@@ricardomiles2957 it sounds stupid until you get embargoed. And even of you license, don't forget royalties. Small arms are made by the thousands. That's a huge reason why it's sometimes better to develop your own thing. And in this specific case, the US printed fake french money and then tried to force it as real money in 1945, this made the french government a bit cautious about being fully dependent on the US

[@DivingHawker]

This looks so much like a French MP5 from the outside.

[@snaildad193]

Ahhh, perfect upload for my breakfast tea and croissant, thanks Ian!

[@jerkfudgewater147]

I love these weird guns from a different timeline… looking at this thing i would have guessed 1960s not 40s and as if that wasn’t great enough gunjesus then breaks down what went wrong… chef’s kiss it’s perfect

[@xum-26]

i'm a simple french man, i see a french gun on FW, I press the like button !

[@yves-mariesellin6026]

tiens, c'est marrant, je fais la même chose 😆

[@jeandelacroix6726]

🤝

[@chriscoogan8090]

Gives me a new appreciation for my MP5

[@lukehorning3404]

I don’t think I’ve ever seen that one before and it’s a very interesting design and I would have thought it would have been pretty popular for that time

[@RaDeus87]

They look very Fallout-esque, like they crossed the Combat Rifle with an early G3.

[@ankaynavravens]

-Can we copy your homework monsieur Kiraly? (with French accent) -yes, just change it a little. - oh don't worry we are french... it will be unrecognisable!

[@warman3096]

And again there seems to be a pretty clear pattern with french arms development they look around for the most recent thing or basically something to adapt for their military then they get into the development process and get too ambitious then end up with 4 or 5 different models of the same gun as none are quite up to their standards or just out right don't work as intended or end up being too expensive to manufacture in mass then they give up and wait for another inspiration to add their mustache twist on 😂 any way great video IAN I'm certain I would never even know such a gun existed if not for you so thanks.