MAS-38
| Pistolet Mitrailleur de 7,65mm MAS modèle 38 | |
|---|---|
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| Type | Submachine gun |
| Place of origin | France |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1939—1951 |
| Used by | See Users |
| Wars |
World War II First Indochina War Vietnam War |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1938 |
| Produced | 1939—1946 |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 2.87 kg (without magazine) 3.56 kg (with magazine) |
| Length | 623 mm (24.53 in) |
| Barrel length | 224 mm (8.82 in) |
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| Cartridge | 7.65mm Longue |
| Caliber | 7.65mm |
| Action | Off-Axis Bolt Travel Delayed Blowback |
| Rate of fire | 600–700 rounds/min |
| Muzzle velocity | 350 m/s (1,148 ft/s) |
| Effective firing range | 100m |
| Maximum firing range | 200m |
| Feed system | 32-round detachable box magazine |
The MAS-38 was a French submachine gun designed prior to the Second World War and used by French and German forces. It was derived from a small arms development program that took place between 1918 and 1922 under the control of the Service Technique de l'Armement. A submachine gun, a light machine gun and a semi automatic rifle were developed to replace all the existing small arms. Budgetary constraints due to choices like building the Maginot Line led to the delay of adoption of these new arms except for the LMG 1924.
The Pistolet Mitrailleur MAS modèle 38 (MAS Model 38 Submachine Gun) was developed from the experimental MAS-35, itself derived from the STA 1922 and the MAS 1924 both in 9 mm produced immediately after World War I. Prior to the development of this weapon France used a variety of German and Swiss submachine guns.
MAS, the Manufacture d'Armes de Saint-Étienne (Weapons industry of Saint-Étienne), was a French supplier of arms that manufactured several firearms for the French military, including the MAS-36 rifle, the MAS-49 rifle, and the FAMAS. It is now part of Nexter. The French Ministry of War approved the MAS-38 in 1938, but production did not begin until 1939.
The German army seized the MAS plant in 1940 just as the MAS-38 was entering large-scale production. The Germans accepted the gun as a substitute standard weapon, naming it the 7.65 mm MP722(f). They continued production of the gun for their own armed forces and supplied some to the Vichy French.
On April 28, 1945, it was used by Italian partisans to shoot the former Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini.
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