MAS-49 Rifle - Technical Characteristics

Technical Characteristics

The direct impingement gas system was first applied in 1901 to a 6mm semi-automatic experimental rifle (the ENT B-5) designed by Rossignol for the French military . Although several experimental prototypes using a tilting bolt and direct impigement had been tested by MAS since 1924, the immediate precursor to the MAS 7.5mm semi-automatic rifle series is the MAS-38/39 (Huon,1995). It was succesfully tested in March 1939, just before WW-2, and followed in May 1940 by the nearly identical MAS 1940 . Some two years later in 1942, the Swedish armed forces adopted a direct impingement semi-automatic rifle : the AG-42 Ljungman. Following which the M16 rifle was also placed into service with the U.S. Army in 1963. It was based on a direct impingement gas system which had been designed by Eugene Stoner in 1955. As to the MAS 49 system, it vents gas taken on top of the barrel and pipes it directly into an open cylindrical hollow located in front and on top of the bolt carrier. The system has the advantage of not depositing gas fouling on the bolt itself since it is a separate part located underneath the bolt carrier . All the French MAS 7.5mm semi-automatic rifles mentioned herein feature a rear locking tilting bolt, as on the Browning Automatic Rifle (1918), the MAS-1924 to MAS-1928 experimental semi-auto rifles, and the Russian Simonov SVT-38 (1938) and SVT-40 (1940) rifles.

The same 10-round detachable magazine fits the MAS-44, MAS-49 and MAS-49/56 rifles. The earlier MAS-40 (1940) rifle had a 5 round magazine within the receiver, as on the bolt action MAS-36 rifle. Lastly, the MAS-44, MAS-49 and MAS-49/56 are all equipped with a rail on the left side of the receiver. It allows for the immediate installation of a "Modele 1953" APX L806 (SOM) telescopic sight by sliding it into place and then locking it in with a small pressure lever. The MAS-49 and MAS49/56 are capable of consistently hitting individual man-size targets up to 400 meters with the adjustable peep sight and up to 800 meters with the APX 806L telescopic sight. The bore is counter sunk at the muzzle to protect the rifling and preserve accuracy. The barrel is freely floating.

The MAS direct impingement design reduced the number of bolt moving parts to only six: the bolt carrier, then the rear locking tilting bolt which carries the extractor, the ejector and the firing pin, and lastly the recoil spring. It takes only a few seconds to disassemble the entire bolt mechanism for cleaning. The MAS-49 had a reputation for reliability in conditions of poor maintenance, sometimes being cleaned with nothing more than rags and motor oil. The rifle could also endure harsh service environments (MAS rifles saw service in Algeria, Djibouti, Indochina, and French Guiana).

MAS-49 rifles produced for Syria differed slightly from the French service model by having a spike bayonet identical to that of the MAS-36 bolt-action rifle.