Everyone hates Nazis. They’re our favorite bad guys in everything from movies to literature, and for pretty darn good reason. But following close behind, cowering in the shadow of the Nazi regime, is Vichy France. Like some sniveling, traitorous playground snitch, France, upon getting their underpants firmly tugged to their shoulders in the Battle of France (AKA “the trouncing”), became complicit in many of the horrors ordered by the Nazi regime. The MAS 38, a compact submachine gun with “weird-lookin'” stamped all over it, was one of primary arms Vichy France used to carry them out. One look tells you that it’s appropriately ugly for such a nefarious empire.
Where you’ve seen it:
Unless you’re a foreign film buff, odds are you haven’t seen this one on screen. However, for those who enjoy first person shooters set in WWII, you may remember the MAS 38 from Call of Duty 2: Big Red One
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History:
The MAS 38 was produced from 1939 until just after the war’s end, but the manufacturing facilities producing it were seized for German and Vichy use right off the bat in 1940, following the sound thrashing bestowed upon the frogs. So, this weapon saw more time in Nazi and Vichy hands than in those of allied French forces. At the war’s conclusion, the MAS 38 redeemed itself by being the weapon used to execute ‘Il Duce’ of Italy, the infamous dictator Benito Mussolini.
Design:
Despite its ungainly appearance, the MAS 38 was built to a higher quality than many of its peers; unlike the stamped steel composition of the vetted American M3 “grease gun” or the iconic Nazi MP-40, the MAS 38 had parts milled and machined from solid steel. In terms of longevity, that’s a plus. But for a wartime weapon, that only added to the weapon’s production cost and time. The MAS 38 functioned on a simple open bolt design and was fully automatic only—pumping 600–700 rounds per minute downrange from a 32-round detachable box magazine.
The weapon was extremely compact—under 24 inches long. It probably could have been even smaller, except the recoil spring ran into the stock, making a folding or skeletonized stock an impossible addition. This also led to the MAS’s strange, canted receiver—necessary if the bolt was to travel a straight path. The MAS 38 had a couple other little eccentricities appropriate for a gun so ugly. For one, it needed no tools for disassembly. Depressing a catch under the buttstock, rotating the stock 90 degrees, and sliding it off the receiver allowed the recoil spring and bolt to slide out. Secondly, it had an exceedingly unusual safety mechanism—pushing the trigger forward into a horizontal position locked the bolt in place. And the spring-loaded dust cover for the mag well? A typical example of the over-engineering mindset common to early 20th century firearm designers.
The cartridge:
The MAS 38 fired the 32 French Long cartridge, the same caliber as the M1935 French pistols—an attempt to standardize the army’s weapons. The 85-grain bullet sped along at 1120 feet per second, delivering about 240 ft/lbs of energy—a fair sight better performance than the 130 ft/lbs delivered by a .32 ACP of similar bullet weight and diameter. Of course, compared to the ballistic performance of the 9mm or .45 ACP rounds common to Nazi and Allied submachine guns, respectively, the 32 French Long looks a little anemic. That did make recoil very manageable for an automatic, though.
The verdict:
This is one ugly gun, but it seems that it was a reliable, well-built weapon. It looks like it’d be a riot at the range, and despite my negative feelings towards Vichy France, any gun that can claim to have offed such a notorious baddy as Mussolini is très bien in my book.
Featured image courtesy of IMFDB.org.
Soon as I saw the weapon, I thought of the M3,because of the magazine style.
I also thought of the Mauser C96 “Broom handle” pistol.
Interesting article.
I don’t know why they couldn’t just bore that recoil spring hole in the stock at an angle instead of doing that craziness to the receiver and barrel. That had to be a nightmare to machine.
PONI It sounded as though everything about it was too complicated and too expensive to produce efficiently.
NateGranzow PONI I converted that schematic you put up on here into a 3D model last night . Looked up some other dimensions and stuff on this too to make it more accurate. Ploped it over in CADCAM and the CNC code looked a nightmare. I can only imagine how it was to put this thing out on manual machines. Can you say “hand fitted?” haha I’m gonna play with that model some more though and make some improvements. Maybe I’ll get me a newfangled version of this guy one day. lol
PONI NateGranzow Well I want to see what you come up with!
PONI NateGranzow Hmmm maybe a printed semiautomatic version…..
NateGranzow PONI I converted that schematic you put up on here into a 3D model last night . Looked up some other dimensions and stuff on this too to make it more accurate. Ploped it over in CADCAM and the CNC code looked a nightmare. I can only imagine how it was to put this thing out on manual machines. Can you say “hand fitted?” haha I’m gonna play with that model some more though and make some improvements. Maybe I’ll get me a newfangled version of this guy one day. lol
Pathetic. This monstrosity looks like parts of 3 or 4 different guns that were glued together by a third-grader. I think what they may have been trying to do is build a gun comparative to the PPS-series of small submachine guns used by the Soviets. Both guns fire from an open bolt and fire similar rounds (PPS uses the 7.62×25 Tokarev pistol round). The similarities end there however as the Soviet gun was actually an effective, beautifully simple weapon that served those who carried it well. Anyhow, glad to see my favorite series back on The Arms Guide.
Don1974 I’m flattered, Don!
I forgot how ugly it was. Are we sure Mussolini didn’t die just from looking at it?
Here’s a gun photo to wash your eyes out! http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:S%26W_686_flickr_szuppo.jpg
That said, I still like Weird Gun Wednesday!
KineticFury Salve for the eyes. 🙂
You have to remember what it was used for as it does not take a large calibre when you are shooting pesants with pitchforks or lining them up against a wall. It is ugly but I still would pay the tax stamp and get it if my state allowed it.
hartcreek Fair points. I looked up whether a semi-automatic variant ever emerged and found that one sold not too long ago for close to $8,000.
hartcreek Fair points. I looked up whether a semi-automatic variant ever emerged and found that one sold not too long ago for close to $8,000.
You have to remember what it was used for as it does not take a large calibre when you are shooting pesants with pitchforks or lining them up against a wall. It is ugly but I still would pay the tax stamp and get it if my state allowed it.
Well-researched article that delves into a little history of WWII overall…my WWII knowledge is not as good as it should be, so walking away from the article with knowledge I didn’t have before means that you’ve done your job well, good sir!
StevenHildreth Much appreciated ol’ buddy.
You weren’t kidding about the “ugly” bit…