Fusil-mitrailleur mle 1924/29

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In fr chat lmg fr.jpg
Fusil-mitrailleur mle 1924/29
Specifications
Type Light Machine Gun
Caliber 7.5mm
Feed System 25 round detachable box magazine
Muzzle Velocity 830 m/s
Rate of Fire 450 rpm
Maximum Rffective Range 1250 m

History

fter the end of World War I, the French Army sought to replace the problematic Fusil-mitrailleur mle 1915 CSRG light machine rifle (better known as the Chauchat). French commanders considered standardizing on the American Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR), but eventually required the development of a locally built weapon. MAS (an abbreviation of Manufacture d'Armes de St. Etienne - one of several government-owned arms factories in France) proposed a direct derivative of the BAR, but the Manufacture d'Armes de Châtellerault (MAC) won the bid with its weapon, which was partly derived from the BAR action. It had been formulated and designed by a Lieutenant Colonel Reibel assisted by Chief Armorer Chosse.

The FM Mle 1924 entered production in late July 1925 and saw first operational use in Morocco in May 1926. It was immediately well-received and even favorably compared in performance with the much heavier Hotchkiss machine gun. However, problems created by the new 7.5mm ammunition did appear. In particular, 8×57mm Mauser ammunition which was used in captured Mauser rifles carried by auxiliaries in Morocco during the Rif War from 1920–26, could be chambered and fired with disastrous results. This situation led to the development of a slightly shorter 7.5×54mm round, which was retained in 1929 as the standard ammunition for all future rifles and light machine guns in French service. The modified fusil-mitrailleur modèle 1924 modifié 1929 (FM Mle 1924 M29) was mass-manufactured (187,412), beginning in 1930.

the FM 24/29 was the standard squad-level automatic weapon of the French infantry and cavalry at the start of World War II. After the French surrender in World War II, the Germans captured large quantities of this weapon, which they used operationally until the end of the war.

From 1943 on, as the French army was re-equipped and reorganized in North Africa with Allied support, the FM 24/29 was kept in service, as French troops considered it superior to the Browning Automatic Rifle.

The FM 24/29 was the workhorse in the First Indochina War and served in the armed forces until after the end of the war in Algeria. It was replaced by the AA-52 general-purpose machine gun in the 1960s, but it was still in use with National Gendarmerie regional brigades until 2000-2006.

Game Play

See Also

Infantry Weapons of Battleground Europe

American Weapons

Boys Anti-Tank Rifle ·Browning M1919A6 . BAR · M1903 Springfield · M1 Garand ·M1 carbine ·M1A1 Thompson · M3A1 Grease Gun · Mk 2 Fragmentation_Grenade · M8 Smoke Grenade · LG 50 mm mortar · M1911 Colt · M9 Bazooka

British Weapons

Boys Anti-Tank Rifle · Bren Mk II LMG · Lee-Enfield No.4 Mk I · M1928 Thompson · sten Mk II · No.36 Mills Bomb · No.77 Smoke Grenade · 2 inch mortar · Webley Pistol · PIAT

French Weapons

Boys Anti-Tank Rifle · FM 1924/29 LMG · Fusil MAS mle 1936 · Fusil MAS mle 1940 · Fusil mle 1886 M93 "Lebel · MAS.38 · Grenade à main offensive modèle 1915 · Grenade fumigène · LG 50 mm mortar · Pistolet mle 1935S · M9 Bazooka

German Weapons

Panzerbüchse 39 · MG-34 · Karabiner 98k· Gewehr 43 · Gewehr 41 · FG42 · STG44 · MP-40 · MP34 · Stielhandgranate 24 · Nebelhandgranate 39 · Granatwerfer 36 · Luger P08 · Panzerschreck 54

Italian Weapons

Beretta Model 38 · Carcano Modello 1891

Universal Weapons

Ammo Resupply Pack · Combat Knife · Satchel Charge