Manufacture d'armes de Saint-Étienne

French state-owned weapons manufacturer From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Manufacture d'Armes de Saint-Étienne, often abbreviated to MAS ("Saint-Étienne Weapons Factory" in English), was a French state-owned weapons manufacturer in the town of Saint-Étienne, Loire. Founded in 1764, it was merged into the French state-owned defense conglomerate GIAT Industries in 2001.

Saint Étienne-La Manufacture d'Armes in January 2011
IndustryWeapons
Founded1764 (1764)
Defunct2001
Quick facts Company type, Industry ...
Manufacture d'Armes de Saint-Étienne
Company typeGovernment-owned corporation (subsidiary of Nexter defense conglomerate)
IndustryWeapons
Founded1764 (1764)
Defunct2001
FateAnnexed
SuccessorNexter
Headquarters,
France
ProductsRifles, pistols, tanks, weapon systems
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History

Saint-Étienne was well known as a center of sword and knife manufacturing beginning in the Middle Ages. In 1665, a Royal Arms Depot was created in Paris to store military weapons made in Saint-Étienne. The Manufacture d'Armes de Saint-Étienne was created by royal decree in 1764 under the supervision of the General Inspector of the Royal Arms Manufacture of Charleville.

12,000 weapons were being produced each year when the French Revolution began in 1789. The city was renamed Armsville during the Revolutionary period and production increased to arm the French Revolutionary Army. Subsequently, the French Empire required a threefold increase in production to meet the needs of the Grande Armée in its conquest of Europe. By 1838, during the July Monarchy, annual production was well over 30,000 firearms.

In 1864, the modern factory was built, new steam-powered machines were installed and the first military standardized bolt-action rifle, the Chassepot, was produced from 1866 on, then the Gras rifle after 1874. The MAC-designed Lebel rifle entered production in 1886. MAS later designed and manufactured the family of rifles chambered in 7.5×54mm French, from the MAS-36 through the MAS-49/56, then later the FAMAS bullpup assault rifle, which uses the 5.56×45mm NATO round.

In 2001, weapons production ceased as MAS was absorbed into the Nexter Group. OPTSYS, a Nexter subsidiary specializing in optical equipment and protected vision for armored vehicles, is currently located in Saint-Étienne.

Arms produced by MAS

Grenade launcher with grenade
Chassepot 1866
FSA-1917
FSA MAS 49
PA Modele 1950
AA52 ANF1
FR F1
PA MAS G1
FA-MAS F1
FAMAS G2 FélinV1 prototype

Note: Where a model's year is followed by "T" (e.g. M1822T), this is shorthand for transformé or 'transformed'. This typically means old models that had their ignition system modernised from flintlock to percussion cap, or had a smoothbore barrel re-bored with rifling. Bis means that the model had been modified twice.

See also

Sources

  • Danel, Raymond and Cuny, Jean. L'aviation française de bombardement et de renseignement (1918/1940), Docavia n°12, Editions Larivière.
  • De Vries, G. and Martens, B.J. The MKb 42, MP43, MP44 and the Sturmgewehr 44, Propaganda Photo Series, Volume IV, Special Interest Publicaties BV, Arnhem, The Netherlands, First Edition, 2001.
  • Ezell, Edward Clinton. Small Arms of the World, Arms & Armour Press, London, 1977, Eleventh edition.
  • Ferrard, Stéphane. France 1940 l'armement terrestre, ETAI, 1998. ISBN 2-7268-8380-X
  • Gotz, Hans Dieter. German Military Rifles and Machine Pistols, 1871-1945, Schiffer Publishing, West Chester, Pennsylvania, 1990. OCLC 24416255
  • Huon, Jean. Les fusils d'assaut français, Editions Barnett, 1998. ISBN 2-9508308-6-2.
  • Pelletier, Alain. French Fighters of World War II, Squadron/Signal Publications, Inc., Carrollton, Texas, 2002. ISBN 0-89747-440-6
  • Smith, W.H.B. Small Arms of the World : The Basic Manual of Military Small Arms, Stackpole Books, Harrisburg, Pa., 1955. OCLC 3773343
  • Wollert, Günter; Lidschun, Reiner; Kopenhagen, Wilfried. Illustrierte Enzyklopädie der Schützenwaffen aus aller Welt: Schützenwaffen heute (1945–1985), Militärverlag der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik, Berlin, 1988. OCLC 19630248
  • Deutsches Waffen Journal
  • Visier
  • Schweizer Waffen Magazin
  • Internationales Waffen Magazin
  • Cibles
  • AMI
  • Gazette des Armes
  • Action Guns
  • Guns & Ammo
  • American Handgunner
  • SWAT Magazine
  • Diana Armi
  • Armi & Tiro

Notes

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