MAT-49 Country France Type Submachine gun Manufacturer MAT Introduction 1949 Specifications Weight 3.5 kg (without magazine) 4.17 kg (with 32 round magazine) Length 460 mm / 720 mm Barrel length 230 mm Cartridge 9x19mm Parabellum Action Blowback Rate of fire 600 rounds/min Feed system 20, 32 rounds

The MAT-49 was a submachine gun developed by French arms factory Manufacture Nationale d\'Armes de Tulle (MAT) for use by the French Army. In 1949, after evaluating several prototypes (including a collapsible design from Hotchkiss), the French MAT factory began production of the MAT-49 9 mm submachine gun. The MAT-49 used a machine stamping process which allowed the economical production of large numbers of submachine guns, then urgently required by the French Army for use by Army, French Foreign Legion as well as airborne and colonial forces. Production continued at Tulle until the mid 1960s, then switched to the Manufacture d\'Armes de St-Etienne plant (MAS), where the weapon was produced until 1979. In that same year, the French armed forces adopted the FAMAS 5.56 mm assault rifle, and the MAT-49 was gradually phased out of service. The MAT-49 saw widespread combat use during the first Indochina War and the Algerian War, as well as the 1956 Suez Crisis. The weapon found considerable favor with airborne and mechanized troops, who prized it for its firepower and compactness. Production ceased after the introduction of the FAMAS in 1979.