MAS 44, 49 and 49/56

[Combloc]

If you would have told me a year ago I'd be interested in collecting old French autoloaders I'd have said you were nuts. But last spring I bought a 49/56 on a whim simply because of the condition, the slew of accessories it came with and the price. I figured I could buy it, have fun with it and then sell it for a small profit.

Wellllllll….it turns out something about that ol' Frenchie grew on me and made me a little hungry for more. I don't know if it was the elegant crudity of its manufacturing or the elegant simplicity of its design. Or maybe it was all the little extra bits still wrapped in the factory plastic bags that reeled me in; I'm a sucker for extra bits sometimes. Whatever the case, I decided I wanted to find myself a 44 and a 49. Unfortunately, a little digging around quickly revealed just how hard it is to find the earlier members of the family and the 49/56 would just be a reminder of what I wanted but could not find. So, I figured I'd just sell it off when the time was right.

Fast forward to the recent past. Someone was looking for a 49/56 and I was just about to sell it off when serendipity intervened and gave me the chance at not only a 44, but a French issue 49 as well along with a pile of extra goodies. Well, I simply COULD NOT pass up such an opportunity and it looks like I'll be keeping that 49/56 for the foreseeable future. Below is a brief sampling of what I consider a fair amount of luck on my part:



At the bottom is the 49/56 I picked up last spring. It was reworked in 1983 and remains unfired since:



As stated earlier, the 1949 is a French issue specimen, not a Syrian contract. Fewer than 300 of these were imported 30ish years ago and none have come in since. It was reworked in 1970:

Originally, I couldn't decide whether to buy this one or the 1944. But then I thought to myself...."Hey idiot....why is this even a question?? You need to buy both!"


The 1944 is a nice early example, complete with factory applied black paint, that has never been refurbished. As such, it's 100% matching serial numbers including the bayonet:


The 1944 included the original receipt from Century Arms dated 1986:

I wasn't told this was included so imagine my happy surprise when I came across it the pile of included period advertising and other printed material.


One of the things I find really neat about these old MAS rifles is that they encapsulate how military doctrine changed over time. This is especially evident at the front of the rifles:

At the top is the 44 with it's long spike bayonet (shown in the stowed position) showing the importance still being placed on the ability to melee in combat at the time.
By the time of the Model 1949 (middle) the bayonet was no longer considered necessary so not only was it removed, but even the possibility of mounting one was discarded. Instead, the ability to launch grenades was now given priority.
At the bottom is the 49/56. It clearly illustrated the more evolved attitudes toward infantry combat arrived at by the time of it's introduction. The flash hider has been introduced and while the ability to mount a bayonet has returned, it is now a multiuse blade bayonet that is stored on the infantryman's belt instead of adding essentially useless weight to the rifle when not in use. The ability to launch grenades has now been refined and improved as well and a wood forearm is now entirely absent at the front of the rifle, having been cut back to only where it is really needed to protect the hand from heat. Also, the front sight has undergone a series of improvements culminating in a precision sight that is well protected, adjustable and well lit. The end result is a thoroughly modern looking and fully developed design.



For someone like me who is a total History nerd, the somewhat large selection of original period manuals that came with the rifle is perhaps even more interesting than the firearms themselves:

The manuals pictured range from 1950 to the 1990's. A few are duplicates but most are different. Why the French produced so many different manuals to cover just three rifles is somewhat astonishing to me. I LOVE things like this because they are source documents printed by the very government that issued the rifles at the very time said rifles were in actual use. They are THE official word on what was intended and how it was to be used and maintained. I'm going to have a grand time translating these jobbers and I'm sure I'll gain insight in the process!


I also received a couple boxes of magazines still sealed in their long term storage boxes as packed in the 1970's and complete period cleaning kits for both the 44 and 49:

These predate the ubiquitous leather cleaning kits with plastic bottles currently available and they are correct for the 44 and 49 rifles. Thanks to the included manuals, this is easy to verify. The kit on the left is for the 1944 while the one on the right was issued with the 1949. The green cloth thingee to the right of the 1949 pouch is a parts wallet containing a spare firing pin, extractor, ejector, extractor spring and retaining pin. They are in there but I didn't see the need to get them out for now.


While I didn't take any other pictures at this time, I also received a pile of other period accessories and other printed material both period and from the time the rifles were imported in the late 1980's to early 90's. All in all, I feel I made a gold strike and I plan on eventually writing in-depth articles about all three of the Frenchies shown above. But for now, I just wanted to share a few pictures of some once newly imported but now rarely encountered fusil semi-automatiques francias. Bonne journee!!

Information

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[browningautorifle]

I might have taken one if it was presented to me just right but have never gone out looking for any. You have all of them and everything that goes with which is certainly the way to go. When they're complete, it's well worth having, nice rifles...

[Eaglelord17]

Very nice! I am still waiting for one to come along at a good price here before I get mine. Those are absolutely fantastic examples though.