| FM 24/29 | |
|---|---|
LMG 24/29 |
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| Type | Light machine gun |
| Place of origin | France |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1930s-1950s 1930s to 2000-2006 (National Gendarmerie) |
| Used by | See Users |
| Wars | World War II First Indochina War Algerian War Suez Crisis Vietnam War Cambodian Civil War |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1920s |
| Manufacturer | Manufacture d'armes de Châtellerault |
| Variants | M1924/29D M1931 |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 9.75lb |
| Length | 1080mm |
| Barrel length | 600mm |
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| Cartridge | 7.5x54mm French |
| Caliber | 7.5mm |
| Barrels | 1 |
| Action | Gas |
| Rate of fire | 450 rpm |
| Muzzle velocity | 830 m/s (2,722.4 ft/s) |
| Feed system | 25 round box magazine |
| Sights | Iron |
The Fusil mitrailleur modèle 1924 M29 was the standard light machine gun of the French Army from the early 1930s until the 1950s and was in use until 2000-2006 with the National Gendarmerie.
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After the end of World War I, the French army sought to replace the problematic Fusil-mitrailleur mle 1915 machine gun (better known as the Chauchat). French commanders considered standardizing on the American M1918 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 loosely based on the BAR action. It had been formulated and designed by a Lt Col Reibel. The new fusil-mitrailleur modèle 1924 (automatic rifle, model of 1924) featured a bipod, an in-line stock, a pistol grip, a top-mounted 25-round magazine and a bolt hold-open after the magazine's last round had been fired. Protection of all the openings against mud and dust was excellent. The cyclic rate was 450 rounds per minute. Since the standard 8 mm Lebel ammunition type had been found inappropriate for large capacity magazines, ammunition was a brand-new rimless 7.5x57mm round.
In the late 1920s, the FM mle 24 entered limited production and operational use, where numerous problems with the new ammunition type appeared. In particular, 8mm Mauser ammunition which was in use with captured rifles used by auxiliaries in Morocco during the Rif War, could be chambered and fired with disastrous results. This situation led to the development of the 7.5x54mm type, which was chosen in 1929 as the standard calibre for all future rifles and light machine guns in French service. The accordingly modified fusil-mitrailleur modèle 1924 modifié 1929 (FM 24/29) was eventually mass-manufactured (187,000), beginning in the 1930s, until older FMs could be phased out of service.
The trigger mechanism housing (TMH) of the FM 24/29 was also used in Henri Delacre's bullpup submachine gun.
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 re-organized 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 served in the armed forces until after the end of the war in Algeria, it was the workhorse in the First Indochina War. 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.
The Model 1924/1929D machine gun was a variant of the MAC 24/29, adapted to firing from interior firing ports in the bunkers of the Maginot Line.
A modified version of the gun, the M1931, with a heavier barrel and drum feed was produced for installation in tanks and fortified emplacements. The rate of fire of this version was raised to 600 rounds per minute. Production ran from 1931 to 1940[1].
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