Atelier Mécanique de Mulhouse

Traditionally in France, there was a fierce competition between private industry technicians or free lance weapons designers and technicians of state owned arsenals like MAC and MAS.Usually, the arsenals were in charge of mass production except during WW1 when the private industry had the major share.

Between 1880 and 1910, many new research and development offices appeared in every branch of the armed forces to study new types of small arms.During the same period of time, significant advance in firearms technology produced dozens of inventions, most of them ill fated but others such as the semi automatic weapons, automatic weapons and select fire weapons promised to a long career.The common point was a long period of secrecy that made most of the french development relatively unknown.

In 1888, two brothers Clair in Saint Etienne made the first semi automatic rifle and the first french semi automatic pistol using the newly appeared technology of smokeless gunpowder Poudre B invented by Paul Vieille and the first jacketed bullets, two world's first event in firearms history that were being used in the 1886 Lebel rifle.

In 1892, it is decided to launch large scale studies.

The first experimental semi automatic rifle using a direct impingement system was the French ENT 1901 Rossignol B1 rifle followed by Rossignol's B2, B4 and B5.

20 semi automatic rifles are competing after 1900 and the Meunier is adopted in 1913 but it is decided to stop production that was just started when WW1 breaks in 1914 because the war is thought to be a short one and 3,000,000 weapons are in stock in 8x50mm Lebel.A first batch of 864 rifles is tested in combat.The Meunier was the first rifle to use a high velocity bullet at a speed in excess of 1000 meters per second.

In 1917, the RSC 1917 8mm rifle is adopted and 80 000 pieces reached the front line in 1918.

the RSC 1918 is adopted but only a small batch is produced and used in the Rif war.

In 1915, the CSRG 1915 also known as Chauchat was the first select fire portable weapon to enter service, more than 250,000 will be built in 8x50mm Lebel. it fires closed bolt in semi automatic and open bolt in full automatic mode.

In 1916, the automatic rifle Delaunay-Belleville 1916 is tested both for accuracy, reliability and durability with satisfying result. It fires closed bolt in semi automatic and open bolt in full automatic mode as well. The military commission estimates the recoil is too violent and recommands modifications. The automatic rifle Delaunay-Belleville 1918 is tested in July 1918 with the same results, it fires closed bolt in both modes.

A new type of weapons is designed in July 1918, the Ribeyrolle 1918. For the first time, an intermediate power round is used in a lighweight (5100 grams), high capacity (25 rounds) select fire portable weapon. The round is made of a .351 Winchester Self Loading brass case necked down to accept a 8mm Lebel lightened projectile and the foreseen practical range is 400 meters maximum. This type of weapons is called Carabine Mitrailleuse (English: Machine Carbine, German: Maschinenkarabiner)The project is abandoned in 1921 and briefly revived in 1938.

Before WW2, german technicians will revive the study for an intermediate round after 1935. A new class of weapon is created starting with the MKb 42 Maschinenkarabiner 42.it will be followed by the MP 43, MP 43/1, MP 44 and StG 44 variants.

Finally, a StG 45 is designed by Mauser using a modified MG 42 roller locking system.The prototypes are seized by US and British forces during their evacuation of the factory.

The Mauser factory itself is seized by French Forces and restarted to supply the French. Due to the protest of the Allies, the factory is closed and destroyed in 1946.

A team of german technicians led by Ludwig Vorgrimmler is invited to move to France.To make things easier, they work in a region, Alsace, were most of the people are bilingual and most of the french technicians and military personnel working at the AME is specially selected,the internal documents are written in German.

The StG45 mechanism is modified by Vorgrimmler, Löffler and Kunert at the Mulhouse facility between 1946 and 1949. Three versions were made chambered in .30 Carbine, 7.92x33mm Kurz as well as the 7.65x35mm cartridge developed by Cartoucherie de Valence and adopted in 1948; a 7.5x38mm variant using a partial aluminium bullet was abandoned in 1947. The AME 49 under the name Carabine Mitrailleuse 1950 was retained for production among 12 different prototypes designed by AME, MAC and MAS

Pictures

ee also

*Manufacture d'armes de Chatellerault (MAC)
* Manufacture d'armes de Saint-Étienne (MAS)
*List of firearms
* List of uncommon WW2 weapons
*List of aircraft of the Armée de l'Air, World War II

Bibliography, Sources, References

*"Les fusils d'assaut français " "The french assault rifles" by Jean Huon, published by Editions Barnett in 1998, ISBN 2-9508308-6-2
*Gotz, Hans Dieter, "German Military Rifles and Machine Pistols, 1871-1945", Schiffer Publishing, Ltd. West Chester, Pennsylvania, 1990. OCLC|24416255
*G. de Vries, B.J. Martens: The MP 43, MP 44, StG 44 assault rifles, Propaganda Photos Series, Volume 2, Special Interest Publicaties BV, Arnhem, The Netherlands. First Edition 2001
*Smith, W.H.B, "Small arms of the world : the basic manual of military small arms", Harrisburg, Pa. : Stackpole Books, 1955. OCLC|3773343
*Günter Wollert; Reiner Lidschun; Wilfried Kopenhagen, "Illustrierte Enzyklopädie der Schützenwaffen aus aller Welt : Schützenwaffen heute (1945-1985)", Berlin : Militärverlag der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik, 1988. OCLC|19630248
*CLINTON EZELL, EDWARD Small arms of the world, Eleventh Edition, Arms & Armour Press, London, 1977
*Barnes, Frank C., "Cartridges of the World", DBI Books Inc. (1989)
#"French autoloading rifles. 1898-1979 (Proud promise)", by Jean Huon ,1995,Collector Grade Publications. ISBN 0-88935-186-4.This volume ( in English )contains a detailed technical chapter describing the Lebel rifle and its ammunition. This volume primarily describes all French semi-automatic rifles since 1898, notably the Mle 1917 and Mle 1918 semi-automatic rifles, the Meunier (A6) rifle as well as the MAS 38-40 to MAS49 and 49/56 series.
#"La Manufacture Nationale d'Armes de Chatellerault(1819-1968)", Claude Lombard,1987,Brissaud,162 Grande Rue, Poitiers,ISBN 2-902170-55-6 . This illustrated volume ( in French ) contains the production statistics for the Lebel rifle as well as complete technical accounts on the Gras, Kropatschek, Lebel and Berthier weapons and how they came to be designed and manufactured. This is regarded as the fundamental research volume on the subject.The author is a retired armament engineer who spent most of his career at Chatellerault and had full access to all the archives and the prototypes.
#"Military rifle and machine gun cartridges", Jean Huon,1988,Ironside International Publishers,Alexandria,VA,ISBN 093555405X . This volume ( in English ) provides a detailed description of all the types of 8 mm Lebel ammunition,including the Balle D (a.m.). The 7 X 59 mm Meunier cartridge ( for the semi-automatic A6 Meunier rifle ) is also illustrated and described in detail.
#"Standard Catalog of Military Firearms",Ned Schwing,2003,Krause Publications,ISBN 0-87349-525-X. Contains an informative and detailed page dedicated to the Lebel rifle ( by David Fortier).
#"The Chauchat Machine Rifle (Honour Bound) ", Gerard Demaison and Yves Buffetaut,1995,Collector Grade Publications,ISBN 0-88935-190-2, The 10 pages illustrated appendix at the end of this volume ( in English) exhaustively describes all the 8 mm Lebel ball ammunition types, plus the less well-known blank,tracer,armor-piercing,incendiary,dummy and proof rounds. This appendix was documented and authored by internationally-known cartridge expert Dr Ph.Regenstreif.
#"Bolt Action Rifles",Frank de Haas and Wayne Van Zwoll,2003,Krause Publications,ISBN 0-87349-660-4. An illustrated chapter in this volume reviews in depth the Lebel and Berthier rifles (and carbines).
* Ferrard, Stéphane. "France 1940 l'armement terrestre", ETAI, 1998, ISBN 2-7268-8380-X
* 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