Outwardly, the MAS 36 maintained a conventional rifle appearance with strong use of wood furniture against a steel body. The shoulder stock was integrated into the rear of the receiver with an ergonomic grip in tow. The grip allowed for proper handling of the weapon rear and allowed easy access to the ring-encircled trigger. The aforementioned bolt handle was fitted to the right side of the body and operated in a normal fashion, allowing the user to eject a spent cartridge casing and introduce a new cartridge from the magazine well. The five-round integral box magazine, chambered for the 7.5x54mm cartridge, was held internally and fed by "clips". Empty weight of the rifle was around 3.7 kilograms. The 4-groove, left-hand twist 575mm-length barrel sat within the forward frame detailed by a wooden forend, which itself was banded in two places - along the middle and at the extreme forend end. The forend also featured handy grip depressions along either side for a firm forward grip. The muzzle protruded a short distance away from the forend. An adjustable rear sight and fixed forward sight allowed for precision firing. In all, the weapon maintained a running length of 1,020mm while her muzzle velocity was rated at 2,800 feet per second with an effective range out to 350- and 400-yards through the open sights. In true World War 1 trench war fashion, a bayonet could be fitted into the forend under the barrel for close-quarters work.
Beyond the lengthy trial periods for both the new cartridge and rifle, the MAS 36 was further delayed into frontline service by lethargic production. Indeed, World War 2 would find France asleep, allowing the German war machine to more-or-less steamroll over half of the country but it is for consideration that the French nation was still reeling from the horrendous losses incurred during their first go-round with the well-trained German Army throughout World War 1. Four long years of brutal warfare took its toll on the once-proud nation. By 1939, only small contingents of the French Army were, in fact, armed with the new MAS 36 rifle. Stores of frontline rifles were so limited, in fact, that old World War 1-era rifles were brought back into contention by way of modification programs. By the time of the German invasion of France, the MAS 36 were available in some number but not enough to make much of a difference - however, there is little doubt that the outcome of the invasion would have been different.
From then on, the remaining MAS 36s in service were still being utilized by the fortunate few French Army personnel lucky enough to have been issued it prior to the invasion. These weapons were now put to use by French infantrymen fighting under the "Free French" banner when possible. Enough MAS 36 examples were also captured by the invading Germans who reconstituted the weapon into their Wehrmacht ranks as the Gewehr 252(f). Many of these were limited to guard duty on French soil however.
The MAS 36 rifle's official service run was from 1936 to 1978, making it - in some ways - a long-running success story by any firearm standard. Beyond use in World War 2, the weapon was notably featured in the upcoming Algerian War, the 1st Indochina War and in the Suez Crisis. Many former French colonies continued use of the rifle after World War 2 and the rifle also came back into official use by the French Army during the rebuilding years. Surplus stocks were eventually retained by the French government for formal ceremonial duties some years later.
While the base designation of "MAS 36" represented the original production form rifle, the MAS 36 CR39 became a slightly modified, short-barreled version of the MAS 36 service rifle but made compact for use by French airborne troops. In addition to the shorter barrel, the type was constructed with a swiveling hollow aluminum butt that aided in compactness and portability of the weapon. However, the MAS 36 CR39 was produced in limited numbers. Later on, the MAS 36 LG48 was used to designation MAS 36 rifles with provisions for the 48mm rifle grenade launcher. These were utilized in the First Indochina War. Similarly, the MAS 36/51 was an MAS 36 rifle with provisions for the 22mm NATO standard rifle grenade launcher. The "Fusil modele FR-G2" was a modified form of the base MAS 36 for the Designated Marksman Rifle role (DMR). These were fitted with a Match barrel, harmonic compensator and telescopic sight for sniper duty.
Incidentally, the designation letters of "MAS" stand for the French-based manufacturer known formally as "Manufacture d'Armes de Saint-Etienne".
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