FM 24/29 light machine gun
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| FM-24/29 | |
|---|---|
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| Type | Machine gun |
| Place of origin |  France |
| Service history | |
| Used by | France Nazi Germany (captured) Free France State of Vietnam Viet Minh (captured)Former French colonies |
| Wars | World War II Indochina Cold War |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1922 |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 9.75 kg |
| Length | 1080 mm |
| Barrel length | 600 mm |
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| Cartridge | 7.5x54mm French |
| Action | Gas operated |
| Rate of fire | 450 round/min |
| Muzzle velocity | 830 m/s |
| Feed system | 25-round detachable box magazine |
The FM 24/29, or fusil-mitrailleur modèle 1924 M29, was the standard light machine gun of the French army from the early 1930s until the 1950s.
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[edit] Development
After the end of World War I, the French army sought to replace the problematic fusil-mitrailleur mle 1915, better known as the Chauchat machine gun. French commanders considered standardizing on the M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle, but eventually required the development of a locally-built weapon. The Manufacture d'Armes de St-Etienne (MAS) proposed a direct derivative of the B.A.R, but the Manufacture d'Armes de Châtellerault (MAC) won the bid with its weapon which was loosely based on the B.A.R action. 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 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. 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 mass-manufactured in the 1930s until older FMs could be phased out of service.
The Trigger Mechanism Housing (TMH) of the FM 1924/29 was also used in Henri Delacre's Bullpup Submachine gun.
[edit] Operational use
The FM 24/29 was the standard squad-level automatic weapon of the French infantry and cavalry at the start of WWII. The Germans captured many examples in 1940, which they used operationally. 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 B.A.R. (Browning Automatic Rifle).
The FM 24/29 served in the armed forces until after the end of the war in Algeria, it was the work horse in the First Indochina War. It was replaced by the AA-52 GPMG in the 60s but it was still in use with the Gendarmerie Nationale regional brigades until 2000.
[edit] References
- Ferrard, Stéphane. France 1940 l'armement terrestre, ETAI, 1998, ISBN 978-2-7268-8380-8
