World War II Database

Country of Origin	France
Type	Machine Gun
Caliber	7.500 mm
Capacity	25 rounds
Length	1.080 m
Weight	8.900 kg
Rate of Fire	450 rounds/min
Muzzle Velocity	830 m/s

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseThe Fusil-mitrailleur Modèle 1924 light machine guns were designed by Lieutenant Colonel Reibel assisted by Chief Armorer Chosse in 1923. They entered production in Jul 1925 at the Manufacture d'Armes de Châtellerault, and they first saw combat in Morocco in May 1926. The M29 variant was introduced in 1930, correcting some of the issues that the original design suffered; the 45,530 weapons of the original design were rebarreled and re-certified as M29 weapons. These weapons had folding bipods, pistol grips with two triggers (one for semi-automatic fire and the other for full automatic), and top-mounted 25-round magazines. At the start of WW2, they were the standard squad-level automatic weapons of the French infantry and cavalry units. Between 1931 and 1940, the M31 variant was produced; they had heavier barrels, were fed with 150-round side-mounted pan magazines, and were typically found in fortifications or aboard vehicles. After the German conquest of France, a large number of FM 24/29 light machine guns were captured by the Germans, and they were pressed into service under the designation Leichtes MG 116(f). The few M31 variants captured by the Germans were likewise pressed into service, as Kpfw MG 331(f). Meanwhile, Free French forces continued to use these weapons in action in North Africa and later in France. These weapons remained in service with the military until the 1960s and with the National Gendarmerie forces until 2006. Abroad, they were used by Yunnan provincial military in China (M24 and M29), Poland (M31, aboard H-39 and R-35 tanks), and Israel.

Between 1925 and 1957, more than 190,000 examples were built.

Source: Wikipedia ww2dbase

Last Major Revision: Sep 2017

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